First Bites: Pipa Movida off to promising start
When we think of tapas, we inescapably think of Spain where it all began. Hot and cold tapas are the light snacks that bar-hopping Spaniards enjoy after work to tide them over until dinner (which in Spain generally doesn’t start until 10 pm). In Spain, entire districts in vibrant urban areas are dedicated to tapas bars.
So finally, a tapas bar, Pipa Movida, comes to Vero. And instead of locating beachside within a stroll of the Ocean Drive hotels, or perhaps on the mainland in the arts district, it sits by itself out on a lonely stretch of US 1 in the building that once housed the Hardwood Grille. Not a lot of stop-in-for-a-glass-of-wine-and-some-tapas customers in walking distance.
So can this newcomer to the Vero dining scene succeed? Perhaps very nicely, judging from diners who packed Pipa Movida nightly during its opening week.
Headline news: Anyone who tries Pipa Movida (which roughly translated from Spanish slang means “good time scene”) is likely to come back. Not only are the hot and cold tapas interesting and very tasty, but management and staff have their act very much together – making visitors feel welcome and very comfortable with their menu.
Look & Feel: Completely redone, Pipa Movida bears no resemblance to the Hardwood Grille except for the open kitchen with its wood oven – which is used now to provide wood-oven pizzas. Much lighter and brighter, with an attractive bar along the south wall where diners -- as in Spain -- can stand and move about while eating tapas, Pipa still has more of a restaurant than bar feel.
Food: On our visit three days after Pipa opened, our party of five – anxious to try a wide variety of dishes – hopelessly over-ordered.
We started – after a Spanish red tempranillo wine and an Argentine chardonnay – with an avocado and pear salad ($8), a large salad with mixed greens, smoked almonds, pumpkin seeds and citrus dressing , and the trio soup ($8) – very nicely presented small cups of mushroom, chicken noodle, and French onion soups.
While both were okay, our recommendation would be to go straight to the cold tapas, which are definitely more interesting.
Next, we ordered three selections from the cold tapas menu: the shrimp and calamari ceviche ($9), the cones ($10), and the Pipa duet ($8).
The shrimp and calamari ceviche is an excellent dish, but is served in a narrow glass that renders sharing extremely difficult. (Maybe that’s for the better because you won’t want to share.) The cones are small ice-cream type sesame cones, filled with smoked salmon, caviar and crème fresh. Yummy. The Pipa duet consists of chunks of manchego and gouda cheeses, served with a tasty roasted eggplant spread.
From there, we moved to hot tapas. Our party sampled five of these. The twisted mushrooms ($9) consisted of baby portabella mushrooms pan seared with a shrimp and spinach topping. These were interesting, but were definitely surpassed by the next four:
The goat cheese stuffed dates wrapped in prosciutto ($8); the Florida lobster nuggets ($12), pan-fried lobster chunks served with mango chutney and remoulade; the coffee crusted lamb chops ($11) served in a roasted red pepper chocolate sauce with a spicy asparagus salad; and the blue cheese crusted beef tenderloin ($11), beef seared and topped with gorgonzola butter.
Forced to pick one, it would be a close choice between the lamb chops and the blue cheese crusted tenderloin. For dessert, a wonderful bananas foster ($4) narrowly edged out a flourless chocolate torte ($6) as our top choice.
Drink: Pipa Movida has an interesting but limited wine list – wines by the glass from $5 and no bottle priced at more than $26 – and beers all under $4.
Service: On the evening we visited, service – for a crowded restaurant that had only been open three days – was spectacular. But at week’s end, the owner admirably expressed concern about being able to maintain a high standard of service if swamped with diners. While the restaurant continues to hire and train staff, management requests that for at least the next couple of weeks, people call for reservations instead of arriving unannounced.
Prices: The tab for a party of two – with a glass or two of wine, and sharing a couple of cold and a couple of hot tapas – would likely come to $60 to $70 before taxes and tip.
Initial impressions: This restaurant deserves to be a winner. With interesting food and great service in a very attractive restaurant, we predict that Pipa Movida will deservedly gain a lot of new fans this season.
I welcome your comments, and encourage you to send feedback to me at tina@verobeach32963.com.
The reviewer dines anonymously at restaurants at the expense of Vero Beach 32963.
Hours
5 pm to closing
Bar
Wine and beer
Address (MAP)
7401 US 1, Winter Beach, FL, Phone: (772) 562-5544
