‘Sultry’ new wine and tapas bar promises unique dining experience in downtown Tacoma

Tapas isn’t finished, the owners of downtown Tacoma’s newest restaurant say — the Spanish style of savory small plates just needed a little reinvention.

Amor Wine & Tapas will open at 705 Pacific Ave., hopefully by spring, with an eclectic menu inspired by Mediterranean cuisine, taking cues from Morocco, Spain, Italy and France. A lounge and bar area will dominate the front half of about 1,700 square feet, while the back will offer a more intimate dining room with a unique service model.

Chris Dasef, who is building the restaurant with his wife Elizabeth Dasef, calls it “tapas at the table.” They are still fleshing out the details, but they anticipate having a rotating selection of about a dozen tapas in three price points ($6, $9 and $12).

What makes it unique is how you will get that tapas — boquerones with marinated anchovies to roasted piquillo peppers stuffed with salmon mousse, house raviolo to crab cakes dressed in romesco — to your table.

Instead of ordering from a server, staff will ferry dishes from the kitchen one tier at a time. If you like what you see, you take a plate. If not, you wait for the next tier to emerge. If you prefer, said Dasef, “You can say, ‘We want to guarantee we’ll get one of each.’” That option will be offered for a flat rate.

For drinks as well as salads and a handful of mains, you will order traditionally off the menu from your server. If seated in the bar area, the service model will feel similar to the standard setup.

“The idea is to have fun with the food,” added Dasef, a contractor who previously operated several restaurants and venues in Seattle including Chop Suey, Comet Tavern and Temple Billiards. “The concept really allows the chef to be creative.”

WINE & FOOD AT AMOR

Like many of its neighbors, this 1915 unit boasts very high ceilings, which will be painted black and adorned with striking chandeliers. Elizabeth Dasef is managing the design. On neutral walls, floor-to-ceiling prints will cover two of the walls. One will picture the top and stem of an apple and the other the very center of a rose. They have worked with a DJ to curate playlists to set the mood.

A nook in the entryway will host the other half of the Amor experience.

Led by sommelier Randall Reader, who left the tech industry to pursue a career in hospitality and beverage management, a retail section will show off bottles you can take to your table or bar stool. Tasting notes will be posted here and on the menu in an effort to remove barriers to finding and enjoying wine.

“We’re going to make that un-intimidating,” said Chris Dasef.

Reader is curating a selection of about 80 bottles inspired by the same regions as the food, as well as from Washington, Oregon and California. His style leans toward the high-acid and food friendly. Select wines will be available by the glass, on top of a full bar with beer and cocktails.

“I hope it will be a place people come for interesting wine,” he said.

On-menu entrees ($22-$38) will be listed with wine pairings, too, such as a quaffable barbera with a bowl of spaghetti puttanesca, or a crisp Australian white with roasted chicken, collards and a parsnip and pear puree.

Dishes reflect Vargas’ varied background. A Mexico City native with family in the Seattle area, he began his career in pastry and has worked at restaurants including the Tuscan Catinetta with three locations in King County, the Spanish-inspired Terra Plata at Melrose Market and the French-leaning Coterie Room (since closed in Belltown). Most recently, he was part of the opening team at Shama, a modern Moroccan concept at Pike Place Market.

“The presentation has to be really, really nice,” said Vargas, who is aiming for “elegant” and striking platings.

The team is particularly eager to bring an out-of-the-ordinary weekend brunch to Tacoma — something the owners, who moved to town several years ago, have yearned for themselves.

Dasef said he has been developing this concept for a “long, long time.” A casual search for the right location had, until now, proved elusive. The Pacific Avenue space also upgraded the idea from wine-and-charcuterie to full service, with seating on both a sidewalk and back courtyard patio in warmer months.

AMOR WINE & TAPAS

▪ 705 Pacific Ave., Tacoma

▪ Details: swanky but approachable Mediterranean-inspired restaurant with rotating tapas and full bar; target opening Spring 2023

This story was originally published February 16, 2023 at 7:00 AM.