Boqueria review

[just jess]

so my big boss was in town, and took my team out to dinner last night. A coworker recommended Boqueria, which is a fairly new tapas place in Flatiron. Boqueria is actually owned by the owner of Suba which is down in the LES.

Its style is much different than Suba, however, Boqueria is remeniscent of the many bar style restaurants you can find surrounding the Boqueria market in Barcelona. The style was very informal, yet chic. Lots of small tables, all bar hight--including a large family style bar table running down the middle of the dining room.

What was surprising to me, is how packed the place was on a Monday night. Luckily we did not have to wait long for a table, and were seated promptly, only after i stared down the tapas bar near the entrance--as one of the sous chefs rubbed a toasted peice of bread with tomatoes and topped it with a freshly sliced peice of jamon serrano.

Yeah, i was definitely going to have to order that.

Once seated, the men left the ordering to us women--and my coworker and i happly started listing off tapas to the waitress. First on my list was the tomato and jamon serrano breads, one of the special tapas of the day--the jamon croquetas with a rasin puree, and the patatas bravas

Everything was so delicious. The ingredients were so incredibly fresh. The croquetas so rich and creamy, and the sauce paired with it tart and sweet, and the patatas bravas were perfectly crunchy and spicy on the outside and creamy on the inside.

The jamon serrano was perfectly salty and the bread slightly charred and crunchy. Once i bit into it, i was instantly taken back to Spain. So simple, yet delicious. Unfortunately the portions were fairly small--so our indulging was trimmed down to a bite or two of each...but that is to be expected when eating tapas.

For our entrees we shared the suckling pig (which is not always on the menu-since Boqueria only features organic and fresh ingredients--and this is not always avaiable) and words cannot express the amazingness of this dish. For those of you who saw the Top Chef finale, this was the braised pork square that Casey was "trying" to execute--however there was nothing faulty about it at Boqueria. The skin was so unbeleivably crispy, and the layer of fat between the skin and the meat was almost non-existant, leaving only tender pork to enjoy. The peice of pork was lathered with pork confit flavored smokey beans, very remeniscent of a traditional Spanish fabada--the layers of flavors were so amazing.

We also ordered their paella--which was also amazing. The nice surprise in their version was that they had big kidney beans and chorizo in the paella itself, along with the traditional mussels and clams. The texture of the paella was perfect, and although the flavor was fairly traditional, there were unique hints of spices that would ever so often tickle my palette. I still cant figure out what they were.

For dessert we shared the churros with chocolate---always a favorite..And the Torrija with rice pudding ice cream....WOW...This was the perfect ending to a great meal. The Torrija is very similar to french toast--however the top surface is carmelized like a creme brulee, and the inside just as soft and creamy. AMAZING.

All in all it was a great meal--and although it was tapas and sharing style, i left feeling pleasantly full. However, next time i am ordering that suckling pig---and NOT SHARING lol

I highly recommend this place

[sexxncandie]

Great review.. those croquettes sound delish

[just jess]

Great review.. those croquettes sound delish

they were soo thick and creamy..maybe too thick and creamy--but when paired with the raisin puree, it helped cut it down a bit

all i could think of was elise while i was eating them---and how one little croquette wouldnt be enough for her

[sexxncandie]

they were soo thick and creamy..maybe too thick and creamy--but when paired with the raisin puree, it helped cut it down a bit

all i could think of was elise while i was eating them---and how one little croquette wouldnt be enough for her

lmao, Elise s her croquettes!

[a n t]

damn that sounds fucking GOOD

[MIAMI_JESSAY]

The jamon and puerco sound sooooo goooood! I wasnt to thrilled with the food at Suba though but i must admit their sangria is fab

[Toni Bunz]

My mouth is watering

Everything sounds delicious!

[just jess]

The jamon and puerco sound sooooo goooood! I wasnt to thrilled with the food at Suba though but i must admit their sangria is fab

i agree...i didnt care for the food at suba either...it was like tapas to the extreme

Boqueria has a nice balance between trendy and traditional...