Tapas and paella have long stood in for Spanish food in the Philippines. Loose enough to cover almost anything from the peninsula. Pintxos are narrower and, in some ways, more demanding. Asking a kitchen to make single bites worth the toothpick across a menu.
Bar Pintxos still serves the tapas and paella that Filipino diners expect from a Spanish restaurant. But its identity almost wholly rests on the pintxo selection built out of trips through San Sebastián’s bars.
[We] primarily focus on creations of different pintxos.” Tells Chef Albert Mendoza, General Manager and Group Executive Chef of Grupo Pintxos, the group also behind Txoko Asador and the Michelin-selected Goxo.
“A lot of Spanish restaurants would offer you different variations of tapas, paellas, and cochinillo. Of course, we have those — but what we really have is our wide selection of pintxos.”
What exactly is a pintxo?
Pintxos (pronounced PEEN-chos) are small morsels of food. Traditionally skewered with a toothpick or built on top of a piece of bread, hailing from the Basque region of northern Spain. Tapas, on the other hand, come from southern Spain. Where the term can mean almost anything served in a small portion.
Where tapas culture is expansive and communal, pintxos are precise, single-bite compositions meant to be eaten standing. One after another, across several bars in a single evening.
And Bar Pintxos plays by the same rules.
What exactly should I order?
The Team’s visits to San Sebastián are directly reflected on the menu. The bestseller is a montadito, mozzarella chopped with aioli and set on bread. A dish intended to be plain by design and meant to be eaten standing between conversations.
There’s also a foie gras pintxo finished with apple compote and balsamic vinegar. And a smoked salmon version layered with goat cheese yogurt and honey. These pintxos are deceptively simple, packing complex flavors all in one bite.
This one-bite concept is the entire point. A single bite, done with enough care, can carry as much intention as a full plate.
Chef Albert’s own favorite pulls from a different tradition altogether. Capipota is a Catalan beef stew made with oxtail that’s simmered down and served with rice pilaf. He calls it a “cousin to callos” with its own identity. And says that Bar Pintxos is, as far as he knows, the only restaurant serving it in the Philippines.
The Pintxos Experience
Beyond the food, Bar Pintxos is trying to import a habit rather than just a cuisine. In San Sebastián, pintxos are less a sit-down meal than a way of moving through an evening. With diners drifting between bars rather than settling at one table for the night.
Bar Pintxos condenses that habit into a single space. Letting a night-out unfold with the same small bites without asking anyone to hop between multiple different addresses to get there.
What we want for our customers is to experience Spain, the Basque region, San Sebastián, here in the Philippines,” Chef Albert says.
You don’t have to travel outside of the Philippines to experience that; just go to any Bar Pintxos branch and enjoy.”
Bar Pintxos has four branches across Metro Manila, in BGC, Rockwell, Alabang, and White Plains.
Read more Stories on Simpol.ph
What’s Cooking at AC Hotel by Marriott Manila
A Plateful Of Heritage At The Tribute Hotel’s Don Tomas Restaurant
POP MART Unveils Its First Southeast Asian POP BAKERY at Resorts World Sentosa
