My friend Therese said that. And my friend Therese is usually a little shy with her compliments.
I wouldn’t go as far as Therese with my praise but I will say that the tapas were very different from what I’ve traditionally had in Spain.
The occasion was Therese, Don Day’s Wife and I’s first ever visit to the recently opened Etapas, The Spanish restaurant is in a simple but charming three storey house on Jesus that’s been home to at least five restaurants in my memory. Though I’d eaten in the building a couple of times, it was the first time I’d ventured up to the third floor terrace, to what the restaurant calls Terraza Dali.
The furnishings are a bit haphazard but I’m guessing that’s just the result of using leftovers and skimping a little on start-up costs. There is a bit of a view but it takes a bit of head-bending to take it in.
I helped the ladies decide we should drink a Verdejo, which might just be the perfect outdoor quaffing wine, particularly when the cuisine is Spanish. The taste was as refreshing as ever, as was the cost.
75% of the wines on Etapas list are $600 or less. The first wine on the list is a Beronia Crianza that I pay $300 for at La Europea. Etapas marks it up to a tiny $475. Haven’t they heard that 200% is the standard for a restaurant within three blocks of San Miguel’s jardin?
No matter how old I get, I still cherish receiving a complimentary amuse bouche. The aperitivo at Etapas was a creamy shot of gazpacho topped with a shaving of ham. Nice start.
I mentioned that the tapas are different at Etapas. I could have said very different. There are no croquetas, no papas bravas, no boquerones, no chorizo.
And when I think tapas, I think snack size, bite size. I think small plates. Etapas tapas are giant sized. All enough for two. Some enough for four.
We started with what the restaurant calls Coca Catalana, a thin, crispy toast topped with layers of fresh zucchini, roasted red peppers and cashews, marinated salmon and sun-dried tomatoes. The combination worked wonderfully. The dish was a first for the three of us.
I thought for the moment I was in a Japanese restaurant when the next plate arrived. What looked just like an avocado roll was, indeed, avocado on the outside and had kimchi inside but the rest of the ingredients, mostly shrimp and mango, gave it a very original overall taste that took us far from Asian shores.
Our third starter was one that all three of us were familiar with. But usually in an Italian not Spanish restaurant. Etapas’ chef/owner sous vides his filet at a low temperature for an hour rather than serving it raw like traditional carpaccio.
The sauce is a holendesa de mostaza and, when we suggested the sauce be spiced up with a little more mustard, the chef agreed and told us he had already spoken to his sous.
The topping on the beef is something very Mexican, very new to a Spanish chef. The beef is decorated with lightly pickled huitlacoche, a fungus that naturally occurs on corn. We liked the original touch.
The serving of beef was enormous. A quarter of it went home in a box, enough for a decent sized sandwich the next day.
The chef at Etapas is the very proud, confident and meticulous Fabián Quiles. How he landed in San Miguel is one of those delightful happy/sad stories.
The story begins in Barcelona, three years ago.
“I started from almost nothing”, said chef Fabián, “and I finished with a restaurant that was making more than a million Euros a year.
“I was driving a Porsche. I was living next to Shakira and Piqué. I had a beautiful apartment. I had everything I could want to make a person happy.
“Then, suddenly, covid arrived. One day, you’re making 1,000 Euros. The next day you’re making nothing.”
Cut now to late October, 2022. The beautiful apartment and the Porsche are gone (“my emergency kit” the chef called the car) and, encouraged by friends, Fabian Quiles is searching for restaurant space in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.
“I was in a car when the agent sent me a video of the property. I went to see it. It was being used as a pizzeria. It was exactly what I wanted, exactly the place to start my life over again. I sat down and started crying.”
We were already enjoying the renaissance of Fabián Stiles and we still had mains to come. One of them was a wow.
Cooked simply and perfectly, Mexican robalo can rival Alaskan black cod or Chilean sea bass with it’s taste and texture. Chef Fabián’s robalo was moist and flaky with a simple topping of salted pumpkin seeds on the crispy skin. It sat on a bed of butternut squash with a side of carrots. It was “simply wonderful” in Don Day’s Wife’s words. I agreed.
With all the large servings, we only had enough stomach space to split one dessert. We asked chef Fabián which one he was most proud of and he chose the maracuya. The sweet/sour passion fruit is served with a nice and light mint and coconut foam. Again it was something very unexpected and very welcomed in a Spanish restaurant.
