Yats Magnum Wine Bar

If hotel bars and coffee shops no longer cut it and girlie honky-tonk bars don't to a thing for you, then you're salvation if you find yourself having a night on your hands in Angeles/Clark is a place called Yats Restaurant and Magnum Wine Bar. I am not here to talk about the restaurant. Someone else should review that extraordinary fine-dining venue. I want to tell you about the Magnum Wine Bar or the "Magnum Room" as they call it out there.

The Magnum room was as I was told an after-dinner room where dinner guests can retire for a cigar and a few glasses of Cognac, Single Malt, Armagnac, Port or Sauternes. Food is not served here except for cheese and maybe a bit of dessert, nothing that is going to require a whole arsenal of cutlery.

Yats Wine Bar offers a good range of Cuban cigars like Cohiba Siglo 1 to 6, R&J, Monte Cristo and even the fabled Trinidad which is Castro's personal favorite.

A good selection of Highland, Lowland and Isley Single Malt and some blended scotch complements an equally rich collection of Cognac and the rarely seen in these parts, Armagnac. Prices are roughly 20% lower than those in hotel lounges.

The dessert wine from Sauternes/Barsac, Loire's Bonnezeaux and Quarts de Chaume are a rare treat. But nothing compares to the luxury of ordering vintage and colheita port by the glass!

Magnum Room is a small place by wine bar standards, seating about 20. Decor is very chic, a fusion of Asian and european themes it appear but I am not much of an interior decoration person so I won't say too much and expose my ignorance. The place was full when I was there with a party of 4. We occupied a corner table and spent 2 very comfortable and enjoyable hours. The crowd was 50-50 foreigners and locals, most smacked of business executives but there was one table of Chinese tourists very well dressed, looking like they were celebrating a minor victory at the Casino a few meters down the road.

If you want to know more, just visit www.YatsRestaurant.com. the place is not cheap compared to street-side bars but is not as expensive as hotel lounges. Personally I'd spend my time (and my money) there instead of in the hotels. How about you? Telephone is (632) 637-5019 if you want to make bookings. You should. It is a small and popular place.