Pipa Tapas Bar4   

38 E 19th St
New York, NY 10003
212-677-2233
www.abchome.com

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One of the best tapas restaurants in the city, this Spanish hacienda is like a fine diner's dream. You can fully expect Picasso and Gaudi to be miming matador moves at a dimly lit corner table in this intimate, exquisitely decorated and tasteful Flatiron-district Spanish eatery. Built as a back-door alternative to executive chef Doug Rodriguez's nearby South American Chicama, the attraction here is obvious and two-fold: decor and tapas. The smallish main dining is gold-hued, the tables are chalked with checkered tiles, and the whole space -- which includes a sensuous bar -- is warmed up by candles and chandeliers. If you're seduced by the mood, then you'll fall in love with Rodriguez's inventive tapas. Traditionally, the Spanish tasting dishes are meant as appetizers, but in Pipa's portfolio, patrons often come and go and come again only for the Andalusian delights. White gazpacho soup, almond-stuffed dates, baby eels, baby octopus and porcini mushroom are a few offerings from the wide selection that usually manages, one way or another, to mix in with olives, oil and garlic. -- Yon Motskin