New Downtown Bar to Focus on Mediterranean-Style Tapas

Scheduled to open next month, Tapas & Beers is a new bar set to open in downtown’s historic Spreckels building, where it replaces a French bistro. Its proprietors, Francois Patanchon, who owns Le Papagayo in Leucadia, and business partner Jean Vincent, who hails from the south of France, hope to attract both locals and tourists to the casual space, which will offer a Mediterranean-influenced menus of tapas, from cured meat to crostini and mason jars filled with homemade hummus and served with locally-baked bread. The 1,600-square-foot space includes a mezzanine level for lounge and community seating as well as private events.

Open for lunch and dinner daily, Tapas & Beers will also serve soups, salads, shareable flatbreads, burgers and panini, plus larger entrees ranging from a grilled sausage sampler to prime rib and classic Spanish paella. It will have an everyday happy hour from 4 to 6 p.m., with a special large-format paella prepared every Thursday’ weekend brunch will feature mimosas, omelets and gluten-free pancakes. The bar will stock 20 taps of San Diego beer as well as a European-leaning wine list and signature sangria, with a DJ spinning tunes Thursday through Saturday nights as well as during weekend brunch service. Co-owner Vincent told Eater that they hope to take the concept to other local areas including Hillcrest and North County.