Iberico & Co.

I'm visiting HK with my mum and was looking for more than a whole in the wall kitchen with a crate to sit on while eating noodle. Iberico & Co did not disappoint. Large portioned tapas, a generously sized dining room with comfortable and upholstered seating and a lovely expat buzz. My mum even got chatting to another man.

The slow cooked lamb was a standout, as was the pan fried chorizo and duck egg. I enjoyed constructing my fish taco with avocado and salsa too and the thrice cooked potatas bravas was a real winner.

I would come back here again this trip, if I could. So many restaurants and so much to try! Iberico & Co won't disappoint.

dined 10/4/14
A little late in reviewing, but it was so positive and enjoyable, that I had to share the good news.

We arrived early for dinner, so had a choice of tables. Staff wanted to seat us in the open air part, close to the very front of the restaurant. Since it was hot, we asked for, and were accommodated at a table in the middle of the restaurant, under the needed air conditioning!!

We started off with two tapas; the Padron Peppers, $87, and the White Anchovies, $74. While the pepper dish was ample in size, it was incredibly boring in taste. However, the large sardines were expertly seasoned and enjoyable.

For our main, we shared a non-meat version of the Seafood Paella, $338. This was delicioso y mui excellante!

For dessert, we shared a Date Pudding, $70. This too was excellent. See photos.

All in all a very comfortable place to dine. Service was adequate, as the staff had an attitude, yet food was impressive, thus the rating of 4 stars.

Need an all-day dining option? This is a good spot!

They have good happy hour deals on weekdays starting at 3 pm. Select cocktails and beer can go as low as $35HKD! They also have a good wine list that's affordable by the glass.

We were a bit peckish one Sunday afternoon so we stopped by and ordered their tasting platter, which had 30 g each of serrano, lomo, chorizo, and salchichon iberico. It was served with some hearty bread slices and gherkins. I wish they could add some cheeses, but after all they are named "Iberico" so I guess I'll let it slide, haha.

As it's along the escalators, it's a nice spot to chill over drinks and small plates while you people watch. If you're lucky, you might even witness some tourists who trip and fall at the end of the escalator because they were clearly not paying attention while taking selfies! (Yes, I've seen this happen before and it is schadenfreude at it's finest!)

I have ordered the Burger during it Sunday brunch period. The food taste real good but on the expensive side for a burger.

Also ordered a Spanish draft beer and love the selection of draft beers that are outside the standard.

However, the waiting staffs service was too mechanical. Yes, she was efficient but I would prefer to be served by someone with a smile than a sad face.

The options of water provided requires a good $50 or so. To safe a bit of money in water, ask for warm water.

They asked us what water we wanted: still or sparkling? You would think that the typical customer would assume that still means TAP or water that is not charged.

Turns out they charge $62 HKD for bottled organic still filtered water from Wales. They agreed to take off 1 bottle from the bill (out of 2) but we were still charged for the other bottle.

The waiter even admitted straight up that they arent supposed to offer tap water as part of their business model. Fucking shady, much? Thanks for the honesty but that is some bullshit.

You can easily make good by taking both off the bill and next time we come back again we know to ask for just tap, but nope.

Hmmmm... I've been here only once... And if it was my choice, I probably wouldn't choose to come back. To be fair, I came here for the brunch menu on a Sunday. Fyi, Brunch ends at 4:00 p.m. So, I ordered the big breakfast. A hearty portion of eggs (I had mine scrambled), 3 square pieces of really salty roasted pork, a small fist sized tomato, chorizo sausage, one slice of baguette bread, & 3 slices of blood sausage all served on a hot skillet. A lot of food for about $160 HKD.
I was satisfied but not impressed.
(Should have went to Motorinos next door)
I do like the overall feel of this place. A good place to grab a drink with the girlfriends or even a casual date with a dapper chap or a fancy little lady.
So get your drink on at the bar area and have food somewhere else.
If I come back for dinner, I'll be sure to update the review!

