Via Mar (55+p)

8 Raffles Avenue #01-10/12 Esplanade Mall
Tel: 6423 0900

WADA rating: 31.5 +24= 55+ pts
QPI: 6 ($25 per pax for set 1-for-1 set lunch, includes glass of wine)
WFI: C (there should be corkage and the wine list is just about reasonably stocked and priced)

Had this for a weekday luncheon with DBF and tasted various times in the past for Tapas and desserts.

This spanish -themed restaurant has been around for some time now but unfortunately or fortunately it is hardly known by many.

What's Good

Cold Gazpacho
Really fresh tomatoes on the fore lined by citrus acidity most probably of lime. This is very appetizing and goes perfectly with the Cava we had.

House Salad
Usually salads are not worth much mentioning but the salad dressing used here is quite aromatic...although I can't quite put my finger on it except for some sesame oil.

What's Not

Beef Stew
Too beefy but on the indon beef kind of spectrum rather than the euro beefiness. So its slightly musky with wild manurish notes. Not subtle at all.

Choc Fudge Cake
So plain and dull. Very cheap chocolate flavours. Big dud.


Other Dishes Tasted

Salmon of the day - The garlicky sauce provides some much needed flavours to an otherwise plain dish. This is okay.
Tapas - Not very authentic and fantastic but there are not many places serving tapas. However, there is this fried milk cake that is quite tasty. It's like coagulated milk fried to an aromatic welness.

Comments

Service is mediocre with staff having some communication issues. However, still very much friendly if not a bit fakey. Come here only if you are really stuck at esplanade before or after a show with nothing much to do and have a craving for spanish food....although the lunch I had was not in the least bit spanish at all. The tapas is pretty alright though.
The ambience is quite authentic in relative comparison to the cuisine. A nice place to come to for some drinks and sangria.

Wine Pairing Done

House Cava (not sure what label)
WADA rated 68pts
Yeasty notes on the nose but mostly closed and unexciting. Off dry with brief appearances of honey and cirtus notes. Very flat and bubbles don't hold well but does go better with the gazpacho.

House Red - 2005 Yellow Tail Shiraz
WADA rated 74pts
Deep dark purple. Sweet confectionary nose exihibiting ultra-ripe black & blue berries....hmmmm ... make that genetically modified artifical berries. ...Also can smell some baygon! Overcloying sweetness covers up most of the acidity with a slight hint of black perpper heat on the finish. For such a commercial and generic wine like yellow tail, I think it is pretty good. It tasted better with the choc fudge cake.


Pairing Suggestions
The cuisine doesn't spike much interest in me to do any wine food pairings here. So I guess just sticking to their house wines would suffice.