Toro departs from Spanish practice in offering some vegetables, and the grilled Brussels sprouts ($6) with plenty of butter are a spectacular treat. A cataplana of eggplant, onion, and red pepper ($6) looks grilled but is actually roasted and marinated slightly. Beet salad ($6) is a nice small plate of red and golden beet slices, not with goat cheese but with fruit.
Only two of our tapas crossed the line into pretense. In Spain, sepia tinta ($12) would be a rich little dish of cuttlefish in a sauce of its own ink. Here the cuttlefish is cut into fine strips like sashimi, and the sauce is concentrated to an ovoid of paste, with a single strip of white cuttlefish laid on top to make a leaf. There must be some chopsticks around here, somewhere? Ceviche de pulpo ($8) is a small plate of thin-sliced octopus in a sauce of lime and tomato, but also seaweed, soy, and scallions. Again, the style is more pan-Asian than Spanish.
The paella is the real deal, however, with the rice a little dense as in risotto, and none of the seafood (shrimp, littleneck clams, mussels) overcooked. Two pieces of chicken seemed a token portion; slices of a peppery salami added some more flavor. I am used to a little more saffron in paella Valenciana, but this was very, very good.
To linger over wine, there is a very good cheese plate ($15/three cheeses; $24/five). We had a party of five, so five cheeses it was, and a very impressive selection. It included the two most celebrated Spanish cheeses: cabrales, a rich blue, and torta de Extramadura, a richly ripened soft cheese. The former was served with walnuts, the latter with preserved figs. I was also impressed with the smoked San Simon (served with honey and a sprig of dill), and good old Manchego, sliced and crossed. Altogether as good a cheese plate as I have seen.
Wines are sold rather casually, but a glass of syrah ($7) is actually the Los Planos from Spain, a wine rated as high as 89 by Robert Parker. It certainly was both more structured and somewhat richer than most Australian syrahs at the price, but less earthy than Côtes du Rhone. Sangria ($25/pitcher; $8/glass) was less sweet than most, a light punch of red wine with sliced Granny Smith apples.
There were three desserts, of which you must have churros ($7), which come to the table melting hot and fresh-fried, with a small baking dish of bitter chocolate for a dip. Spumante Catalan ($7) is a martini glass of intense citric jelly under a very light sweetened whipped cream or perhaps even meringue. Crème Catalan ($7) is a classic crème brûlée, only with a thicker layer of burnt sugar on top.
Once you are seated, service is good, yet unhurried. If you speak Spanish, the immigrant busboys and -girls may be more knowledgeable about the food than an inexperienced server. Despite the buzz, the atmosphere and crowd are mellow as well.
617.536.4300 | 1704 Washington Street, Boston
Open daily, 4 pm–1 am | AE, DI, MC, VI | full bar | valet parking, $14 | sidewalk-level access
Robert Nadeau: RobtNadeau@aol.com.
