Spanish Wine and Tapas on Tap

El Wine Bar: Restaurateur Steven Arroyo of Cobras & Matadors and Hillmont is teaming up with Cedd Moses, one of the men behind Liquid Kitty and 4100 Bar, to open a Spanish wine bar with tapas. The working title at the moment is Cobras & Matadors Wine Bar.

“We see it as derivative of Cobras & Matadors,” says Arroyo. “It will be a relaxed, casual bar for grown-ups.” Arroyo and Moses are planning on serving 20 Spanish wines by the glass, along with carafes and sangria. They’ll also have a wine list of about 80 wines. Prices per glass will run from $4 to $12, bottles from $12 to $600.

“We’ll keep a lot of the same wines on tap, so that people can familiarize themselves with Spanish wine,” says Arroyo. “They’ll be able to come back and have their favorites.”

The wine bar won’t serve entrees, just a dozen tapas with a few bite-size nightly specials thrown in. They’ve acquired the space of the now-defunct C bar at Wilshire near La Cienega and plan a complete renovation: “We’re not hiring a designer; we’re doing it on our own.” Arroyo and Moses hope to open their bar by Oct. 1.

Small Bites: The first of Koi’s planned “sake socials” will run from 5 to 6:30 p.m. tonight, featuring finger foods and sushi from $4 to $6 a plate along with a varied list of cold and hot sakes. Koi is at 730 N. La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles, (310) 659-9449.... The Beverly Hills Hotel celebrates the wines of Firestone Vineyards and Curtis Winery on Aug. 22 with a tasting dinner hosted by Brooks Firestone. The reception will begin in the Polo Lounge private room at 6:30 p.m., followed by a four-course dinner by executive chef Katsuo Sugiura. Tickets are $95 per person. Reservations are required; call (310) 281-2919 .... Ruby’s, the chain of ‘40s-style diners, which began with a single hamburger joint at the end of the Balboa Pier, is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a traveling birthday party that visits all of the Ruby’s Diners in California and six other states. The party includes balloons, cake and 82-cent hamburgers. (Last week, more than 2,130 burgers were sold at the Irvine location.) Call (800) HEY-RUBY for more information or log onto rubys.com.