WEST HOLLYWOOD: We knew if we dropped enough breadcrumbs about Tinto, a tapas bar taking over the former rowdy Hunter's at Santa Monica Blvd. and Gardner, that someone would eventually bite. Co-owner Juan Sola Jr. gave us a call this morning to talk deets. Tinto will be as authentic as he, his father, and Tokio owner Reg MacDonald can make it, complete with a Spanish chef (Justo Vicent) who worked with Ferran Adria at El Bulli. He said he knew the city needed a real Spanish restaurant after going to the not-so-authentic Ole! in Studio City: "It would be like you going to an American restaurant in Spain, ordering a hamburger, and getting something completely wrong."
The Solas and MacDonald were partnered with Eric Weitzman, who (we forgot) died last December. The group pressed on with plans for the restaurant, with the blessing of Weitzman's family, and hopes to open by July. Sola stressed to us that the restaurant will only serve beer and wine (sound like the neighbors were concerned), which will hopefully drown that pesky Hunter's legacy for good.
· EaterWire: Tinto Coming to WeHo, Changes at Ole Tapas Bar...
