GRUB | ¿CóMO? Taperia x Spanish Tapas Bar x Mount Pleasant

Mount Pleasant—Vancouver's newest Spanish tapas restaurant ¿CóMO? Taperia, located just off 7th and Main in the still yet to be completed Ellsworth Building, certainly opened with high expectations, lofty ambitions, and a sterling pedigree to live up to.



Cómo might not be an actual Barcelona eatery just off Las Ramblas, but it's as welcome and close a facsimile as we are going to get. The colourful and warm 1,549-square-foot restaurant balances its classic fresh bar, tableside hightops, and conventional seating in a quaint but fun 60-seat space under high ceilings.

Galician octopus (with slices of fingerling potatoes)

Behind the bar and kitchen comes an all-star team of co-owners/proprietors in Executive Chef Justin Witcher, award-winning bar manager Shaun Layton, and Meat & Bread co-founder Frankie Harrington who are all longtime local restaurant veterans.

hamburguesa con foie (hamburger with foie gras mousse)

Despite their very non-Spanish backgrounds and thanks to many trips to España and some thorough research, Cómo blends a solid mix of old country authenticity and local touches for a really pleasing tapas bar experience with as much Spanish influence as possible.



One of the most popular and pleasing (also very photogenic) dishes is devilish in its simple deliciousness. I enjoyed the roja's potato goodness (below) alongside Cómo's take on the classic negroni—there's called "SL's Negroni 3.0"—for good measure.

huevos roja (whipped mashed potatoes with chorizo, salsa, and fried egg)

With a menu divided into several specialty sections (frito, platos, à la plancha, meat and cheese, etc.) from imported canned goods (conservas) to fresh concoctions and traditional tapas, there were a plethora of different sharing plate options for some trademark Spanish dining.



Some of the finer dishes were the simplest including the truffle grilled cheese or staple hamburguesa while something like the more expertly prepared octopus or squid (chipirones and romesco) dishes were a delightful combination of flavours.

chorizo and bikini (grilled cheese sandwich with truffle oil)

Cómo certainly lives up to the promise of its impeccable restaurateur credentials and does a fine job in replicating enough of the thoroughly enjoyable parts of any authentic Spanish tapas bar quite splendidly. Come again?

Update: Cómo Taperia finished second on Air Canada enRoute's 2019 Best New Restaurants list as one of three BC restaurants in the top ten.


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