San Miguel de Allende already had a good, traditional Spanish restaurant in Bulla. Now they have a very good non-traditional one in Etapas.
The house on Jesus that Fabián Quiles has chosen once had a very traditional central courtyard. The kitchen now occupies the ground floor and the patio the third. But Fabián’s ambitious dream also includes the possibilities of a lounge and bar on the second floor and taking advantage of a spacious, flat roof.
We left wishing and hoping that his dream comes true.
Etapas and Terraza Dali are located at Jesus #5 in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. The restaurant is open from 1:30 to 10:30 pm, every day but Wednesday. Reservations are available at opentable.com.
Don, you provide a great service for SMA residents and visiotrs looking for new food adventures.
Can you now provide a grammar service for your readers as well? Try MY first visit to Etapas instead of I’s first visit. Trust me! the first is correct, the second is not! It’s never I’s first visit and never I’s nee car and I’s favortie wine! Not even if it’s a compound subject!So it’s my wife and my NOT my wife and I’s!
I have been lucky enough to go to Etapas twice…and yes, diffferent from one of my favorite cities, Barcelona, but I agree with everything Don Day experienced and would add the burrito with green salad…huge and excellent! The service on both occasions has been a little confusing, but appreciate the chef/owner always coming to talk to the tables (a la Marco at Casa Nostra).
😁😁😁good lesson I hope well
received
Visitors is not spelt visiotrs ……! And favourite is not spelt favortie either…..!
Yo, hey teach! (Claire)
you too and also too
are not completely correct.
Possessive case?
Donde esta?
I’m all for the “my” and I’s corrections…but there are two people there!
(and there IS a “there”there–ha ha , get it?)
Not one alone.
Dr. Davidson
Nice story Glenn. I wish him well, When I first saw his photo I thought it was the cooking instructor/chef
David Jahnke in SMA. We’ve enjoyed a class with David. At the end of the class he threw together a half dozen simple tapas that we recreate at times. In Barcelona we gorged on tapas and loved Quimet & Quimet which miraculously catered to 100 standing patrons without panic or error, all from a closet-sized notch in a laneway wall. I kept ordering just to watch the process and accepted plates passed over head by the cooperative patrons. One fave was fresh anchovy on dried apricot with honey drizzle.
Great review as always. Only wish fellow readers wouldn’t post irrelevant comments that are not very nice. Thanks for turning me on to a new place!
I agree! Correcting spelling and grammar? Really??
Agreed
Dear Don
El hank you for this was looking for something new and tapa style, booked it for Tuesday with my love Mariana, will come back with feedback, cheers
we love it, creative and delicious, elegant but simple and not pretenious
GOTTA TRY IT SOON, FRIDAY IS MOST LIKELY. THANKS FOR THE HEADS UP COMPADRE. YOU HAVE NOT LED ME ASTRAY IN THE 4 PLUS YEARS I HAVE FOLLOWED YOU 🤗 ♥
We were there last week and enjoyed the jamón serrano with pan jitomate, the paella and a very authentic crema catalana with a very nice Ribero del Duero for $600. There are views of Las Monjas and the Parroquia from the Terraza Dali. Still a few details being sorted but nothing serious and we will be back soon. Looking forward to trying the róbalo.
Great review. Can’t wait to try this place. Tapas rule!
Great review of a great new restaurant. Oh dear, now at our new favourite restaurant a reservation will be hard to make after you telling all your readers just how great is Etapas restaurant.
My biggest takeaway is that Therese needs a better list of tapas restaurants in Spain.
I went last Saturday with two friends and can’t believe your review. We had four tapas between us and had to have a sandwich at home afterwards. The food was relatively tasty, but is not comparable to a Tapas bar in Barcelona. I don’t want to be a cynic, but maybe you had extra large portions because you write reviews.
Had your same experience. Spent a hefty sum of money for MX and had to go home and eat again. I was not overly impressed. Not sure, I’d go back.
Excellent service
Beautiful food presentation
Lovely 3rd-floor table location
Food portions were on the small side
Good (not excellent) food flavor
Expensive for San Miguel 2,000 p for dinner for three, 4 alcoholic drinks included