The only thing I know about wine is that I don't like it.
White wines taste like sour astringent while reds remind me of Ayurvedic 'kadhe' - medicinal decoctions. The only wines I enjoy are sweet ones- like port- which are considered at the bottom of the wine quality pyramid. Its telling enough that Agent J and I shared a single glass of wine throughout the evening during a (not so) recent visit to Vinoteca, the wine bar opened by Sula a few weeks ago at Worli.
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| The sole glass of rose wine that we sipped on throughout the evening |
Why then, you would ask, did I even bother to go to Vinoteca? The answer is one word - tapas! :D
While Vinoteca IS a watering hole where you can taste Sula's finest as well as a selection of international wines, its kitchen, run by Chef Silvia Grimaldo specialises in tapas - bite-sized Spanish starters. Though calling them starters is actually a misnomer because often the entire evening is spent nibbling on tapas with no mains or entrees in sight.
The menu at Vinoteca offers tapas, mains and a very limited (3) selection of desserts. While tapas and mains are listed in the menu, you also have daily specials (scribbled on black boards mounted on walls at 2 ends of the room). The pintxos (pronounced pinchos) however change daily with no set menu choices.
The day we visited Vinoteca, (after making a reservation- they follow a 2-slot reservation policy,either show up at 7 or 9 - and reservations are necessary since its a hip new hangout that gets full FAST) the daily specials did feature the mini lamb burgers, much to my relief. It was a dish which was raved about in the reviews I had read! I had made up my mind to order them way before Chef Silvia came across to our table (casually dressed in jeans and top with long blonde hair left loose) and recommended them! () also highly recommended the Chicken Croquettas (in a charming Spanish accent!) After the Chef, had one of the hostesses coming over and recommending the wine to go with our tapas. I really loved this touch of personal attention which was sadly not followed through by the distracted waitstaff. But on the whole the staff is friendly and courteous - score one!
The first tapas to arrive were the mini burgers. The adorably miniature burgers, held together with toothpicks made a very cute picture.
While Vinoteca IS a watering hole where you can taste Sula's finest as well as a selection of international wines, its kitchen, run by Chef Silvia Grimaldo specialises in tapas - bite-sized Spanish starters. Though calling them starters is actually a misnomer because often the entire evening is spent nibbling on tapas with no mains or entrees in sight.
The menu at Vinoteca offers tapas, mains and a very limited (3) selection of desserts. While tapas and mains are listed in the menu, you also have daily specials (scribbled on black boards mounted on walls at 2 ends of the room). The pintxos (pronounced pinchos) however change daily with no set menu choices.
The day we visited Vinoteca, (after making a reservation- they follow a 2-slot reservation policy,either show up at 7 or 9 - and reservations are necessary since its a hip new hangout that gets full FAST) the daily specials did feature the mini lamb burgers, much to my relief. It was a dish which was raved about in the reviews I had read! I had made up my mind to order them way before Chef Silvia came across to our table (casually dressed in jeans and top with long blonde hair left loose) and recommended them! () also highly recommended the Chicken Croquettas (in a charming Spanish accent!) After the Chef, had one of the hostesses coming over and recommending the wine to go with our tapas. I really loved this touch of personal attention which was sadly not followed through by the distracted waitstaff. But on the whole the staff is friendly and courteous - score one!
The first tapas to arrive were the mini burgers. The adorably miniature burgers, held together with toothpicks made a very cute picture.
But there was nothing little about their taste! Toothsome tasty patty with absolutely no sign of dryness, a dab of spiced mayo, a slice of cheese and a picked gherkin - we loved those bite-sized burgers!
Next up was the salmon and cream cheese tapas ( I forget the name) that featured silky slices of salmon rolled around a core of soft cream cheese. These rolls were garnished with a walnut and a dab of sweet chilli sauce, and sat atop a bed of micro sprouts on thick chunks of toasted bread.
Next up was the salmon and cream cheese tapas ( I forget the name) that featured silky slices of salmon rolled around a core of soft cream cheese. These rolls were garnished with a walnut and a dab of sweet chilli sauce, and sat atop a bed of micro sprouts on thick chunks of toasted bread.
I quite liked it, but not being a devout fan of salmon, I didn't LOVE it the way I loved the mini burgers. Agent J found the dish too bland and the slippery salmon too confronting so he pushed his share on my plate.
Next up were the much-recommended Chicken Croquettas. What a delight! Soft, soft cylinders made up of a crunchy-yet-fragile shell and a tasty morsel of chicken filling, every croquetta was a heavenly mouthful.
Next up were the much-recommended Chicken Croquettas. What a delight! Soft, soft cylinders made up of a crunchy-yet-fragile shell and a tasty morsel of chicken filling, every croquetta was a heavenly mouthful.
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| Totally worth the gushing recommendation! |
To round up our tapas selection was patatas bravas - fried cubes of potato drizzled with tomato sauce. Fried potato is always glorious, but a more generous ladling of the tomato sauce would have given a lift to the kind-of-dry-and-bland dish.
The dessert menu is extremely limited with just 3 options- a coffee tart, lemon tart and chocolate truffles. And I doubt if chocolates can really be a dessert.
There were lots of dishes on the menu - all very exotic sounding and tempting, but the kind-of high prices made me feel vary of blowing up money on a dish that I might not end up liking. The pork tenderloin was raved about in this review but the very steep price (Rs800) made me gulp and skip it. :)
To sum up - excellent service, some great (and some not so great) tapas, a very cool vibe - but a tad heavy on the wallet!
Vinoteca by Sula
Ground Floor, Sunville Building Dr. Annie Besant Road, Worli, Mumbai
Telephone: 022 4004 6234
The bill came to approximately 2000 Rs - with 1 glass of wine included
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