Barvale, on a corner of Divisadero and Grove, is a newish restaurant from serial restauranteur Adriano Paganini’s restaurant group (Super Duper Burger, Lolinda, Beretta, a Mano, etc.). Barvale’s theme is Spanish tapas. I had dinner here a couple times. Portions for the tapas are not too big so you can order a bunch of things. Since I was solo I didn’t try any of the larger raciones which the menu describes as being for two or more.
Lenguado Crudo ($3.50)
raw halibut shooter, spicy lime, tapenade
A nice ceviche-like halibut dish, served in a shot glass. Salty, acidic, and with a little heat.
Huevo Relleno ($2.50)
deviled egg, guindilla
A perfectly fine deviled egg. Lots of paprika.
Escabeche ($5)
pickled eggplant
Eggplant in a vinegary garlicky sauce. Good drinking food. Eggplant was nicely cooked and not too tender.
Boquerones ($5)
white anchovies, spicy sauce
This was ok, just four boquerones on top of some tomato sauce.
Pan con Tomate ($5)
toast, tomato jam
Also just ok. A good quantity, however the tomato topping was missing something - could have used some more salt/seasoning and maybe some more olive oil. Kind of bland.
Croquetas ($6)
jamon and bechamel croquettes
These were fine.
Esparragos ($8)
grilled asparagus, egg salad, lemon oil
Asparagus.
Arroz Negro ($11)
squid ink rice, sepia, manchego cheese
Kind of mediocre. The rice was a little too soupy. No crust on the bottom. Lacking a bit of flavor - some aioli would have helped. Squid was well cooked though.
Morcilla ($10)
blood sausage, potatoes, onion
Pretty good blood sausage studded with little chunks of fat.
A bit of a meh first visit. I went back to Barvale on a meatless Monday. I thought the food was better this time.
Patatas Bravas ($8)
fried potatoes, angry sauce, aioli
A classic tapas dish that was well executed. Nicely fried crispy potato cubes in a very smooth slightly spicy tomato sauce, topped with a nice garlicky aioli. Very good. Would definitely get this again.
Escalivada ($9)
peppers, eggplant, burrata, olive oil, bread
This was kind of like a caponata - sweet and sour peppers and eggplant topped with some burrata cheese. Pretty good though the amount of burrata was a bit small.
Setas ($8)
mushrooms, manchego, garlic
You could add an egg to this for another $2. Big trumpet mushrooms sliced and grille, and then covered with a good bit of manchego. Quite good.
Tortilla de Patata ($5)
spanish omelet, pimento aioli
A classic Spanish tortilla - egg and potato omelette. This was very good. Tender and with a hit of paprika. Nice aioli on the side.
I thought Barvale was kind of a mixed bag. I liked my second visit better than the first. Would go back for the patatas bravas and the tortilla.
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