Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on July 2010

courtesy of El Club

It’s not unusual to hear izakaya explained to neophytes as “Japanese-style tapas,” but what does that make El Club? This Nishi-Ogikubo tapas bar, which opened in 2005, bills itself as a “Spanish-style izakaya.” Circular definitions aside, the description is pretty apt: the spacious interior lacks the intimacy of some of our favorite Tokyo tapas joints, and when we visited on a quiet Tuesday night, it felt a bit lonely.

The sultry weather had put us in the mood for sangria, and El Club’s fruity, well-balanced concoction did the trick (glass ¥600, decanter ¥1,700). Thirst slaked, we moved on to the wine list—all Spanish, natch—settling for a bottle of Beronia Crianza Rioja 2006 (¥3,800) that was fruity with hints of spice in the finish. If you’re feeling flush, they have bottles running up to ¥5,800, while house wine is available by the glass for ¥550 (bottles ¥2,400). There’s only Yebisu on tap (¥600), sadly, but you can get bottles of the Spanish Cruzcampo, Ambar 1900 and Estrella Galicia for ¥700.

Maybe it was just the alcohol kicking in, but the food seemed to get better as we went along. The potato in our tortilla de patatas (¥400) was just a little too firm, and the cazuelita de tomates con ajo (¥680) was surprisingly bland for a dish so heavily garlicked. By contrast, the huevos a la flamenca (¥600) was pretty damn fine: a tomato sauce laden with prawns, squid, mushroom and chopped ham, topped with a soft-cooked egg. The fish of the day was even better: a whole gurnard, cooked to perfection in a pan of mussels, clams and white wine (¥1,300). The chipirones en su tinta con tomate—baby squid in its own ink (¥600)—is also recommended, as long as you don’t mind going home looking like you’ve been kissing a tar pit.

Tokyo is hardly short on places like this, but if you’re in the area and feel like something fishy, El Club merits a look.