I’ve always wanted to try a Bobby Flay restaurant and jumped at the chance when Sabrina wanted to grab some Spanish food. We came close to skipping out on Bolo after munching on some very greasy recruiting food, but decided that gaining weight was worth the dining experience.
I was really surprised that the restaurant was mostly empty on a Thursday night. We were among the younger diners, but the atmosphere was hip and modern. We started off by ordering tapas. For $16, you can get 4 different types of tapas at your choosing. Sure, these tapas were good, but were they worth $4 a piece? I don’t think so. There was one tapas with a flaky tortilla and spinach topping that I enjoyed best.
Despite the almost disappointing appetizer, the entree blew me away. It’s the one paella dish that has come to meet my expectations since having homemade paella in Spain. Sabrina and I shared the paella. At $36, it wasn’t a giant portion, but it was big enough to fill our stomachs. We ordered the seafood paella at the suggestion of the server and it came with lobster, oysters, shrimp, chicken, and sausage. The paella was not at all wet and perfectly cooked. The flavors were there and you could tell that the saffron was of the highest quality.
I’d go back to Bolo again just for their paella. It’s a moderately expensive restaurant, but they make paella like no other.
Update: Unfortunately, this restuarant closed on New Years Eve, right before 2008.
You should also check out:
- La Paella
- Strawberry Sangria and Tapas at Las Ramblas
- Sevilla (No, not the city, the restaurant in West Village)
- British-Indio-Asian Fusion? Yep, that’s Double Crown
- Ball & Chain
