Q&A With Eddie Torres of Global Bar and Lounge

If you’ve never been around the world there’s no need to cry for all the things you’ve missed – foodwise because Eddie Torres of Global Bar and Lounge promises to give you a taste of what you’re missing.   

The tapas restaurant and bar opened just a short time ago in Gales Ferry but apparently business is good. Torres says that he’s got some regulars and people are saying great things about the food and the atmosphere.   

The restaurant specializes in small plates, called tapas, and customers often order a variety of plates to share. There are also bigger options and entrees and considering that Torres is an award winning tapas and entrée chef, we should expect nothing less.   

Here’s what we’ve learned about Eddie Torres so far –   

So, what’s your cooking background? 

Torres says he has worked in all kinds of kitchens all along the East Coast from Virginia Beach to Fisher’s Island before settling here in Gales Ferry. Those stops included high-end kitchens at the Double Tree and Marriot along with plenty of corporate catering work in between. Torres just left a corporate catering position to begin his new venture in Gales Ferry. His partner in the kitchen, Michael Farrell, graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in New York.   

Why did you pick Gales Ferry?

Torres noted that Route 12 is a very busy route. 

“I saw a lot of potential in this place, it just needed to be redirected,” he said. “The backyard is essential to us, we plan to do stuff in the backyard.”     

What influences your menu? 

Torres said it’s a little eclectic with a lot of different fusion items influenced from other regions like Asian, Mediterranean, and Southern cuisines.   

“I was inspired by the fact that the Navy base is right there and I designed it to fit what’s going on around the area,” said Torres. “There are a lot of different cultures coming through the area. My whole intent was to bring everybody in from different cultures and different backgrounds.”  

Torres’ tapas menu has items like empanadas, marinated jerk chicken skewers, crab cakes, seared Ahi tuna, shrimp eggrolls and the list goes on. Don’t get the wrong idea though. He cooks up bigger plates for people who are more hungry and he has a variety of changing dinner specials each night such as prime rib, pasta Bolognese, chicken parmesan, seafood Fri Diablo.  

Torres is definitely not pinned to the menu though and loves to cook to order and off the cuff. 

"That's one of the things that makes me happy," he said of cooking. "Is WOW'ing people."

Oh and FYI, for all you mozzarella, tomato and basil fans, if you remember nothing from this article remember this: the house salad is a caprese salad!  

Keeping in mind that Torres wants to entice a crowd with a little bit of the exotic and a lot of the crowd pleasers he’ll sync his evening entertainment with the menu to some extent.   

He said he’s planning on tailoring his food and drink specials to go along with themed Country, R&B, and Latin night, etc.   

What do you think people are going to keep coming back for? 

Torres said the food definitely and the atmosphere. 

“I really want people to feel comfortable here,” he said. “My goal is to give the customer a clean, safe environment where they can relax.” 

Torres said he hopes to attract a mature crowd who likes good food.   

Did we mention that he has partnered with Felicia’s SweetFace Pastry Shoppe for desserts?   

“She does a really good job and she was excited and she knew what we could do,” he said. “It was almost like brother and sister working together.”   

He said teaming up with Felicia for desserts helped him keep things fresh and creative.

 “That’s what we want for our customers. With Felicia, we still have that fresh item, that fresh meal that we’re trying to present."  

Global Bar and Lounge is located at 1598 Route 12 and they are open on Tuesday to Thursday from 4 p.m. to 1 a.m.; Saturday from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. and Sunday from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Closed Monday. The phone number is 860-942-2339   

Check the Global Bar and Lounge Facebook page for drink specials and dinner specials.