Tomino Taberna Gallega

Cuisine	Spanish
Price	$$$ (31-50)
Rating	6/10
Last Visit	April 23, 2023
Location	New York: Lower Manhattan (Central)

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General Notes

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Tomino Taberna Gallega is an upscale Spanish tapas restaurant, specializing in food and drink from Galicia, a region in the northwest corner of Spain. Overall the food is pretty solid! I wouldn't necessarily say that it's incredibly noteworthy, but it's a very good experience overall. Compared to other Spanish tapas restaurants, this place definitely offers more unique items that I haven't seen at other restaurants,

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Positives

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> The bartender was really friendly, and after my meal he offered me a small cocktail - a bit of leftover from a drink he prepared for another customer. The orujo sour (lemongrass infused Galician grappa, passionfruit, sour, egg white, Angostura bitters) had an interesting flavor and was pretty delicious.

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Negatives

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> The complimentary bread was really disappointing. The olive oil was pretty good, but unfortunately the bread had a fairly crumbly and dry texture that I don't like very much.
> I asked the bartender for a recommendation, for a white wine that's crisp and refreshing, but unfortunately the one he served me (albarino) was pretty disgusting.

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Dishes Tasted

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• ★★★☆ Arroz Caldoso con Bogavante -- 1.5 lb lobster, monkfish, bomba rice, bisque broth. I love the intensity of the seafood flavor in the broth. Most of the seafood in the rice / broth is cooked perfectly; the lobster is a touch overcooked. A pretty large serving, a good option for a larger group.
• ★★☆☆ Churrasco con Chimichurri -- charcoal grilled Iberian baby back ribs & chorizo criollo. The flavor, especially the smoky flavor and the chimichurri, is INCREDIBLE. The texture does leave a bit to be desired -- the meat is a little tough and the connective tissue makes it difficult to eat. It could benefit from more low + slow cooking.
• ★★★☆ Pulpo a Feira -- octopus, sea salt, extra virgin olive oil, pimenton. This was boiled, not grilled -- I was a bi skeptical at first b/c I'm a huge fan of the texture of flash-fried or grilled octopus, but this was really nice too! I love how tender it is, and the lighter cooking helps retain more of the "octopus flavor".
• ★★★☆ Arroz Negro -- Bombay rice with squid in its own ink; topped with fresh red snapper a la Plancha and alioli. The snapper was decent, but maybe slightly overcooked. The aioli was decent but needed a bit more flavor. The rice, squid ink, and squid were cooked really well, and the combination worked well for me. I honestly wish there were more squid.
• ★★☆☆ Croquetas -- Jamon y tomate asado: serrano ham & roasted tomato, marisco y alioli rosa: seafood and aioli. Not bad (really nice crispy texture), but they didn't really have much flavor. There was too much cheese and it overwhelmed the dish. I couldn't really taste the other components that much.