The adventure started off in spontaneous Barcelona.  We arrived on a sunny Catalonian afternoon and first place we visited was Mercat De Saint Josep (Saint Joseph Market) where we had our first taste of authentic tapas and ice-cold cerveza! Next we headed inland to the fascinating capital, Madrid.  Here we caught our first flamenco performance and were captivated by the explosion of passion which flowed from the music and dance.

After these two big cities, we proceeded south to Andalusia where we checked in our clocks and joyfully lost track of time.  We had a great time in Sevilla where we met manay amazing people of whom the one that left the biggest impression was a guy named Dan.  He was seemingly simple with a great sense of humour.  We would discover later, through casual conversation, that he is a bona fide Emmy Award-winner.

Finally we reached the picturesque plains of unforgettable Granada.  Here, is where the story of Zsofi Tapas Bar really began.  On arrival, we checked into the most rustic and comfortable of all backpackers’.  It had a roof garden, where Anand and I threw parties under our aliases, ‘Harold’ and ‘Kumar’, with the backpackers’ anointed as ‘Whitecastle’.  Coincedentally, it was on this roof garden that we met the lady who inspired the creation of Zsofi Tapas Bar.

Zsofi is her name.  We spent many hours together traipsing through the bohemian streets of Granada, walking, chatting, sharing ideas, experiences and laughs.  She captivated us, with her beauty, her smile and her charisma.  During our time together, we frequented many a tapas bar, where we quenched our thirst and got tipsy with delicious sangria, tinto de verano and cerveza, filled our bellies with free tapas and inevitably grew closer to each other.  It was simply unforgettable, she was unforgettable.  Unfortunately, time caught up with us and part we had to.  We did not exchange contact details, it seemed like a silly romantic thing to do at that time, keeping our perfect time together encased in this untouchable memory.

As Anand and I proceeded away from Granada on the train with heavy hearts, we reminisced that marvelous handful of days.  The idea of setting up a tapas bar then struck us.  We realised that the easy-going tapas culture in Granada was a key reason why we had so much fun partying in Granada, a catalyst for our surreal experience. We then decided then and there that we would bring that tapas culture to the pubbing scene of Singapore!  Voila!  There was no question then, that our tapas bar would be named after that special someone, Zsofi, who truly was the highlight of our trip to Spain.