Tavernita is already being touted as the next buzz worthy restaurant in Chicago (and they are just finishing up their soft opening phase!). Chef Ryan Poli and the team behind Mercadito have finally opened their homage to Spanish small plates. I met Chef Poli this past fall at a Spanish olive oil tasting class and his passion for Spanish cooking is clearly evident in the food he produces. I have to say, the meal we had this weekend lived up to the hype.
The ginormous space (the completely transformed Martini Park space) has been split up into a sit-down restaurant and Barcito, a stand-up and eat area inspired by San Sebastián’s pintxos bars, which opens later this month. The small plate menu is composed of three groups: crudos, en pan (think crostini/flatbreads) and platos.
Crudo Bar:
We started with the oyster special of the day. These are seriously the biggest oysters I have ever seen. Cut up Samish Bay oysters, poached shrimp and fresh mango salsa. TO.DIE.FOR! Definitely my favorite dish of the night. If only it was a menu staple. A girl can dream.
The hamachi with avocado, lime, jalapeno chile and cucumber is already a house fave and it is easy to see why. The flavors are so fresh and clean. I could eat 100 orders.
We ordered more oysters, “The Naked Cowboy” to be precise. These were served with a delicious homemade guajillo chile cocktail sauce. Yum!
En Pan:
For you non Spanish speakers, this translates to on bread. The pork belly bocadillos are served on a buttery brioche with apple jam and pickled red onions. This is another item that topped my list. Seriously, loving the jam with the pork. And the buns were so soft and tasty! I just realized that I had pork belly twice in one day (see 2 Sparrows post)... I need to get a grip!
We also tried the escalivada, a crostini topped with eggplant, red peppers, hazelnut romanesco and goat cheese. Give me bread and goat cheese and I am a happy girl! Great dish, lousy picture, but you get the idea!
Platos:
We had to order the croquetas, a traditional Spanish dish, fried and filled with iberico ham and served with a saffron aioli. The ideal comfort food!
Next up was the corn pudding. This was a favorite dish among us all! Baked with rock shrimp and poblano chiles, the unique dish had us wanting more. In fact we almost ordered more but decided to try the meatballs instead… which I forgot to take a picture of! But Greg’s meatballs are made with wagyu beef, pork and a hazelnut romesco sauce. At this point I think I was in an alcohol and food induced coma, so I am not sure I enjoyed them as much as I typically would. But they were cooked to perfection and super juicy!
We ended the meal with chocolate y pan… chocolate ganache topped with sea salt and olive oil on top of a toasted bread. Sea salt combined with chocolate is one of the best things ever! I would order this dessert again in a heartbeat!
Don’t forget to order a kegged cocktail! The Booty Collins was my fave!
Clearly, we ordered a lot and really enjoyed everything! Our server Miguel was well versed on the menu and the ingredients. We pretty much ordered all of his recommendations. Thanks Miguel! I only have one complaint… while we were finishing our cocktails (I don’t think we were lingering for long) a manager came up and asked how much longer we would be as they had people waiting for our table. After such a great meal (that was not cheap), this left a bad taste in our mouths. Since Tavernita is so new, hopefully management will be working out some of those kinks, but other than that, everything was phenomenal. I will be back to see!
151 W. Erie
312-274-1111
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