lsb

Can anyone recommend a tapas restaurant. I will be staying in the West 50's but willing to take a cab for good tapas, thanks!

hpluss1

You should go to La Vara in Brooklyn. The food is so delicous! They also have an AMAZING red wine on tap. It also has a very nice ambiance, nice waiters, cute bartenders, and it's very quaint and charming place. You should definitely make a reservation.

The owner of that restaurant also owns two others which you could also try.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/22/di...view.html?_r=0

http://www.yelp.com/biz/el-quinto-pino-new-york

http://www.txikitonyc.com/

maryanntex

I've eaten at Tia Pol a couple of times and thought it was really good. It's on 10th between 22nd and 23rd. http://tiapol.com/

Austin

I like Boqueria. I've only been to the one in SoHo but there are a few in the city

http://www.boquerianyc.com/

paradeofmonkeys

Nai, which means mother in Gallego, makes wonderful tapas with both tradtional tapas and a tip to the modern. He makes each tortilla to order.

Casa Mono, Batali's joint, is too fussy and too expensive for tapas.

Tia Pol is very good but quite small.

I do not understand the fasciantion with Las Ramblas, simply ordinary.

SueNYC

I broke a rule of mine about going to an empty restaurant at meal time (Sunday Brunch - not Tapas meal time) at El Porron in the East 60's. Food was great. I'd even go again in busier times.

http://thestarryeye.typepad.com/expl...-not-over.html

ekscrunchy

I like Tertula in the West Village. Tia Pol and Txikito would suit, too.

Casa Mono has very good food, but it is not what I would call a "tapas restaurant." The dishes are more in line with what you find at modern urban bar/restaurants in Spain, rather than in the old-school tapas bars featuring traditional fare. Example: Instead of the gambas al ajillo that is on the menu of many traditional Spanish bars, you will find the foie gras with a sweet fruit conserve on the side that is now a staple of every modern Spanish "gastro tasca." You can have a very good meal there, seated at the counter or at one of the cramped tables.

A lot of places in NY throw around the word, "tapas" (the word seems to be trendy right now) but few, if any, resemble actual tapas bar/restaurants of Spain. So if you are looking for a place that reminds you of that little place in the Casco Viejo of Bilbao, you might want to lower your expectations. For one thing, prices are a lot higher in NYC, and the level of creativity and skill just does not match, in my own very limited experience. Give them time, though.


La Vara in Brooklyn, mentioned above, has received very good reports and is on my list of places to visit soon.

paradeofmonkeys

I agree with ekscrunchy whose extremely knowledgable about food including Spanish cuisine.


Tapas are unique to Spain and there is no American equivalency. The Spanish have a large lunch and a very late dinner maybe 10, 11 PM. Thus they need some refreshment in-between. Tapas are usually eaten between 5-7 PM. In larger cities and palces like San Sebastian/Donostia they go tasca hopping. People often go from one tasca or tapas bar to another sampling what they offer usually with a glass of wine. Some tascas have specialties while others offer a variety. And it is a social occasion where families including children will be gather to eat, drink, and have fun. Supposedly the small dishes encourage people to talk as opposed to be distracted by a meal. (Not that ever stopped a Spaniard from talking.) People usually stand and the custom is to throw the used paper napkin on the floor.

It is an eating and drinking tradition that stands alone. Tradition says that the etymology of tapa means lid when a dish of food was put on top of a glass of wine to keep the flies out.

There are tapas, raciones, and pintxos. The differences will ignite an argument among Spaniards similar to how many angels can fit on the top a pin.

Among the most common tapas are the ubiquitous tortilla española (a potato omelet that is eaten hot and cold), grilled chorizo (spicy Spanish sausage), various cheeses, various olives, regional seafood, garlic shrimp, croquettes of various types, and mushrooms. The best food and the best tapas are found in San Sebastian/Donostia.

The word tapas has been bastardized in the US to mean any small dish.

ekscrunchy

Great information!

I have to laugh when I see restaurant signs offering sushi tapas, or tapas in an Italian restaurant.
I think they use it to ride on the craze for "small plates."

paradeofmonkeys

Yes, it is just absurd the restaurants who claim to offer tapas.

The best thing about the tapas craze is that it has elevated Spanish food in NYC. There used to be a meager group who offered the same mediocre home style Spanish food. But then again the food in Spain did not begin to soar until the mid 1980's. And for some reason Spanish restaurants in NYC became synonymous with a lobster dinner. My guess was some Spaniard had a good deal with lobsters and became a retailer. In the old days most Spanish restaurants were owned by either Gallegos or Basques and was small community. Today there are many modern American practitioners.

Sorry I forgot one more tapas place. Despana which makes their own chorizos and are the best I have tasted in the United States, has a tapas counter. Unfortunately the store hours on Broome Street are limited but many other tapas bars buy their chorizos.

Fra_Diavolo

Thank you for these educational postings! I've always been disappointed with the tapas outside of Spain. Now I'll have a couple of new places to try.

williamscb13

It's been a while but I always loved Alta in the Village, West 10th Street near 6th Avenue. The brussels sprouts, divine and i'm not a brussel sprouts fan.