During the day the centrally located Tía Pol, one of the pioneering tapas places here, is the best choice for a quick bite. A perch at the bar, especially on a nice day when the front is open onto 10th Avenue, is an ideal spot for people watching.
The long, narrow restaurant has been a neighborhood staple for six years. Besides numerous daily specials, the menu has over 30 tapas items, from razor clams to lamb skewers to octopus terrine. “Croquetas de jamón,’’ ham croquettes, a basic tapas item, are divine here, with a perfectly crispy outside and a warm, creamy center. A recent croquette of the day was an outstanding Swiss chard and leek combination; previously, a beer and Manchego cheese.
If you plan to make a meal out of several tapas, ask your waiter about portion size. Some establishments have family-style ordering, others don’t, and most menus don’t give the number of items in an order. All tapas bars have “raciones,’’ a more substantial meal for one person, such as paella, steak, or suckling pig.
El Quinto Pino is also open for lunch and dinner, when it turns into a ruckus affair with music and 30-somethings socializing. If your eardrums can handle it, try the outstanding “fideua,’’ noodle paella with pieces of baby octopus and shrimp and a smear of aioli, and the sea urchin panini, which has become legendary in the city’s foodie circles.
Going out for tapas at night is supposed to be a little chaotic, but if being squished into cramped bar spaces is spilling wine on your new art catalogs, try Txikito. It’s a soothing, modern space with wooden walls and red tables and chairs — stools only at the bar. Txikito specializes in food from the Basque region of Spain where tapas are called “pintxos’’ and traditionally served on a piece of bread with a toothpick through the center.
