Tapas in Chelsea: Savory small bites.
Saturday, May 20, 2006
Be prepared to wait at this fun and lively tapas place.
This narrow place seats about 35 people. There's also a private dinner room at the far back.
Stake out at a small corner by the bar till your table is ready. Or eat at the bar.
The layout: bar in the front, followed by a narrow stretch of a few tables. Kitchen is on the left, parallel to a few of the dining tables.
While we waited, we ordered some drinks and snatched a small nook by the door. I had their freshly squeezed orange juice, friend had a glass of their dry, peppery wine.
About half an hour later, we were seated. We had a nice comfy seat right by the small kitchen. Lots of coppery pans. Plus, a great view of all their dishes: lamb skewers stuck on bread, a solitary fish, fried chickpeas, to name a few.
For the two of us, we decided on:
- patatas bravas: a delicious, crispy fried potatoes with middles that were tender and creamy. Drizzled on top was a spicy aioli. My favorite dish of the evening!
- paquetitos, envelopes of jam—n, Manchego and artichoke: ham folded into triangular shapes stuffed with manchego and artichokes. Lots of ham, didn't really taste the other two. Didn't particularly wow me.
- chorizo: chunky and juicy bits of sliced sausages. Done just right.
Always leaving room for dessert, we ordered the Torta Santiago, a Galician almond cake and the flan with orange sauce. Perhaps it was the orange sauce, but the flan tasted funky to me.
The restaurant is a jam-packed place, lively and loud --not overbearingly so you can't hear one another -- waiters always seem busy bustling about. The food is decent, a good place to catch up or take a date. Very appealing. I can see why it's a nice neighborhood joint.