Vicariously enjoy Andalucía, the sherry region of Spain, by visiting Kingston’s new tapas restaurant and bar, Mirador Café y Tabanco. Owners Nick Africano and Harry McNamara pay homage to the tabancos (taverns) of Southern Spain and invite Andalusian cuisine and wine to 636 Broadway, Kingston. Mirador translates to “vantage point” or lookout, and owners Africano and McNamara aim to provide and oversee. The ambiance is heavily influenced by the tabancos in Spain as the sun peeks through their glass-front and reflects stunningly off the mosaic tiles. The warmth of the space is paired wonderfully with the custom drawings on the wall by Africano’s father.

Influenced by their trips to the region, the dynamic partners provide many options to their patrons: you can stop in and buy an item from their provisions corner, including an array of Spanish products. You could also sit behind the bar facing the ample selection of wines with your current read, accompanied by their $5 Fino: a Fino sherry made from palomino fino grapes. Or you can have the full experience: sherry, small plates, such as their tosta matrimonio (anchovies on smokey buttery toast, $16), and exquisite cocktails ($14-15; more of McNamara’s domain). Their flight of sherry, something I’ve never seen before and highly recommend, shows the abundance of variety in this particular world of wine. Africano will guide you through the many walks of sherry. Fino ($14), manzanilla ($13), oloroso ($15), palo cortado ($15) and so forth.

Nick Africano is like a spigot of knowledge when it comes to sherry. Africano’s decade-long relationship with the wine is evident when you start asking about it. “Sherry is wine, at its core. Every sherry you'll ever have starts with white grapes and then a lot of decisions are made,” Africano said.

Within sherry farming lies problematic contingencies. One being that the majority of the sherry in production is fortified, meaning a neutral distillate is amended during the vinification process to boost its ABV. Africano believes laws will eventually change, additives will be disfavored, and the integrity of sherry farming will return. Future generations are spearheading this movement and we’re all here for this moment!

Africano’s mentor, Ramiro Ibáñez, guided him on the history of sherry and what direction it has taken. The last 70 years of grape farming plummeted where the grandiose winery showcasing became the signifier, not the production itself. Africano aims to deconstruct that idea and return to the integrity of sherry cultivation. “Talking about sherry is similar to reading a great novel,” Africano said. “When you read a great story, you get this initial joy but when you go deeper you have a more meaningful experience.” By speaking about it in depth, you sort of get into the footnotes of sherry.

With great tapas comes great responsibility. Chef de Cuisine Massoud Violette-Sheikh makes it apparent as he carries over a legacy as the former sous chef of Batard, the Michelin-starred modern European restaurant in Tribeca. Bonding through the wonders of small shared plates can either build or destroy relationships. However, it is truly fascinating to step out of the confines of fixed traditional dining and become submerged in the intimacy of every course you find yourself in. It becomes more like discussing a piece of art one is viewing and being suspended in the moment. The menu is separated into food groups (essentially) and prices range accordingly. The grilled bread with tomato ($9), their charcuterie of the day ($11), and their raw tuna loin ($16), for example, are a few options Mirador has to offer.

Africano and McNamara chose Kingston for multiple reasons. Lunch Nightly, the former occupant of 636 Broadway, closed down, and this new opportunity slowly presented itself. They found Kingston to be an exciting location, one where tapas were resurging. Prior to the ambitious project, Africano was selling wines with Enramistas Sherry Club. He communicated with neighboring restaurants and was reassured Mirador would be unique and distinct in comparison to the rest of Kingston’s dining scene. Along with the factor that Africano grew up a couple of hours from Chicago, Kingston immediately felt like home to him.

So if you are looking to gather with community or hermit independently, Mirador could be the place for you. Africano and McNamara's tentative plan for the summer is to resurrect the backyard, hopefully in due time for the hastily approaching sun and mountain lovers. Cheers and enjoy or rather, “Salud y buen provecho!”

For more information, visit Mirador’s website: https://www.miradorkingston.com/.