Sitting in an intimate setting while listening to live flamenco music and enjoying wine and tapas — it’s easy to get lost thinking of Europe while inside The Turquoise Cafe Bar Europa. Only it’s not in Spain, France or Italy — it’s in north Pacific Beach. “My idea was to re-create the feeling of the European café that I saw when I was in Europe, which is basically a whole different kind of feeling than a typical restaurant,” said owner Basilio Ceravolo. The Turquoise Cafe Bar Europa offers an oasis to those in need of a slower pace. The focus is as much on the atmosphere as it is on the tapas. “It’s a place where you go to hang out, enjoy company, listen to music, maybe have a glass of wine or a coffee, talk to friends and have a little bit of this and a little bit of that,” Ceravolo said. Tapas are commonplace in Spanish culture and can best be compared to appetizers in terms of portion size. But that is where the comparison stops. “They’re appetizers, but not exactly because appetizers usually are designed to be salty and something that makes you drink more,” Ceravolo said. “Tapas are delicious on their own, somewhere between an hors d’oeuvre and an appetizer. They are so flavorful that you don’t want to eat the whole piece — you want to take a bite and share it.” The menu at Turquoise Cafe Bar Europa has hot and cold tapas, soups and salads from a number of different western European countries. It also features entrees and meat and cheese platters for traditionalists. “Our tapas don’t just come from one country, but they come from a whole region,” Ceravolo said. “The region of the western Mediterranean has inherited the style and the history of ancient times. The thing you see in common is that they all have the same kind of food.” For those looking for a deal, the sunset tapas menu is served every day from 5 to 7 p.m. The menu includes $3 tapas and $3 wine, beer and sangria. As for the atmosphere, Turquoise Cafe Bar Europa has live music every evening, ranging from flamenco to jazz to blues. The live music provides a bit of a throwback. “The theme of our restaurant is going back into another time and place where there wasn’t any recorded music, where everything was live,” Ceravolo said. “If you got music, you saw it live.” Well off the beaten path of the Garnet Avenue scene, Ceravolo said Turquoise Cafe Bar Europa provides a social change of pace. That’s why there aren’t televisions anywhere to be found in the bar. “It’s a really good place to get the people that don’t want to be in that kind of craziness and just want to have a relaxing atmosphere,” Ceravolo said. TURQUOISE CAFE BAR EUROPA WHERE: 873 Turquoise St. HOURS: Open at 5 p.m. every day. INFORMATION: www.theturquoise.com