I once asked our school's resident Spaniard (and Spanish teacher) which restaurant served the best paella. He cited
Costa Brava in Pacific Beach as the best and most authentic (well, at least to his standards). So, with this in mind, my summer lunch buddy and I went to check it out. She had the great opportunity to study abroad in Spain so she was familiar with the cuisine and gave me a mini lesson in Spanish dining and the joys of tapas.
We found parking right on the street. I was amazed because Garnet is usually crowded as hell. But then again, it wasn't near the busy part of Garnet and it was a Tuesday morning. According to our waiter, Ernesto, the place is usually crowded from Wednesday on - especially for dinner.
After a tiny flight of steps, we chose to sit on the tree shaded front patio.
The restaurant interior had a lot of natural light and just oozed "charm" with its rustic chairs, whitewashed walls and colorful artwork (which you can't see from this photo). This looks like a nice place to have a romantic meal. The kitchen is in the back behind the arched wall window.
The bar area (obscured by the curtain).
We ordered about five different tapas. Ernesto our waiter (who hails from Mexico City) brought out warm bread rolls with a fantastic garlic aioli:
Within less than a few minutes, he brought out our plate of
Queso Mancheso or
Manchego cheese ($6.95). I wasn't sure if I'd like this type of cheese, however, I ended up really liking the flavor. One thing, it was a hard cheese with no mold! Okay, that's a plus. The flavor was a bit salty and mild. I also liked the dry texture. Moldy, runny, and stanky cheeses are not my thing! I think I would rather listen to Yanni, Air Supply or Kenny G while getting my teeth drilled with a rusty nail. Okay.................................... not Kenny G!
Next came the
Jamon Serrano ($12.50) which is similar to Italian prosciutto. There were about 5 big slices here. This was really good! We ended up doing this (see next picture):
Making mini Spanish ham and cheese sandwiches with our bread and aioli:
Let the
Tapas feast begin! Next up were the
Patatas alioli ($4.75):
This was so gooood! The potatoes were slathered in garlicky aioli sauce - the outsides were browned and crisp yet they were very tender inside...Oh my gosh, we liked these so much! Too bad that we got full easily and had to leave several lonely pieces on the plate at the restaurant. We didn't want to take it to go because we wanted to do food shopping after lunch; it would have gone bad in the car. Bert would have loved these.
Tortilla espagnola ($6.75) :
The tortilla was also very tasty. Bits of tender potato with onions and parsley in an egg omelet...I ended up taking half of it home, where a few hours later, it became part of Bert and TC's supper:
Croquetas de bacalao ($6.95).
Bacalao (or
bacalhau in Portuguese) is dried salted codfish. These tapas have the dried fish which are rehydrated, formed into balls and fried up to crisp goodness on the outside! Quite delectable with the garlic aioli (which the menu spells as 'alioli' - research on the internet indicates that this is the Catalan spelling).
Oh yeahh.....fish balls!
At the end of our meal, Ernesto gave us two tiny (but complimentary) glasses of
sangria. The cup was the same size as a votive holder - I noticed that the toothpicks were also in a cup that looked just like our mini sangria "glass". No matter! I drank it anyways!
Ernesto offered to take photos of us, which was quite nice. He took one photo of us in the bar and insisted on taking us to the back patio for another shot. There is a beautiful courtyard in the back, complete with overhanging vines with colored paper lanterns and a trickling fountain. I think next time I visit, I would like to sit back here! It seems like you are in another world in this gorgeous and peaceful setting. My photos don't do real justice since it was hazy and my camera skills are shaky at best. Ernesto took a couple photos of us here but also wanted to make sure we weren't blocking the fountain. It was funny because he kept making shooing motions with his hand and we kept going the wrong way!
Although we came for paella, we ended up with some great tapas. On Sundays, they offer a brunch for $19.50 which includes your choice of one tapa (from a list), paella, flan and sangria. Not bad. We'll have to go check that out. Once again, a fun time was had during lunch with a great friend! After lunch we went next door to (see post below):
We found parking right on the street. I was amazed because Garnet is usually crowded as hell. But then again, it wasn't near the busy part of Garnet and it was a Tuesday morning. According to our waiter, Ernesto, the place is usually crowded from Wednesday on - especially for dinner.
After a tiny flight of steps, we chose to sit on the tree shaded front patio.
