Olé Spanish Restaurant still seduces after three decades in Hong Kong

The city's oldest Spanish dining spot is very much at the top of its game after 27 years in Central. Carolynne Dear was invited to put new executive chef Salvador Benedicto through his paces

Olé Spanish Restaurant - a smorgasbord of delicious dishes from all over Spain

Tucked away on Ice House Street stands one of Hong Kong’s oldest dining locations. It is, in fact, Hong Kong’s longest-standing Spanish restaurant, opened in 1998 by Madrileño Carmelo Lopez.

Lopez landed in Asia in the 1970s and was keen to bring a little Iberian flair to the city. Olé opened with all you would expect of a classic Spanish dining spot, from the glazed terracotta floor tiles to the colourful pottery pieces and artworks filling the nooks of the cosy space, specially flown in from Lopez’s home country. 

Olé has changed little over the years, the pots are still in place and incredibly the restaurant is even in the same location, which is something of a miracle in ever-evolving Hong Kong. It may not be a ‘trending’ destination, but in a city where restaurants come and go quicker than you can unfold your napkin onto your lap, it is all credit to Lopez that Olé has lasted as long as it has; if nothing else, he obviously knows a thing or two about hospitality.

Olé Spanish Restaurant - Chef Salvador Benedicto has joined the team from Catalunya

While it remains resolutely traditional, Olé isn’t resting on its laurels and this month welcomed Catalunya’s Salvador Benedicto as its new executive chef . 

Benedicto has quickly made his mark on the menu. Leaning into Olé’s respected reputation as a space that does authentic Spanish cuisine very, very well, he has introduced ten new dishes inspired by regional Spanish specialities and his native Catalan cuisine. 

Read more: Where to eat Christmas lunch in Hong Kong

I was delighted to receive an invitation to try the new menu and on a cooler Monday evening was surprised to find every table full of diners, all busily having a very jolly time of it. Olé neighbours the Foreign Correspondents Club, and in 15 years as a FCC member, I have regularly passed Olé, but never been inside. Customers, many of them loyal regulars, were being warmly welcomed into the softly-lit restaurant, and a guitar-playing duo was serenading diners as they sipped sangría and tucked into tapas. Wine bottles lined the decorative spiral staircase and the guitarists worked the room, taking requests as they wound their way around the neatly naped and draped tables.

Myself and the bloke were ushered to a corner table where drinks (a red wine sangría for me, a beer for the bloke) were speedily delivered as we perused the new menu. 

Olé Spanish Restaurant - regulars are delighted he Spanish-influenced interiors have changed little

We started with baby squid stew in the Basque style with green beans. I am not a calamari fan - deep-fried squid borders a little too much on the beige for me - but this dish was cooked to perfection, not a breadcrumb in sight, just silky slices of squid in Benedicto's homemade tomato sauce. The clams marinera-style with onion, garlic and tomato sauce were equally delicious with just the right amount of chilli. But it was the crab and salmon roe potato salad, based on the Andaluçian speciality, ensaladilla rusa, that stole the show. It was superb and took me right back to my days as a perennially penniless and hungry student at the University of Granada, hanging around bars for tasty tapas.

Next came an exquisitely rich cod loin with a gratin of garlic, egg yolk and cream. Feeling rather full, we paused for a while, until the most enticing whole Ibérico lamb shoulder was deposited on our table. I adore lamb and the tender meat slipped off the bone as we dug in. Benedicto slow-cooks Iberian milk-fed lamb from Castile-La Mancha in central Spain for 20 hours, resulting in a tender and delicately flavoured dish.

A burnt Basque cheesecake rounded the evening off nicely and just in time the guitarists reached our table, harmoniously plucking away through our pudding course. 

Olé is full of heart and its dishes reflect the rich traditions of Spanish hospitality and cuisine. Many of the diners during our visit appeared to be Olé old-timers, easily chatting with staff and chefs as they worked their way through the menu. I certainly hope to stop off more regularly between gin and tonics at the FCC in the future. 

Olé Spanish Restaurant, 1/F Shun Ho Tower, 24-30 Ice House Street, Central; 2523 8624; https://www.olespanishrestaurant.com.hk