Toro

Yesterday after work my coworkers and I decided to hit up one of our favorite restaurants in the South End of Boston, Toro. Toro specializes in Spanish cuisine, specifically Barcelona-style tapas. In addition to the food, all of their wine is Spanish, and they focus on using local ingredients in a sustainable fashion. Ken Oringer, chef and owner, is a James Beard recipient, and is also the head chef at Clio (french inspired cuisine)  located in Boston's Back Bay. Toro has become an afterwork, and sometimes a lunchtime favorite, because of its unique menu and amazing food - yesterday's meal was no exception!

We arrived at Toro directly after work, and were informed that we would have to wait at the bar until dinner service started at 5:30 ... I'm not sure why I have been making it a point to eat dinner so early .... I guess this is what happens when you get older? Anyway..

we took a seat at the overflow bar and were promptly given a drink menu. I ordered a glass of red wine (I asked for a pinot noir equivalent), Dan ordered a calimocho (red wine and coke ... a cola), and Eric ordered the el chupacabra (tequila with jalapeno syrup). We sat there for about 15 minutes chatting - well I was half chatting, half eavesdropping on the first date conversation that was happening behind me. Listening to other people's conversations can be hilarious... especially first date ones. Some of the topics being covered make you want to just shake a person and ask them why they feel the need to bring up how they like to dress-up their cat in baby clothes, etc (yes I have heard this).

From left to right: calimocho, el chupacabra, & wine

Anyway, my wine was nice, but a little on the heavy side, which is why I eventually switched over to the Bodegas Naia Verdejo (a white wine that was much sweeter and had nice tropical fruit notes). Eric thoroughly enjoyed his Calimocho, but eventually switched to beer ($10 cocktails begin to quickly add up). Dan's drink was interesting.

We sipped our cocktails and noticed that even on a Tuesday night at 5:30 the restaurant was almost completely full, including the bar area. I should also mention a little bit about the decor - lining the restaurant is a wooden booth with steel tables and chairs. In the center of the restaurant is a long wooden counter-height table, where they seat parties of any size together as a big group. I'm usually not a fan of family-style seating when you're not with your family, but I've been seated at the table before and you really don't even notice the strangers around you (that's how great the food is). There's also an open kitchen which I like. I admire their transparency, and at the same time the kitchen isn't the center-of-attention, and doesn't overpower the experience since it's off to the side behind the bar.

After spending a thorough amount of time analyzing the many options on the menu, we were finally ready to order. I got the Mollejas (veal sweetbreads over a cauliflower puree, with blood orange and crispy oats) and the Costilla de Bourguignon (braised beef short ribs with bacon, mushrooms and pearl onions).

Beef short rib

Sweetbreads

Dan ordered the Asado de Huesos (Roasted bone marrow with a citrus salad and oxtail marmalade), Bistec de Faldilla a la Plancha (Hanger steak with cabrales butter and red onion marmalade), and the Patatas Bravas (fried potatoes with alioli and spicy tomato sauce).

Bone Marrow

Dan's Steak

Patatas Bravas

Eric ordered the Atun Tartare (Tuna tartare with charred spring onions and pine nuts), Tortilla Espanola (Egg, potato and onion omelet with alioli), and a chicken empanada.

I'm going to say that the one negative about Toro stemmed from the table size. We asked our waitress to time the dishes so that we each only had one dish at a time (the table was literally to small to fit any more than that). What ended up happening was that Eric got two of his dishes first, then Dan got one of his five or ten minutes later, etc. That being said, the food was outstanding.


Here are the dishes I tried, and what I thought of them:

The bread from Bone
Marrow dish

The sweetbreads - Juicy and tender. Great texture. The sauce paired excellent with it, and the overall presentation was stunning.

Short rib - I would have preferred it to be a little more tender, but the overall flavor was amazing, and the puree had great texture and taste.

Tuna Tartare

Bone Marrow - I didn't try the actual marrow, but the side of bread with meat on it was awesome! The reason I didn't try it was because Dan was having too much fun enjoying it! He gives it two thumbs up.

Potatoes - Great crunch! Simple flavors with a little bit of a kick to it. I'm not usually a fried potato fan, but these were crispy and delicious. I would definitely recommend them as a dish to share!

Empanada

Tortilla (and amazing bread in the
background).

I must say that Toro is one of my favorite places to go in Boston. It's no fuss, and the food is great. When you read the menu you see a lot of items on there that you wouldn't even think about ordering, but when you taste them they are phenomenal - those are the kind of restaurants I enjoy going to.

My recommendation for Toro would be to go for lunch, or get there early since they don't take reservations. I would go with a group of three to four people, and I would have everyone pick about three things each and just share everything. Like I said, everything I've eaten at Toro has been delicious, and the service just works better when everyone shares everything. I went with a group of girlfriends one night for restaurant week and that's how we did it, and it allowed me to try things I wouldn't normally have ordered, and also the service went much smoother. Overall this restaurant is very unique, and truly a great find in Boston -  it allows you to have down-to-earth, traditional Spanish food, with both visually stunning ambiance, and visually stunning cuisine.