MANILA -- Araneta Center isn't exactly the place to go when looking for a good wine bar. These bars can be found in Manila's ritzy areas like Makati's central business district, Taguig's Bonifacio Global City, and Entertainment City in Parañaque.

But Novotel Manila's new tapas and wine bar Sabor Bar de Vinos changes all that.

Sabor Bar de Vinos, or simply Sabor, levels up the sophistication at Araneta Center. The bar opened last month and it proved to be a right decision for Novotel Manila Araneta Center.

Nonito Cuizon, the hotel's assistant marketing and communication manager, shared that the bar has been serving a lot of expatriates from nearby offices and its hotel guests for the past few weeks.

“The choices here in the area is very limited, especially for expats” he said. “Now, our guests and these expats from nearby BPO (business process outsourcing) companies have somewhere to go to when they need a glass of wine or two.”

The bar is situated on the ground floor of the hotel, beside its buffet restaurant Food Exchange. Sabor is actually located in a space formerly occupied by the restaurant. That small yet cozy space below the escalators, plus the smoking area were converted into Sabor.

Several wine bottles are displayed in the floor to ceiling, temperature-controlled glass cabinets in the main dining space. The furniture is all natural, wood, steel, and glass. Barrels that were converted into tables adds a nice touch to the wine bar atmosphere.

Sabor has an extensive list of wine, some are even from the personal collection of the Araneta family. Some of the wines include the Waterfalls Road Eddy sauvignon blanc, Haut Brion Bordeaux's premium Clarendell, and Anna Codorniu Rose, among others.

Every month, the bar features a specific wine and this month, the Spanish wine Castillo de Almansa is on the spotlight, specifically its Garancha Tintorera and Verdejo Sauvignon.

And for special occasions, Dom Perignon champagne is available for guests to indulge in.

Aside from the wines, the bar's signature sangrias are a definite must-try. The Sangria Blanco is a refreshing white wine sangria with green apples, cucumber, and basil for garnish, while the Sangria de Rosa is a pretty pink rosé sangria with orange and cherry. The Fortress Sangria is a full-flavored red wine sangria with brandy garnished with an orange rind and a cherry.

And the best way to enjoy these drinks is with some tasty tapas. Probably its best-selling dish is the gamabas al ajillo, which uses sustainable prawns. The prawns are flavored by olive oil, garlic, white wine, paprika, and pepper flakes and served with toasted slices of focaccia bread.

Sabor's fried dishes are also a treat, like the bitterballlen, a Dutch meatball made of tender braised veal, roux, and spices. The deep-fried balls are served with a spicy and tangy mustard sauce.

The beetroot arancini is a classic Italian fried snack made of bright beetroots and goat cheese.

There's also the mushroom croquettes—deep-fried sauteed diced portobello mushrooms and potato mash.

The bar also serves various bar chows from different cuisines like ham and cheese quesadilla served with a trio of dipping sauces—guacamole, queso, and sour cream. An elevated version of the Ilocano dish dinakdakan, is served hors d'oeuvres style. The bar will also serve ebi (shrimp) tempura soon as requested by the guest.

While the menu seems to be confused, offering a variety of cuisines, according to chef de partie Glenn Estrella, the menu is still being finalized and will be made available during the bar's grand launch next month.

He also said the varied cuisines is a conscious choice so the menu would appeal to all of its guests. Some of the dishes the bar offers are also available at Food Exchange and its other dining concepts.

“When we created the menu we wanted something that's easy to prepare and served in small portions. The menu is not final yet but we want a menu that appeals to all of our guests,” Estrella said.