/ Reviews / Spanish
Fill ‘er Up
by Tom Lee
on Friday, April 15, 2011 12:00 AM
"All you can": the words summon to mind one of the various Japanese joints in town serving out endless platters of sushi, sashimi and teppanyaki, accompanied by tokkuri after tokkuri of sake. Taking this concept and giving it a Spanish twist, the trio of owners at All You Can decided it was time that more Western establishments took the same approach.
Despite the connotations of the misjudged name, All You Can is not filled with bleak rows of unappetizing steamed buffet items wallowing in their own grim misery. It's actually a reasonably nice, homey affair; a hangout spot for its three owners, who were sick of overpaying for wine.
As one of the proprietors, Joan Cuadrench, gripes: "We'd pay at least RMB200-300 for a bottle of wine every time we dined out!" As he saw it, the value was, on the whole, abysmal, so he and his partners decided it was time to offer folks a cheaper alternative: an all-you-can-eat-and-drink deal for just RMB258, including eight pages of food - dominated by Spanish classics but including Italian pasta and American burgers - complemented by imported red and white Villalta wine, Suntory Beer, house pours of gin, vodka, rum and whisky, and soft drinks.
Not wishing to force feed their patrons, the owners have included a la carte prices for everything. Simple staples are the foundations of the kitchen, including Catalonian favorite Tomato Bread (RMB28) - a mix of olive oil, onion and crushed tomato atop toasted ciabatta - and the jaw-exercising Fried Calamari (RMB78). Spanish Croquetas (RMB48) are the house specialty, offered with a ham, chicken, beef, egg or plain filling, and stuffed with béchamel sauce - these are delicious straight from the kitchen but turn soggy if let for too long idling on the table.
While, in theory, there is a two-hour limit to the revelry, as long as you don't stay forever or get ridiculously soused the staff are likely to let you carry on quite indefinitely, chomping through the regions of Spain with a glass of wine forever in hand.
Value for money trumps all other considerations when it comes to this all-you-can-eat-and-drink orgy.
Note: All You Can has since changed its name to Ole.
