Ibiza Tapas & Wine Bar In Danbury Stylishly Showcases The Authentic Food Of Spain (Plus Grand Opening Photos)

In January, Spanish restaurateur Ignacio Blanco

opened his third Ibiza Tapas & Wine Bar

in a strip mall on booming Mill Plain Road in Danbury,

joining older siblings located in Hamden and Northampton, MA as well as more upscale parent Ibiza Restaurant in New Haven. The Hat City restaurant is slightly larger than his other three restaurants, combining the distinctive modernistic color palette of the tapas bars and the mural work of the original Ibiza in the Elm City.

Wines are distinctively displayed

and the bar top is etched with shapes and twinkles magically with inset lights that change colors.

The murals are the work of Farmington resident Emma Marianetti, who also did the murals at Ibiza Restaurant in New Haven and O’Porto, Agave Grill and Costa del Sol in Hartford, to name but a few, and who, with her boyfriend Ronnie,

also does general interior work. Here is a tour of the murals, beginning with the galloping bull in the entry (which people really like to pose with),

this smaller mural at the outer end of the bar,

the main mural,

and this smaller mural by the kitchen.

Even the bathrooms are indicated by “his” and “her” murals,

the interiors benefitting from Blanco’s design sense and Marianetti’s interior work.

There are also for-sale paintings by other artists hung upon the walls.

Unlike the original Ibiza Tapas in Hamden, the Danbury restaurant’s menu isn’t entirely made of smaller and larger tapas and actually includes a few main courses. All of the tapas, however, are priced under $10.

Our friendly server, Yara,

brought us a nice wine from the Jumilla wine region.

We nibbled on marinated olives and Marcona almonds while trying to decide what to order.

Our first wave of tapas included tortilla al momento, or a fresh made potato and onion omelet with aïoli,

Serrano ham and bread drizzled with extra virgin olive oil,

marinated anchovies served with avocado over crisp olive oil toasts

and slices of a Galician-style albacore tuna empanada.

Our second wave of tapas included codfish croquettes with aïoli,

toasts topped with Nevat goat cheese, dried fig, walnut and truffle oil,

marinated blue fin tuna with tomato, scallion, black olive and sesame oil topped with crispy potato,

and slow-cooked baby back ribs with fried potato and a BBQ aïoli.

Our third wave of tapas included grilled shiitake mushrooms with olive oil, garlic, parsley, lemon juice and Guindilla pepper,

a roasted vegetable crêpe with Idiazabal cheese sauce,

baby lamb shank “ravioli” served over sweet potato purée,

and possibly best of all, the hamburguesitas Ibiza, which are beef and oxtail sliders with Manchego cheese, roasted tomato and an au jus dipping sauce.

We then tried two of the main dishes, eight-ounces of grilled rib eye steak with potato, strips of roasted piquillo pepper and an ajili mojili sauce

as well as salt-baked sea bass with tomato, scallion, pine nuts, raisins, potato, carrot, mushroom and smoked Spanish paprika.

And finally, we had reached the desserts, which are housemade, including the ice creams. We enjoyed crema Catalana (similar to crème brûlée, but creamier),