Club Meds Try Tapas Menus And Wine Bars
by Cheryl Rosen
A new Beach Lounge restaurant concept with tapas, a wine bar and airy, open spaces was introduced at Club Med.
Columbus Isle, The Bahamas – A new Beach Lounge restaurant concept – with tapas, a wine bar and airy, open spaces – was introduced at Club Med Columbus Isle in the Bahamas two weeks ago. It already had proven popular in the Punta Cana property where it debuted; the iconic all-inclusive chain now will bring it to Cancun in July, and likely to other properties as well.
Indeed, we’ve come a long way since Christopher Columbus planted the Spanish flag here, his first stop in the new World in 1492.
With a tapas menu, an eat-in wine cellar and a bar lounge, all in an open and modular floor plan touched by light wood, the new design and Mexican-themed menu is proving to be a hit.
A small wine bar that used to hold six wines was expanded to hold 150 bottles of mostly French and Italian wines, plus whiskeys and Grey Cliff Cigars – a popular option in an upscale resort where half the guests are French and the other half are North American, food and beverage manager Juan Espinal, from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, told a press group last week.
For a $500 minimum wine order, small groups of eight or less can have their own intimate dinner and wine pairing in the room itself, hosted by the sommelier. (The top wine choices are the Minuty, a rosé beloved by the French guests, and the Santa Cristina pinot grigio, more popular with the Americans.)
Eat-in wine cellar and a bar lounge at Club Med Columbus Isle.
Where the two restaurants used to draw 120 guests a night, the new one seats just 100 and is full every night, Espinal said.
Club Med Punta Cana already has adopted a similar layout, and in July 2017, Las Cazuelas restaurant at Club Med Cancun will be renovated the same way.
