Hi all,
I was having lunch at a good Spanish restaurant in Manhattan the other day and I thought that it would be fun to get a comprehensive list (and review) of the best Spanish restaurants (outside of Spain). My husband travels around the country and I know he would LOVE to go to Spanish restaurants instead of the typical places (steak and hotel places) that he normally goes to. The place we went to in Manhattan is called Pipa 38 East 19th St. and it is in ABC carpet (strange, huh?) I didn't know what to expect and I was pleasantly surprised. We went for lunch and had Caldo Gallego (not as good as my family's --yet very delicious) and a Coca ( the Valencian pizza-like tapa). We really enjoyed it, yet it was on the expensive side. The atmophere was really interesting...ecclectically furnished and fun to be there! There are a lot of good places in NY. This is just one of many. Let's try to only list SPANISH cuisine...

Esperanza,
There's a great place hidden right under the 59th street Bridge called "Tapas" which is just out of sight.
The food is phenominal and the atmosphere is really, really unique.
Tad $ but I promise you'll love it.

I also thought Pipa 34 had a great atmosphere,food was very good, wine was a lttle expensive but then we had just come back from Spain. Just saw a recommendation in "Food and Wine" magazine for Euzkadi on E. 4th st. in the East Village.

Just ate at Tinto in Brooklyn Heights. Nice atmosphere but felt the menu was rather limited and seafood a little overcooked. Had a very nice $28 red from Cantabria which by the time we drank it we forgot to write down the name!...I will call and ask.

Here in Columbus, Ohio, we have ONE Spanish restaurant called, appropriately enough, "Spain". Their URL is http://www.spainrest.com (site not working now for some reason). It's relatively close to where I live too which is great. The bad part is that it's rather pricey for me. I've only eaten there twice, one of those two times I was invited as a guest from a website visitor who had a conference in Columbus for a few days. That was nice of him. The other was a time I took my madrileña ladyfriend there when she was visiting me one summer. She liked it. The food is pretty good and they serve all the typical dishes (except tortilla de patatas!! ), but it's difficult to finish a full, Spanish meal for less than $70 for two persons WITH tapas, wine-with-the-meal, coffee and dessert to finish, plus tip.

None of the waiters are Spanish either, but they are latino and, of course, speak Spanish. It's a nice, semi-fancy place too. I like it. Oddly enough, it's a HOTEL restaurant too.

My ladyfriend liked the food, but said more than once, "This same food in Spain wouldn't cost a fouth of what they're charging here." To which, I replied with a chuckle, "Well (insert name here), we're NOT in Spain at the moment."

A couple years ago, my ladyfriend and I enjoyed a luxurious dinner at New York City's "TOLEDO" restaurant, just below the Empire State Building. WOW. We both agreed it was THE MOST EXPENSIVE meal either of us had ever had in our lives. But with chandeliers, men-in-suits, beautiful wall-woodwork and china place settings, we could see why.. PLUS, it's in NEW YORK CITY! If you search this forum and use TOLEDO NEW YORK CITY as your keywords you'll likely find my review/experience with this beautiful place.

Hope you have Spanish restaurants wherever YOU are!

Saludos, MadridMan

For those in SoCal, you can find the beloved Spanish food if you seek diligently. We've had dinner get-togethers at Luna Negra (if I remember right) in Pasadena (Colorado Bl....main drag), Allegria in Long Beach (used to be Spanish, now it's "south o' the border...but they still have paella), and Centro Basco in Chino (my fave, but I'm biased).

I know of two other Basque restaurants in the LA basin: Cafe du Midi (not as good as Centro Basco and only a block away) and La Villa Basque in Vernon on Leonis Blvd. This is run by family, so I guarantee a good meal...eat the gateâu basque for dessert! :p

La Paella in LA is supposed to be good...perhaps Nicole would shed some light on that. Also, Cafe Sevilla opened a second location (San Diego) in Riverside last year...

Yum! Just reading about these restaurants is making me want to go to a Spanish restaurant this weekend...( just wish it could be in Spain though!)
MM, when you mentioned your $70 bill as "expensive" for a meal with Tapas, Wine, Dinner , coffee and dessert I thought "Wow...that isn't bad", but as you say I am used to NYC prices (YIKES! is the NYC restaurant scene expensive...$70 is reasonable (I can't believe I am saying that!)...
A few weeks ago my husband and I went to "España" in White Plains, New York(Westchester county) and even an hour out of NYC the prices are steep...but the meal was delicious and authentic. We loved it and would definitely go again.
Thanks for posting your ideas everyone...anymore??

I've been to two Spanish restaurants here in Minneapolis, and both were okay. One, called La Bodega, is a tapas place with NO Spanish beer and few or no Spanish wines. Their tapas were fine, nothing spectacular--but they were on the right track with respect to flavors and combinations. Their calamares were better than many I have had here in the US, but probably just average for Spain. The total bill for a couple with wine, sangria, or other alcohol AND a couple of tapas each (enough to make a small meal) would run in the neighborhood of $50-60, I think.

The other place, El Meson, is sort of Spanish/vague Latin American. They have a nice saffron seafood dish and the prices were in the $10-15 entree range at dinner. I didn't have wine or beer. Again, the flavors were on the right track, but it wasn't Spain!

I've also been to the Columbia restaurant in St. Augustine, Florida (Booklady has too...maybe she can comment as well?) several times. Their food is nice--there's a strong Latin American influence, of course. Their prices are a bit steep for me, and since I am so starved for seafood living here in Minnesota, I will generally opt to go somewhere else and order a huge plateful of fried shrimp instead!! It's right on a main tourist street, and I think that influences the prices...and they also have some fancy buffets at times (weekend brunch, in particular).

Happy eating, folks!

Chicago has a few pretty good Spanish restaurants. The best is Emilio's Tapas, which has two north side locations, in the Streeterville and Lincoln Park neighborhoods, though the best is said to be the original Emilio's in west suburban Hillside (apprx. 10 miles west of downtown). Also, there is Cafe Iberico on LaSalle and Cafe Ba-Ba-Reba on Fullerton, and a new one called Twist on Sheffield (which got a good write up in the "Good Eating" section of the Chicago Tribune just today!). So come to Chicago and Comida Espanol!

Ok, I was waiting for the appropriate forum to "plug" our friend's newish Spanish restaurant here in San Diego. It is Restaurante Costa Brava and is in the Pacific Beach neighborhood.
My husband (manager), the chef and the owner are all from Espana and the food, wine and atmosphere are wonderful!!
We've been open for about 7 months and have already had published great reviews..
The wine list is extensive featuring wines from all parts of Spain, including some wonderful reds from Extremadura of all places.
As for the food, Calibasco, if you came down to try, you would agree that it is better than the other's here in SD.
Enough of the "plug" (sorry MM), but I am so proud of my friend and you can find me there most weekends! If anyone stops by, please mention this MM board, I want to know how many of you are actually in the SD region.