Tapeo is not a traditional tapas bar, though at first glance, the menu might give rise to the impression that the cuisine will be classic and straightforward.

“We wanted to do food that was tasty with a modern and sophisticated presentation,” said owner-chef Yoo Ho-sung.

Yoo, 30, who spent two years racking up experience in restaurants in Spain, parlayed his understanding of Spanish cuisine into his fledgling, 2-week-old establishment, aptly named Tapeo.

Tapeo essentially means going to tapas bars, eating tapas and whatever else one generally needs to do when dining on those small, libation-friendly bites.

To that end, a good portion of Tapeo’s menu is devoted to those toothsome eats ― though tapas are simply the beginning and not the end of Yoo’s repertoire.

Rather than regurgitate each dish and libation in textbook fashion, Yoo tweaked each concoction a little here and there.

What emerges is a menu that is playful and stylish. 

Tapeo’s sangria, for instance, is served up in a small jug, with a mini bottle of red wine upended in it.

The effect is twofold.

There is the pleasing visual pow of 187 ml of Shiraz continually refilling a punch bowl as well as the practical aspect of having a steady supply of fresh wine with each sip.

Yoo made sure that the fruit kept up its end of the deal by creating a three-tiered foundation for his sangria with a marinated apple-and-orange base, cubes of ice crafted from lemons and oranges and more fresh fruit.

The resulting libation is potent, juicy, addictively sweet and fun to drink.

Yoo took gambas al ajillo, or prawns with garlic, and reduced the quantity of extra virgin olive oil customarily used in the dish, serving the juicy, garlic-and-parsley-coated pink morsels in small, fragrant heaps. 

For Tapeo’s calamares fritos, a classic tapas dish, Yoo added cuttlefish ink to aioli for an aesthetically harmonious and aromatic, slightly saline dip that suits his meaty, crisp, fried rings and tentacles of squid.

Paired with a pint of fizzy cool Estrella Damm draft beer, the calamares fritos make for a tasty end-of-the-day snack.

In addition to tapas, Yoo serves up paella and its cousin, arroz negro.

Seafood stock gives arroz negro, which gets it ebony hue from squid ink, its depth of flavor while the socarrat ― the crust of rice at the bottom of the pan ― adds texture to the dish. The rice itself still retains chew and is not sticky, which, according to Yoo, is the correct consistency for arroz negro and paella.

“The rice should be sort of al dente,” said Yoo, who worked at a paella restaurant in Madrid for six months.

As for the rice crust, which is called nureungji in Korean and socarrat in Spanish, Yoo said, “A paella is not a paella without socarrat.”

Jamon Iberico de Bellota, an expensive, salt-cured ham made with the meat of black-footed pigs fed on acorns, is served up thin, carefully carved buttery slices. Queso Manchego, a famed Spanish cheese, is also on the menu. 


Tapeo

― 455-23 Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul/(02) 794-2848

― Open 12 p.m. to 3 p.m., 5 p.m. to 12 a.m. daily, closed Mondays

― Paella and arroz negro costs 15,000 won per person and 27,000 won for two; tapas cost 3,000 won to 7,500 won; sangria costs 12,000 won

By Jean Oh (oh_jean@heraldcorp.com)