Tapas Bar Near Me in Chinatown: Esquina on Jiak Chuan Road

If you are near Maxwell or Outram Park and searching tapas bar near me, the best answer is a corner shophouse four minutes from Maxwell MRT. Esquina, which means corner in Spanish, opened at 16 Jiak Chuan Road in December 2011 as a project of hotelier and restaurateur Loh Lik Peng, part of his Unlisted Collection of design hotels and restaurants. Today it is led by Barcelona-born chef-owner Carlos Montobbio, who cooks a contemporary take on Spanish and Catalan food.

Montobbio brings more than two decades in kitchens to Jiak Chuan Road. Esquina's own biography lists stints under the Roca brothers at three-star El Celler de Can Roca in Girona, at Zuberoa in the Basque Country and at Cinc Sentits in Barcelona. That mix of Catalan grounding and Basque training explains the menu: grilled seafood and cured pork on one side, playful snacks that borrow Japanese produce on the other.

The name is the restaurant's thesis. Spain's best casual meals, the team argues, happen in unassuming corner spots where strangers end up sharing wine. Loh Lik Peng's group runs hotels and restaurants in Singapore, London, Shanghai and Sydney, and Esquina is billed on its site as an Unlisted Collection restaurant. Nearly fifteen years after opening, it still sits on the same corner, with a terrace that spills onto the five-foot way.

The à la carte menu dated 24 September 2026 opens with small bites priced in Singapore dollars. Marinated Spanish olives with anchovy pesto are S$8, as are the anchovy sticks with bottarga aioli. The gilda pintxo, a skewer of smoked tuna, piparras and olives, is S$8 a piece, and Cadoret oysters with jalapeño ponzu and pickled ginger flower are S$9 each.

Croquetas of Ibérico ham with piquillo pepper mayo cost S$12 for two, and pan con tomate on crisp crystal bread is S$8 for two pieces. The tsukune, an Ibérico pork secreto skewer finished with foie gras, is S$9 a piece with a minimum order of two, a neat example of how Montobbio folds Japanese technique into Spanish ingredients. Order the padrón peppers with chimichurri and hot sauce, S$15, while you read the wine list.

The splurge snack is the uni toast with burrata and Oscietra caviar at S$22 a piece. For cured meat, Joselito Ibérico de Bellota ham aged 48 months costs S$38, and a Spanish cheese board with caramelised eggplant is S$25. The organic egg with chorizo broth and a manchego and potato mash, S$15, is the warming dish to order when a monsoon shower rolls through.

Vegetables are not an afterthought. Momotaro tomatoes with salmorejo and burrata ice cream cost S$16, roasted cauliflower with cauliflower couscous, serrano ham and Manchego is S$20, and the Spanish artichoke with Jerusalem artichoke, burnt onion sauce and gremolata is S$18. The grilled Sucrine lettuce with herb yoghurt and macadamia, S$16, is a light way to balance the richer plates.

Larger plates are built for sharing. The Mediterranean fideuà, a noodle paella with carabinero prawn and crispy baby squid, costs S$48, and the Hokkaido seafood paella of lobster bomba rice, sea urchin, scallop and cuttlefish is S$68. Grilled octopus with corn sauce, chimichurri and chorizo oil is S$35, and the Basque-style seabass with clams and salsa verde is S$38.

From the meat section, grilled Ibérico pork presa with mojo picón mash is S$32, the 250g Black Angus entrecot with Catalan romesco is S$45, and an 800g txuleta of Black Angus rib is S$128 for a table. Spanish suckling pig with rhubarb, green apple and mulled wine jus comes as a S$68 portion or a S$148 half pig, which is the order for a group of four or more.

Esquina partners with Gramona, the family-owned Catalan producer from the Corpinnat area of the Penedès. On the wine list dated 28 July 2026, Gramona La Cuvée Brut 2022 is S$108 a bottle, the Imperial Brut Gran Reserva 2019 is S$138, and the long-aged III Lustros 2015 is S$198. Among the whites, CVNE Monopole 2025 from Rioja is S$85. The list notes that prices are before 10% service charge and 9% GST.

The partnership also drives events. On Wednesday 21 October, Esquina is hosting its annual five-course Gramona dinner with brand ambassador Mauri Coupet, pairing biodynamic, long-aged Corpinnat wines with dishes by Montobbio. Bringing your own bottle costs S$78++ corkage per 750ml, waived one-for-one for every bottle bought from the list.

Esquina serves lunch Tuesday to Saturday from 12pm to 2.30pm, with last orders at 2pm. Dinner runs 6pm to 10.30pm Tuesday to Thursday and 6pm to 11pm on Friday and Saturday, with last orders at 10pm. It is closed on Sunday and Monday. Reservations are recommended, and walk-ins are taken when there is space.

The outdoor terrace is pet-friendly, so dogs can join you at the alfresco tables. The restaurant is cashless and accepts Visa, Mastercard and American Express. Street parking along Jiak Chuan Road is limited at peak times, and the restaurant points drivers to the open car parks on Neil Road and Duxton Hill.

Jiak Chuan Road is a short street of restored shophouses running off Keong Saik Road, the former red-light lane that is now one of Singapore's densest dining streets. Before dinner, walk the length of Keong Saik for a look at the pastel facades, then cut across Neil Road toward Duxton Hill, a quiet slope of bars and shophouses.

If you arrive early by train, Maxwell Food Centre sits beside Maxwell MRT, and the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple is a short walk away on South Bridge Road. After a late dinner, the bars along Keong Saik and Duxton are close enough to reach on foot, which makes Esquina an easy first stop for a longer night out in Chinatown.

Address: 16 Jiak Chuan Road, Singapore 089267. Hours: lunch Tuesday to Saturday 12pm to 2.30pm; dinner Tuesday to Thursday 6pm to 10.30pm, Friday and Saturday 6pm to 11pm; closed Sunday and Monday. Nearest MRT: Maxwell on the Thomson-East Coast Line, about four minutes on foot, or Outram Park on the East-West Line, about nine minutes. Cashless only. Prices are subject to 10% service charge and 9% GST.