At its heart, Spanish food promotes quality of ingredients, quality of execution, but most of all, simplicity of its recipes. At Iberico & Co., they get the last part correct, while failing in many different ways.

I couldn't fault the general construct of their dishes which follow themes that all good tapas venues will feature. Namely a primary ingredient propped up by a bit character to elevate something simple - say an excellently seasoned melange of tomato and basil piled upon competently toasted bread ($62) - a ridiculously elementary dish which was unfortunately one of the few winners of the meal. The same went for a lovingly braised lamb shoulder ($108), one of the only dishes that received smiles of delight from our table, rather than eye rolls and angry quips that followed most dishes.

On the other hand a three ingredient dish of chorizo, duck egg, and an over abundance of acrid onions ($97) felt like a Freshman attempt at tapas - utterly missing finesse (raw onions) and a stingy hand with only a whisper of chorizo actually present. A dish of octopus marinated with parsley, chili, and lemon ($98) - understandably significantly more difficult to execute - was a failure in its sponginess and overwhelmingly fishy flavor... Aye dios mio!

Frustratingly, the massive menu of tapas standards kept striking out, despite the ease of execution. Goat cheese stuffed piquillo peppers ($62), served ice cold and obviously pre-made days in advance, delivered with about as much soul as lift muzak.

Service also failed in its naivety of the food and wine they were attempting to sell - multiple service staff couldn't describe the wine list beyond general superlatives such as "good" and "popular". When prompted for food recommendations, we were steered only to the most expensive dishes without further explanation.

The buyer's remorse continued with the delivery of what should have been the highlight of a sub-par meal: the $340 seafood and chorizo paella. Instead, it compounded the disappointment and annoyance of the entire table who had to endure through insipid rice, rubbery seafood, and most damning, the lack of any inspiration in the form of the socarrat (crisp rice), which is the hallmark of the dish. Without that crispy contrast, the paella at Iberico & Co is reduced to an overpriced, weakly flavored, mushy rice, with bits of half-assed ingredients thrown in.

At the surface, this restaurant resembles a cutting edge and trendy tapas restaurant. At it's heart, Iberico & Co is a misinformed impostor posing as the real thing.

In the heart of SoHo, just off the mid-city escalators, you'll step out of Hong Kong and onto the Iberian Peninsula where your evening will be filled with tapas and red wine. The food is generally good without being particularly memorable or remarkable, the prices are a high but fair, and the service is friendly. It's worth considering if you're looking for a change of pace from the normal Hong Kong fare, but I wouldn't go out of my way to find it.

MUSHROOM BRUSCHETTA, $89: Rather than a few small pieces of toasted bread with mushrooms on top, the bruschetta came as one large piece of toast with a mushroom cream sauce, rocket, and a bit of truffle oil. I loved the thick chunks of mushroom but the sauce was too creamy and heavy.

SEARED GOOSE LIVER, $149: Not as rich and delicate as foie gras, but certainly satisfying.

CHORIZO AND CHICKEN PAELLA, $294: A good dish for sharing, the flavor profile was pretty darn close to what I was expecting. The dish looked and tasted as if it were cooked in a larger paellero and transferred to the smaller serving one as there was none of the expected crunchy rice lining the bottom (isn't that the best part?).

CHURROS, $72: Another good dish that just wasn't quite great. The churros were cooked all the way through (I prefer mine to be just a touch doughy in the middle) and could have used some cinnamon. The chocolate sauce was creamy and rich.

TEMPRANILLO: At $311 for a 1/2 carafe, the Vina Bujanda Reserva Tempranillo 2010 was decent but overpriced.

Saw the Sunday brunch sign outside the restaurant so dropped in as I was staying close by.

Liked the environment and the wait staff were friendly but the food was unmemorable and the drinks were spotty. Hated the Cava Mojito, had a good Bloody Mary, then had a terrible Smokey Bloody Mary.

Maybe I'll give it another try during dinner but freaky wasn't that impressed the first time.

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!