AND then there were three(top): Vicente Baamonde, Dani Aliaga and Sergi Rostoll. THE new Barcino at The Fort: bigger and more polished, but no less charming than its older sibling in Ortigas.

PERHAPS the idea had been germinating since the standing-room-only nights began at the little tapas bar. A room was added, but despite the increase in floor area to make a full 100-square meters, the clientele still had to spill outdoors on busy nights. Expansion meant another bar—in another place. And so Barcino at The Fort was born. On the ground floor of a new residential tower. On a tree-lined street, far away from the frenzy of the strip mall.

How different will their new baby be from its sibling? I was invited to take a look during the final, harried weeks before the bar would open to the public. There is a second floor reached via a winding staircase with a wrought-iron railing. The smoking area is here, set apart with its own entrance and its own bar. Across it is another dining room that looks out over the trees and the expanse of green lawn beyond. The ground floor replicates the rectangular-floor plan, with the staircase (serving more as focal point than divider), rising like a wood-and-iron sculpture. I thought the bodegito, the glassed-encased, walk-in wine-chiller set with a table for four, would be the most coveted seating. (I was right.) What did I think of the lavatory with its sliding door and cream-stone interiors? It seemed the owners pulled out the stops with this one, perhaps because it was the one luxury the original Barcino didn’t—and couldn’t—have. (But we didn’t mind walking to the public restroom downstairs.)  

The new Barcino is more polished, bigger and brighter but the “look” is the similar. There is the same controlled disarray of wine boxes and wine crates stacked along walls and corners; the blackboards announcing the wine list and the menu in colored chalk; the posters and photographs and shelves holding wine bottles. The menu hasn’t changed, apart from the addition of new items like the dates wrapped in bacon and the lumpia sobrassada. Prices have remained the same despite the new upscale surroundings. The wine list still carries the best bargains in Spanish wines in Manila. And there are its charming owners, Sergi Rostoll and Dani Aliaga, taking turns at welcoming guests. I believe it was this shuttling to and from Ortigas and Makati that made it necessary to have a new manager for Barcino at The Fort.

Then there were three. They recruited their friend, Madrileño Vicente Baamonde, to manage operations—and the kitchen too at the new Barcino, juggling the chores of hosting and waitering, plus cooking with the same warmth and kindness that Sergi and Dani are known for. And on the nights when the three are there, their camaraderie and enthusiasm are obvious—and infectious. How wonderful to see. This, without doubt, is Barcino’s edge over the competition. (And the fact that they are good-looking certainly helps, confides one female regular.) But it takes more than that to make a new venture successful. Sergi, Dani and Vicente know that too well.  The novelty of a new watering hole can draw in the crowd, but it is keeping them that is the hardest to do. Running the old Barcino and getting the new one on its feet can take its toll on more than body and spirit. “Uña y carne...,” Dani said once, about the bond with Sergi, his childhood friend and business partner, likening it to the closeness of “nail and skin.” For these three, there is the friendship—and the wine and the tapas to sustain them on this new adventure.  

Vinofile

• Barcino, The Fort , Unit 101-102 Forbeswood Heights, Rizal Drive, Fort Bonifacio, telephone: 468-5942

Call to reserve, if you want coveted seating—like in the bodegito or beside the upstairs windows with a view of the trees. 

Best-sellers under P1,000

BARCINO carries many wines south of P1,000, but those above that line rarely top the P5,000 mark.

Beronia, Altozano, Valformosa, Piñol and Vilarnau are the labels to look out for. But in both Barcinos, these are the perennial favorites—and not just because of the price:  Conde de Siruela Joven, D.O. Ribera del Duero Ripe red cherries, leather and mocha on the nose, velvet tannins and a juicy, chocolate-y finish

Valformosa Klasic Brut When you want a pretty bubbly without breaking your budget. Apples and toasted nuts on the nose and the zing of citrus and fine bubbles on the palate.

Raig de Raïm, D.O. Terra Alta From the Piñol estate, a garnacha-syrah-cabernet sauvignon-merlot blend with round but firm tannins.

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