The restaurant interior had a lot of natural light and just oozed "charm" with its rustic chairs, whitewashed walls and colorful artwork (which you can't see from this photo). This looks like a nice place to have a romantic meal. The kitchen is in the back behind the arched wall window. 
The bar area (obscured by the curtain). 
We ordered about five different tapas. Ernesto our waiter (who hails from Mexico City) brought out warm bread rolls with a fantastic garlic aioli:
Within less than a few minutes, he brought out our plate of Queso Mancheso or Manchego cheese ($6.95). I wasn't sure if I'd like this type of cheese, however, I ended up really liking the flavor. One thing, it was a hard cheese with no mold! Okay, that's a plus. The flavor was a bit salty and mild. I also liked the dry texture. Moldy, runny, and stanky cheeses are not my thing! I think I would rather listen to Yanni, Air Supply or Kenny G while getting my teeth drilled with a rusty nail. Okay.................................... not Kenny G!
Next came the Jamon Serrano ($12.50) which is similar to Italian prosciutto. There were about 5 big slices here. This was really good! We ended up doing this (see next picture):
Making mini Spanish ham and cheese sandwiches with our bread and aioli:
Let the Tapas feast begin! Next up were the Patatas alioli ($4.75):
This was so gooood! The potatoes were slathered in garlicky aioli sauce - the outsides were browned and crisp yet they were very tender inside...Oh my gosh, we liked these so much! Too bad that we got full easily and had to leave several lonely pieces on the plate at the restaurant. We didn't want to take it to go because we wanted to do food shopping after lunch; it would have gone bad in the car. Bert would have loved these.
Tortilla espagnola ($6.75) :
The tortilla was also very tasty. Bits of tender potato with onions and parsley in an egg omelet...I ended up taking half of it home, where a few hours later, it became part of Bert and TC's supper:
Croquetas de bacalao ($6.95). Bacalao (or bacalhau in Portuguese) is dried salted codfish. These tapas have the dried fish which are rehydrated, formed into balls and fried up to crisp goodness on the outside! Quite delectable with the garlic aioli (which the menu spells as 'alioli' - research on the internet indicates that this is the Catalan spelling).
Oh yeahh.....fish balls!
At the end of our meal, Ernesto gave us two tiny (but complimentary) glasses of sangria. The cup was the same size as a votive holder - I noticed that the toothpicks were also in a cup that looked just like our mini sangria "glass". No matter! I drank it anyways! 
Ernesto offered to take photos of us, which was quite nice. He took one photo of us in the bar and insisted on taking us to the back patio for another shot. There is a beautiful courtyard in the back, complete with overhanging vines with colored paper lanterns and a trickling fountain. I think next time I visit, I would like to sit back here! It seems like you are in another world in this gorgeous and peaceful setting. My photos don't do real justice since it was hazy and my camera skills are shaky at best. Ernesto took a couple photos of us here but also wanted to make sure we weren't blocking the fountain. It was funny because he kept making shooing motions with his hand and we kept going the wrong way!
6 comments:
The tortilla was pretty tasty. I also liked the ham (although I'm not sure I could distinguish it from a cheaper version).
I'd be interested in trying that place out someday.
Hey CC,
Living close to Costa Brava I have dined there quite a few times. My take on their Paella is that it is a bit uneven. At times it has been spectacular, reminding me of versions I have had in Sevilla, and Madrid. Other times it has been over-cooked and somewhat dried out. It is surely worth trying at any rate. Another great review!
jack,
thanks for your input on the paella. i need to try some different places so i can have a fair comparison. i hope it's not dried out at costa brava when bert and i go.
bert
brunch?
I'm not too big on Paella, Screg and I can vouch for that from our experience of trying it in Spain.
Trying it once was enough considering the texture of the rice which reminds me of Rice a Roni or brown rice, slightly crunchy with that undercooked taste. I prefer plain, sticky, white rice and I'm not a hugh fan of Spanish/Mexican Rice. Next to steamed rice as my 1st choice, I also like Chinese Fried Rice; thats my 2nd favorite.
Screg and I did enjoy the 'Tapas' when we were in Spain along with the seafood dishes.
Oh and I also enjoyed their Sangria's
jack
we just went there for brunch today (sunday) and it was okay. the paella was the opposite of 'dried out'. it was a bit saucy. more saucy than i think it should be. more on that in a future post.
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