Tapas are rare in New Mexico, so if you’ve never tried them now is the perfect time to head to the newly opened Cosmo Tapas on Central Avenue.
Good tapas always present a dilemma for me, because if they are good, I’ll probably want more than a tapas-sized portion, and that was exactly the case at Cosmo.
The food fits right in with the atmosphere, with mood lighting and live music in the lounge every weekend. The lounge also offers comfortable seating in swanky red chairs and low black tables that face the stage area.
The menus are all dressed in manila envelopes, which open to offer several different types of tapas, including meat, seafood, vegetable and dessert. There are selections from Spain, where the tapas concept originated, but there are also Asian and Mediterranean dishes. You can get anything from scallops sautéed with garlic, hot pepper flakes and sherry, to vegetarian spinach and tofu empañadas.
Cosmo Tapas also has a variety of specialty drinks. I tried a virgin mint mojito that was a delicious taste bud tease. You could also try the Cosmorita, which has Sauza Tequila, citrus liqueur and lime juice. There’s also a good beer selection.
From the meat tapas section of the menu, the lollipop lamb chops ($10) sounded most intriguing. I also ordered the tortilla española ($8), which is a mix of eggs, onions and potatoes with aioli sauce and the option of chorizo.
The tender lamb was presented off the bone, and it came with strong but delicious olive tapenade and goat cheese topping.
The tortilla española was a savory version of the ones found in Spain, and the chorizo added a nice smoked-meat flavor to the dish.
The desserts were so tempting that ordering only one was just not an option, so I got the Puerto Rican style flan made with cream cheese ($5) and a meringue with lúcuma mousse and berries ($5). Lúcuma is a sweet fruit from Peru that tastes like caramel, which gave the custard a pleasantly sweet but not over-sweetened flavor. Guillermo Loubriel, who co-owns the restaurant with his wife, Cecilia Kido, said the flan is made from a recipe his mother made for him as a child in Puerto Rico. Both desserts were sweet and delicious and left me full, but not stuffed, thanks to the smaller portions.
Kido and Loubriel have lived in Albuquerque for about 30 years, and Kido has worked as a chef at various restaurants in the city.
Kido was born in Chile, and Loubriel was born in Puerto Rico. Loubriel said he was inspired by the foods of his home country, as well as the emphasis on music and socializing, when he was shaping the environment at Cosmo Tapas.
Overall, the restaurant offers a good place for students to hang out and eat something light. The prices might be a little high for a student budget, but Loubriel said students who show their student IDs can have a free dessert.
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