(City Weekend)
Updated: 2007-05-25 09:16

The popular King Parrot Group of theme restaurants has been expanding in Hong Kong since 1993. El Cid is probably their most well-known chain, serving affordable Spanish tapas in a festive atmosphere.

This is the first location in Shanghai. Despite the agreeable prices (most tapas are around RMB 30), most of the food here runs from bland to insultingly bad. We wonder if the chefs have been schooled in Spanish cuisine. Sampling 15 tapas, we were disappointed with the entire lot. The calamari rings were like double-fried onion rings. The chorizo was served crispy and leathery in sour oil. A "good" vegetable dish turned out as tasteless phillo wraps filled with miniscule bits of spinach. Even the sure-fire potatas bravas were like college fare. We ended up filling up on bread and butter, which, mercifully, is provided free of charge.

El Cid has a nice atmosphere, location, and friendly vibes from the staff–but they have got to do something about their food. Perfect for: taking a chance on Spain.

El Cid
Location: Bridge 8, 25 Jianguo Zhong Lu
Tel: 021-61379377