Restaurant Review

TORO

1704 Washington Street, Boston, MA

Neighborhood: South End

617.536.4300

toro-restaurant.com

Credit Cards: accepts all major credit cards

Handicap accessibility: wheelchair accessible

While dining at Toro, you soon realize that Ken Oringer has done it again with yet another impeccable restaurant. From fine French dining to casual and colorful Mexican cuisine, Ken Oringer is the owner and chef of seven restaurants throughout the Boston area; all among the city’s most admired and critically acclaimed.

In 2005, Oringer opened Toro in Boston’s South End. Toro, being a Barcelona-inspired tapas restaurant is greatly influenced by Oringer’s travels throughout the regions, markets, and culinary scene in Spain.

            First thing you need to know about Toro is that it gets crowded early. It is a small restaurant, but add that to a no reservations policy and you will certainly be waiting for a table. But keep in mind; it will always be worth the wait.

            Most of the menu is tapas style, and that is great because there are so many delicious dishes on the menu. They have a lot of exotic food items on the menu (bone marrow, beef tongue, pork belly) but also amazing vegetarian items for the less adventurous.

            Tapas style is unique because one can order a few plates to start and then continue ordering more depending on how hungry you still are. It is also a great way to try little portions of new foods and share with friends.

            When I went, we started with the Almendras Marcona, Marcona almonds, ($4.00), Pan con Tomate, toasted bread with tomato, garlic, Spanish olive oil and sea salt, ($4.00), Hummus, chickpea puree with argon oil and za’atar, ($8.00), and Queso Mahon, marinated cow’s milk from Menorca,  ($5.00). There were four of us, and we all shared and munched among the plates. The almonds were absolutely delicious, in a salty glaze, and irresistible. Another highlight from these four was the hummus, brought out with a never-ending supply of still-warm-from-the-oven pita bread.

            Following this first course, we ordered Coles de Bruselas a la Plancha, Sparrow Arc Brussels sprouts with olive oil and sea salt, ($9.00), and a Toro specialty, Maiz Asado con Alioli y Queso Cotija, grilled corn with alioli, lime, espelette pepper and aged cheese, ($8.00). The brussel sprouts were grilled to perfection, and were caramelized with the olive oil and sea salt. With the corn being the house specialty, we all had high expectations, and we were more than fulfilled. The corn was grilled and rolled in the ingredients and tasted like perfection, a little messy to eat, but you cannot worry about that while fully enjoying it.

            The portions were very reasonable for the prices, and for the four of us, that was plenty to split. The lighting in the restaurant was dim, but set a very nice mood and ambiance among the room. The noise level is loud, but it adds to the fun of the tapas style food, everyone sharing the delicious selections together.

            The tables are very close to each other and in some cases they were a community-dining situation. There are some single tables along the walls, but most of the place is long high-top tables. The diners are immersed in a cooking experience, as well as a dining experience, allowing the diners to view everything that is being prepared- both hot and cold items.

            The staff is abrupt, but also very pleasant. They are always open to suggest a new interesting plate or help you decide what would go along with the plates you have already ordered.

            I highly recommend this to anyone that enjoys tapas and trying new things. As mentioned above, there are a lot of exotic options, but also many vegetarian and non-interesting alternatives for those a little less adventurous.