When you call Moncho's de Barcelona to make a reservation, there may be some confusion: "La Sca . . . I mean, Moncho's de Barcelona." It's an understandable mistake; a few weeks ago Moncho's was La Scala Malibu, and much of the staff remains. Other La Scala remnants: framed celebrity pen-and-ink drawings and the curious way that the restaurant's wine stock is scattered throughout the place under the dining room's harsh light.
The menu, though, is new. Mostly, there are tapas , the munching food of Spain, which are usually eaten standing at a bar. Here, you sit in booths and nibble at things like cigalas , small, tender langostines nicely sauteed with garlic; breaded croquettes of shrimp; steamed octopus or mussels; seafood-stuffed cannelloni. There's also more substantial eating in Moncho's very good seafood paella and "The Crazy Fidea," sort of a Catalan seafood paella made with vermicelli instead of rice.
