Parador - Egg Harbor

Parador is a new Tapas restaurant and wine bar located in downtown Egg Harbor, set back a few yards from Hwy 42.

Proprietors (and marriage partners) Larry and Rebecca Majewski have a passion for food they claim has served as a "thread-line for their entire relationship". Talking with the pair certainly reveals the passion for food and the excitement for their new business venture. Larry has a wide range of experiences in the culinary field and Rebecca brings with her a charming personality and a good head for financials, with her past work experience being primarily in the field of accountancy. As far as the food and restaurant industry is concerned, that seems to be the perfect blend of skills a couple would need to make it in the trade.

Their location is the former 'Harbor Landing', which just happens to have a rather blemished history in so far as its track record for housing a successful business. One of the things I always commented on with the previous owners was its lack of visibility. The signage was always quite subdued and it could easily be passed over as a residential location tucked a few yards back from the roadside. But not now. The new Parador sign is bright and bold and tells people clearly what the place is all about.

Inside, Parador has a small bar area with a modern and bright feel and a lower dining area with two smaller first floor dining rooms. The atmosphere certainly doesn't exude Door County, it would be more at home in Madison or perhaps Chicago, but it's still a comfortable and inviting place to be.

Sitting at the bar we enjoyed a couple different wines before dinner, including their Sangria and a couple different house wines by the glass. The wine selection is fairly good but I found the measures to be quite small compared with other places. For $7 or $8 per glass there should be a more generous pour, even for a place with more upscale pretensions.

The tapas menu has a good spread of choices, with notes describing each menu item well. Other notes describe their support of local merchants and local produce, which is a nice and appreciated touch.

Prices range from around $4 to $13 per tapas.

Generally it would take at least 4 or 5 carefully selected tapas per person to provide adequate sustenance, at least as a full meal, so on this occasion I indulged myself with 5. Rather than describe each item in detail, it would be simpler to refer you to their menu here, and you can see what is available for yourself. The food is fresh, nicely prepared, flavorful and vibrant. Clearly a great deal of attention has gone into the design and execution of the menu, and clearly the items are made fresh to order. For those people with larger appetites, you may end up selecting 5 or even 6 tapas to find yourself fully satiated, with wine/beers that could prove quite expensive. Our bill came to $160 with a 20% tip, which bought us a total of 8 tapas and 6 or 7 drinks. (they do not serve liquor), so it's certainly a fairly expensive meal option, even for Door County.

Of course many people will indulge in tapas as an appetizer, before moving on to a different location for a full meal. The concept of tapas in their place of origin - Andalusia, Spain, is that they are not treated as an 'appetizers', rather, small plates of food to accompany drinks. Tapas are not generally served in restaurants, instead, most Spaniards meet first at tapas bars, where they may move from bar to bar drinking wine and eating different tapas at different locations, before finally settling into their restaurant of choice for the evening.

So you'll have different ways to incorporate Parador into your evening out. Either spend the entire evening enjoying a nice variety of tapas as your main meal, or stop in for a couple tapas before moving on to another restaurant in the area.

I enjoyed the experience very much and hope that it proves a successful venture for the owners. It's never easy to start a new food business, particularly in a community with such a short season, perhaps only 8-10 weeks at best. But the new owners seem to have the credentials to make a success of Parador, and the food certainly won't let them down if they manage to maintain the high standard set during their opening.

Check them out for your self - recommended!

My rating -

Food 9/10

Service 8/10

Overall Experience and value 7/10

Score - 24/30

Parador - 7829 Highway 42, Egg Harbor, WI   54209

(for a map and directions, click here)

Phone: 920-868-2255

Find Parador on Facebook at  Parador – Egg Harbor, WI