BY ERIC ROSEN >LA.COM

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Ah tapas!

Everyone in LA seems to delight in the profusion of small dishes the name calls to mind. Is it because they are perfect-sized nibbling portions for dieters hoping to get into summer bathing suit shape? Or perhaps they are simply the refuge of the indecisive—why choose a single dish when you can have seven?

The only real decision you’ll have to make is which one of these fantastic finds you should patronize first. Los Angeles’ myriad tapas destinations—with their sultry Spanish soundtracks, their mood lighting, and their Iberian joie de vivre—serve as wonderful venues for evenings that vary from casual dinners with friends to nerve-wracked first dates.

So get eating, or as the Spanish would say, buen provecho!

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Bar Celona

Colorful lighting effects, exposed brick walls, and DJs spinning several nights a week combine to give Bar Celona (a cute play on geography and gastronomy) a hip, fun atmosphere in Old Town Pasadena. The extensive tapas menu is populated by the usual suspects: tortilla Espanola, sautéed crimini mushrooms, empanadas, and olives. But the entrée menu gets a little more interesting with dishes like the filet mignon in a tangy-sweet Rioja and pomegranate sauce. Mondays mean half-price wines and specialty drinks, so be sure to try some of the delicious (if poorly named) specialty cocktails with names like Flamenco Kiss, Ibiza Nights, and the Madonna shout-out, La Isla Bonita.

Bar Celona
46 E. Colorado Blvd.
Pasadena, CA 91105
626-405-1000

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Bar Pintxo

Bar Pintxo is housed in a long, narrow, convivial space that used to be a wine store. Chef Joe Miller (of Joe’s Restaurant in Venice) chose to locate his newest venture right in the heart of Santa Monica, between the Third Street Promenade and the ocean. While you’re waiting for a table—and you will wait since they don’t take reservations—sample one of the dozens of choices of wines by the glass.

Don’t forget to place your order at the counter before heading to your table, though, just so everyone else in the restaurant has a chance to give you recommendations and offer constructive criticism. The menu features old standby’s like shrimp sautéed with garlic, but also a selection of more seasonal choices like lumps of crab wrapped in smoked salmon. If you want something hardier, try one of the pintxos from which the bar derives its name—they’re the Spanish version of canapés with any number of ingredients combined atop a piece of toasted bread. With extremely reasonable prices (almost all the dishes are under $10), you can try as many as you like while you make friends at the nearby tables.

Bar Pintxo
109 Santa Monica Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90401
310-392-5655

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Bodega de Cordova

This neighborhood favorite is undergoing a management change, but will reopen in March. Nestled in the shadow of the Grove, Bodega de Cordova feels like it’s a world away from that consumer’s paradise. It is a tiny piece of Spain where you might expect old codgers to limp in and trade stories about the old days under Franco.

The eats are as simple and delicious as you’d find in any Spanish neighborhood dive—so get ready for some jamon Serrano, or perhaps some Mediterranean olives with a chunk of manchego cheese. The wine list is equally unostentatious, with entries from all over the mother country, and is priced so that you can be sure to try a few on your visit. More casual than many of the other restaurants on this list, Cordova is a great hangout, snack counter, wine bar and music venue.

Bodega de Cordova
361 S. Fairfax Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90036
323-951-1969

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Cobras and Matadors

The go-to tapas restaurant for central LA and the East Side, Cobras and Matadors has a loyal following—and with good reason. The food is consistently excellent, and the wine is more affordable than a lot of other places since the Beverly location is B.Y.O. (often from the wine shop right next door). There is nothing surprising about the menu here, with dishes like oven-roasted mussels and chorizo, tortilla Espanola, and various cheese and meat dishes. But what it lacks in originality, it makes up for with sheer numbers. The menu has choices for every taste, and if you like something, just order two portions. Though there are often long waits, the atmosphere is lively and cool with long rows of tables squeezed up against the walls like in a Bohemian Parisian brasserie.


Cobras and Matadors
7615 Beverly Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90048
323-932-6178

4655 Hollywood Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90027
323-669-3922

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The Court Yard

With Martini Mondays, discount Tapas Tuesdays, and twice-daily happy hours, the Court Yard is a favorite West Hollywood haunt for those looking for a tipple, a nibble, or simply a breath of fresh air in its shady patio. Like the spartan décor, the menu is simple with just a few touches of flair. There are dishes for every taste, from the cedar plank salmon with dill and capers to the meatier baby sausages cooked in cider. The vegetable section of the menu features lighter items like the piquillos, sweet red peppers stuffed with cumin-flavored goat cheese and avocado. But the real star of the menu is the selection of five refreshing kinds of sangria, including one made with champagne and watermelon.

The Court Yard
8543 Santa Monica Blvd.
West Hollywood, CA 90069
310-358-0301

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Eight-18

Sleek inside and out, Eight-18 is a combination wine bar, tapas restaurant and lounge that serves up a mixed-personality California/Spanish tapas menu. The walls are covered in wine bottles waiting to be sampled in the muted light of modern fixtures focused on earth-toned walls. The menu is more Californian than Spanish, with tapas like mac and cheese and short rib sliders. But there are also more traditional choices with a nouvelle twist, like the prawns in a pomegranate glaze, and the lamb stew with sun-dried tomatoes and red lentils—to make you feel more continental. The wine menu is equally international, but heavy on California varietals.

Eight-18
10151 Riverside Dr.
Toluca Lake, CA 91602
818-761-4243

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