Tapas in Dallas

The Barcelona Wine Bar is a quaint Spanish-inspired spot with a nice large patio just off the hustle and bustle of Henderson Avenue. You'll need some time to peruse the large wine list; maybe have a sangria while you do that. Be sure to order the grilled bread, whipped goat cheese and potato tortilla. If you're partial to beets, their beet hummus is striking (and good).

Bulla Gastrobar in Plano, originated in Coral Gables, Florida and offers great drinks and tapas those lovely Spanish appetizers and small plates served hot or cold shared over a glass of wine or cocktail.

Try their house sangría roja, a generous tumbler of red wine, brandy, Triple Sec, Sprite and chopped orange. Refreshing and not too sweet. Sip as you wait for our smaller plates. We suggest the patatas bravas, and the cold Mediterranean salad for light starters.

For meatier option go for the braised brisket caldoso, a porridge-like dish was a warm and flavorful combination of Valencia-style rice, beef, sofrito, piquillo confit, peas and chickpeas with a rosemary sprig as garnish atop all.

For dessert, don't pass on the coconut flavored flan or churros.

John Tesar's upscale Design District cocktail lounge features bottle service and craft cocktails in a chic atmosphere.

An interpretation of the Spanish mid-to-late afternoon nosh by serial restaurateur Alberto Lombardi (Toulouse, Cibus, Penne Pomodoro), this eatery offers diners excursions through Mediterranean regions beyond the Iberian Peninsula. Standard tapas like garlic shrimp get equal footing (eating?) with ham and cheese croquettes with spanikopita and a chicken tagine. House-made pastas and paella are also available. Customers enjoying the classic tortilla española and patatas bravas between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. on the first Sunday of each month are treated to flamenco acts. However, Mondays might be the best day to patronize Sangria. It is then, from 8 p.m. to close, that selected tapas are two dollars, which is more in line with the cost of tapas in the land of castanets and Don Quixote.

Don't be deterred by the extensive menu. Owner Ildefonso Jimenez has trained his people well. Simple tapas such as roasted almonds or pan-fried blood sausage are things you can't stop eating. More extensive small plates like cod croquettes are memorable. Classic gambas al ajillo (shrimp with garlic) is rich and pungent. The tapas remind you why shared plates are so popular.

Take out kitchen serving brined and braised meats for arepas, tacos, and boleo's. Fresh variety of sauces made daily.

For this city, for too long, “Mediterranean” food — the euphemism restaurateurs use to avoid racist sentiment — meant a simple diet of gyros, hummus and lukewarm lunch buffets. Zatar Lebanese Tapas ditches the word “Mediterranean” and presents a menu of foods which are difficult, or impossible, to find elsewhere in North Texas. The cheese board offers choices from Lebanon: grilled halloumi, kashkaval and yogurt-based labneh. Baba ghannouj, or roasted eggplant dip, is fairly mild-mannered; muhammara, a roasted red bell pepper dip with pureed walnuts and pomegranate molasses, is a scene-stealer. Sujuk “pies” are ultra-thin-crust Lebanese pizzas with toppings like akawi, a briney Palestinian cheese. The main courses, too, offer happy twists on the familiar. Nothing exemplifies this better than moussaka, which Greek restaurants have trained us to think of as a sort of eggplant lasagna. At Zatar, the moussaka is a hearty, wintry vegetable stew of eggplant, tomatoes and chickpeas.