Simon L.
Yelp
If you like raw garlic (and to be fair, I do), then Iberico is the place for you. OK, so perhaps not the best way to draw you in, but bear with me, I am a fan - honest!
Part of the Enoteca Group, Iberico is a Spanish and Portuguese tapas restaurant, located just off the esco below Elgin Street. Unlike it's older sister Enoteca, Iberico serves good food well, and has a pleasant and welcoming staff.
The menu is primarily tapas, conveniently sectioned into veggie, seafood, and meats. But there are also mains (basically a variety of paellas), and an Iberico ham selection. For me and Mrs L, we always have the same things, and I believe this is testament to their good cooking. After all, why change something that's not broken? For us it's always; the pickled anchovies, a dozen quails eggs with salt and pepper, triple cooked patatas bravas, pan fried chorizo with duck egg, all rounded off with a seafood paella. They use liberal amounts of garlic, raw and cooked, so you better eat as much or as little as your date, otherwise there may be no special face time.
The paella is great, lots of seafood, and just the right balance of rice. It always works out to just the right amount of each - no one wants a paella that's all rice and seafood now! The last cherry on top of the paella is the fact that the chef will happily make it without chorizo, since Mrs L doesn't eat things with faces, but also put the chorizo on a side dish for me, so I can mix it in myself. That is the mark of a true gentleman!
To give an idea of costs, the seafood paella is HKD338, the veggie paella is HKD246, with the chicken one somewhere in between. Tapas dishes are around HKD100 each.
Drinks are good; a decent selection of wine, and an even better selection of sangrias. I had no idea there were so many varieties!
The staff there are great, always very welcoming and attentive. Even when it is rammed, they will try and squeeze in a walk in. They could do with updating their seating plans though, as the last time we went, we kept getting another tables food, and waving that much meat in fornt of Mrs L is not a good idea!