Olive Me

Those formerly Galician, formerly mid-summer-only, thumb-size pimientos de padrón have become, in a slightly skinnier incarnation, a year-round item at every tapas bar in Barcelona. Now they’re everywhere in New York, too. Even though they weren’t quite in season yet, I couldn’t help ordering them on my first trip to Boquería where Suba chef Seamus Mullen turns out these and other tapas that taste real enough to soothe a longing for Spain.

Boquería is warm and welcoming, especially at the bar (otherwise those high chairs and tables feel uncomfortable and exposed). The menu is short and straightforward: classic tapas, modernized — that is, served in daintier portions on handsomer plates than what you’d see in an old-time bar in Spain. The place is very much in the style of Barcelona’s swankier bars, the ones that offer such “retro” items as patatas bravas. Boquería’s version is a perfectly decent little cup of stubby homemade fries with red-pepper mayo for dipping alongside.

They have good pan con tomate (grilled bread rubbed with tomato), and lots of toppings for it, from brandada de bacalao (brandade) to quail eggs to embutidos (cured meats including some of the newly imported jamón ibérico and various sausages made in the US). The only time the kitchen failed at these newly fashionable basics was with the hard and heavy croquetas. Some of the specials were standouts — a fresh and flavorful little salad with spring vegetables, a version of escabeche: a little piece of char with pickled mushrooms.

The folks at Boquería know that sherry is not just for little old ladies anymore. They offer several by the glass: cold and dry, the La Gitana manzanilla (Hidalgo) or the Peninsula palo cortado (Lustau) are just perfect with many of these Spanish flavors. And on the dessert list, check out the Pedro Ximenez from Alvear.

The restaurant notes they buy organic and local whenever possible. On my last visit I shared a table with a Vermont pig farmer who supplies the restaurant — he was eating with two friends who had helped deliver his pork to the city that day. These guys were lovely tablemates; bite sharers, in fact, who offered tastes of some special pork belly creations the chef sent their way.

I think they wanted those bites back, however, once the bill came. That’s the only problem with Boquería: these little tapas, like all the swanky tapas I’ve tried in New York City, add up on the tab before they really add up to a meal.

Boquería, 53 West 19th Street, New York City, Tel: 212-255-4160.