First Look: We Try Some Tapas at Sangria y Cerveza

The draw of tapas bars is the opportunity to sample several different dishes without (theoretically) breaking the bank or your waistline in the process. It’s especially good for the indecisive among us; instead of having to choose between two tempting mains, you can get 'em both in smaller portions, and even order a third, fourth or seventh little bite later when the waitstaff comes back to get you another cocktail. Of course, this can be dangerous to the aforementioned bank account and waistline if you’re not careful.
Sangria y Cerveza in Plano, which opened this past May, promises such an experience, featuring a fusion of Northern Mexican and Mediterranean flavors served up in small plates along with craft cocktails and a decent beer and tequila selection. They use the word Mexiterranean on their website.

It’s a little hard to find, nestled in the back of a strip center a block east of the Dallas North Tollway, but just be on the lookout for the blue and fuchsia neon sign near the door and you’ll be fine.
Inside there are several nooks and crannies of seating, along with an outside area and the bar as a focal point, with colors and neon lighting that will make you think you’ve stepped into a bar on the strip in Miami Beach.
There are two happy hours here: 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. and a “reverse happy hour” from 10 p.m. until closing, when you can get $3 domestic beers, $5 frozen drinks and house Old Fashioneds as well as several $5 shots. We went with a frozen red sangria and a Oaxaca Old Fashioned, which uses tequila instead of rye or bourbon, cinnamon agave, mezcal and Oaxaca bitters, both of which were fine, but would have been even better at $5 a pop if we’d planned the time of our outing better.
Once we were lubricated a bit we started ordering, starting with a chips and dips flight. This comes with four different dips and salsas: queso blanco, salsa roja, avocado salsa and salsa verde. All were pretty good — the queso above average and the avocado salsa a nice balance of heat and creaminess.
The Ranchero Pizza was up next: a large flour tortilla with a refried bean base and topped with salsa, cheese, pico de gallo, pickled red onions, red bell pepper and queso fresco, along with our protein choice, barbacoa. It was an interesting fusion of flavors; other protein choices include chicken, pork, pastor, steak and shrimp.
We ordered some tortinis next, which the menu describes as “Mexican sliders,” which is apt. These come two to an order on toasted buns layered with pico de gallo, guacamole, mayo, cheese and pork. The cheese was grilled to a crisp, which provided a wonderful texture and mouthfeel to each bite, the pork tender and flavorful.
Finally, we had a Tinstar taco. This arrived open-faced on a freshly grilled flour tortilla topped with a generous portion of grilled steak and potatoes with a side of habanero sauce. Maybe a tad steep at $7.50 for one (larger) taco, but if one wants to indulge in tacos, on Tuesdays street tacos are $3 and specialty tacos are $4, and street tacos and quesadillas are $3 from noon until 2 p.m. daily as well.

While perhaps not providing the variety of small plates that one usually finds at a traditional tapas bar, Sangria y Cerveza’s tapas instead are more like slightly smaller mains found at a traditional Mexican restaurant. Other options, for example, include enchiladas, sopes, tostadas and flautas, as well as some skewers and a carne asada platter. Still, it was a fun environment and did provide a bit more variety of shareable plates.

Sangria y Cerveza, 6149 Windhaven Parkway, No. 140, Plano; Sunday – Thursday, 11:30 a.m. – 1 a.m.; Friday – Saturday, 11:30 a.m. – 2 a.m.