Gourmet Spanish food definitely has come to Ho Chi Minh City. One of the best exemplars of this new wave of Spanish restaurants in town is Octo Tapas Restobar that I visited twice during the initial days of the lunar new year 2019.
The visit(s)
The “restobar” is located on the second floor of a building also hosting other restaurants. It is a very modern environment, but only with high chairs. It is a stone’s throw away from the iconic Bitexco Tower.
You need to climb two flight of stairs to get to the venue, but the effort will be rewarded.
Complimentary chips.
They have quite an extensive menu of tapas. The first time I settled for some classics. My first dish was ham croquettes.
The second dish came from the list of their signature tapas and was a bowl of mussels with chorizo in a creamy sauce. Maybe too creamy for my taste, but a memorable dish.
I also tried their huevos rotos that were effectively a creamy egg custard with ham.
I also tried one of their specials off the menu (tip: look at the board above the bar): sourdough bread with tomatoes and smoked anchovies. Sometimes you can find bliss in simplicity or maybe it is just my particular taste, but this dish was just so good.
Finally I had churros with an excellent chocolate mousse.
But I wanted to try more. So I went back the day after for a second visit.
I had the non-alcoholic version of a Moscow mule.
Then I tried their version of a katsu sando (the Japanese cutlet sandwich). The white bread cuddled a chunk of pinkish iberico pork. A great dish that met my expectations completely.
And, grand finale, I had their ox cheek with scallops. This was a superb dish. The ox cheek was very tender and it was nice to have the scallops to counterbalance the flavor.
The check(s)
Regarding the checks, I must specify that there was an additional 10% surcharge that was added because of the time of the year. Many restaurants in Vietnam have some extra charge in the days following Tet, the Vietnamese lunar new year, as it is usually difficult to have staff available on those days.
The first check was 1,056,275 VND or 44 USD for five dishes and a coke.
The second check was 784,300 VND or 33.75 USD for two substantial tapas and the mocktail.
Most tapas dishes were priced between 6 and 10 USD and could have been reasonably shared between two people.
While I understand that the environment caters to people indulging in drinks as well, I totally recommend Octo Tapas for its food. I am sure that everyone could find, as I did, some memorable tapas in their extensive menu. Personally I hope to go back in my next trip to Saigon to try even more options.
Where in Ho Chi Minh City:
75 Ho Tung Mau (2nd level), District 1
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Octotapas/
I spent a total of 534 HKD equivalent to 68 USD for 7 skewers and and the cutlet sandwich, including an expensive bottle of water (that in these fine dining establishments I kind of accept as a form of cover charge). This is just a little bit more expensive than what I paid for an excellent yakitori in Osaka just a few weeks earlier (around 55 USD for appetizer, 8 skewers and an additional dish if I only account for one person). Comparisons are tricky. We all know that fine dining is expensive in Hong Kong. Overall I would say that the price point is acceptable for the quality of the experience and the work that takes place behind the scenes. By the way, they do not apply compulsory service charge (usually 10%) and invite you to tip if you are happy with the service. This is a place where I would certainly go back and honestly I cannot say the same for a lot of other fine dining places I tried in Hong Kong.
In May 2018 Matt Abergel published a book titled