Vino Tinto – Spanish tapas and bar in CBD

The footprints of Latin American cuisine are slowly increasing in Singapore. The latest entrant into this scene is Vino Tinto, a Spanish tapas and wine bar at Raffles Place in Singapore. The restaurant is helmed by chefs Daniel and Tamara Chavez who are known for Canchita, Tinto and Tomatillo. This is their fourth establishment, and is located in the heart of CBD.

Vino Tinto is located in lobby of an office building and diagonally opposite Lau Pa Sat, making it extremely accessible and convenient for business lunches and dinners. The seating is more open concept, with a casual and unpretentious atmosphere. This 40-seater serves tapas, and a selection of Spanish wines from various regions of Spain.

If you are looking for vegetarian options in Spanish food, then they have a separate vegetarian menu with a lot of tapas and a few mains. For the month of April, Vino Tinto is showcasing an asparagus month which contains special dishes highlighting this ingredient.

In Spain, the Pan con Tomate is a classic version of bread with tomato and extra virgin olive oil. Vino Tinto offers an elevated version of this on toasted crystal bread with burrata, manchego cheese and dried figs. Every bite was filled with a combination of sweet and salty flavours, and the quality of the ingredients came shining through. Highly recommended.

It never hurts to try a refreshing and chilled soup in a tropical climate. This dish was bursting with “fresh from the garden” kind of summer flavours and was served at a perfect temperature.

If you want to experience Spain on fork, then the Spanish broken omelette is a good option. In this version, mushrooms, smoked cheese, onions were used along with eggs and topped off with parsley and potato chips.

Padron peppers in Singapore are mainly found in Spanish restaurants. These little nuggets of flavour are small and bright green peppers from Spain. Served with hummus and almonds, these peppers did not have any significant taste of their own and were underwhelming.

Paella del Campo is a vegetarian paella that highlights the versatility of white and green asparagus with Spanish flavours. This is a special only for this month but Vino Tinto has an another vegetarian paella as part of their standard menu. Apart from asparagus, this dish has Spanish saffron rice, baby zucchini, Japanese cherry tomatoes, potatoes and lemon aioli. The moistness of the rice in the paella was just right and contrasted perfectly against the crispy rice at the base.

If you like cakes with citrus flavours, do not miss this! The Valencia orange cake is a delight for its spongy and light texture. The layers were bursting with orange notes and slices and the olive oil ice cream pairing on the side enhances this dessert. Highly recommended.

Finding churros in Singapore is difficult and hence one wants to try these deep-fried fritters with sugar in a Spanish restaurant. For me, this dessert turned out to be miss with a lack of crispiness and some pieces not being completely fried through.

The food at Vino Tinto was a bit of hit and miss, considering all the courses. The customer service was friendly and attentive. In terms of the portion sizes, the food is served in tapas style, so order for sharing accordingly. If you are looking for a quick catchup for business lunch/dinner or meeting friends at a central location in Singapore, then Vino Tinto is worth visiting.