Boqueria, an Upper East Side tour de force of Tapas cuisine

Restaurant Critique

Boqueria
Upper East Side

1460
2nd Ave New York, NY

Pamela
Goldman

Patch.com
upper east side

photos
by Gerald Feldman

Under
the stars at Boqueria

Boqueria, a Spanish tapas restaurant, has all the magic, flavor and appeal so
desired by the eclectic neighborhood in which it is situated.

Created by Yann de Rochefort, of French descent, the group of restaurants both in
NYC and Washington D.C. is a salute to his younger days of visiting
Barcelona markets with his parents and the years he attended school
in Spain. He is a great believer that tapas is a more fun way to eat
with it’s many bite size flavors than your so called “ordinary”
meals.

After dining there, the experience of the chef’s flavors are so seductive
yet affordable considering the restaurant is in the top 10 locations
to eat on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. At 8:00 pm, on a Monday
night, the place is bustling and busy with people of all ages and
backgrounds. Upon entering, the scent filling the air is elevating.

We started our adventure with three appetizers: Pan Con Tomate (7.00)
which is grilled bread with a rubbing of tomato, garlic and olive
oil. A taste of this and we knew we would be in for a thrilling
night!

Next we had Gambos al Ajillo (16.00) This was perfectly cooked shrimp in a
garlic, brandy and olive oil sauce served in a metal skillet, on a
rustic wood board, with a big hunk of bread for dipping is one of the
owner’s favorites and I can see why. Next we had earthy mushrooms
sauteed with garlic and scallions. (13.00)

Exploding flavors of food, genius in design and execution we carried on to our
main course of Paella de Mariscos (48.00) This is their signature seafood paella where the rice alone is brilliant as a seafood risotto...nevertheless, we were gifted with monkfish, octopus, shrimp, mussels and clams.

Finally the last cool act...a dessert of of their Flan (7.00) Had we died and
gone to heaven? The flan was made from ricotta, eggs, vanilla, crème
and a delicious caramel sauce. We were sent over the edge into a
gastronomic paradise!!!

A stellar example of what started as a dream, Boqueria surpasses all
dining experiences and continues to captivate the imaginations of
it’s clientele year after year.