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Socarrat Paella Bar


Nathan

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I've been eager for this place ever since it was announced a few weeks ago. Its by the same guy as La Nacional...which for years has been the lodestar for paella in New York.

Its small with a pleasant decor...liked the wooden ceiling.

Still BYO at this point. There's a (crappy) wine store around the corner.

Nearly full....not La Nacional regulars...but some neighborhood Chelsea....the group on my left mentioned Urban Daddy as their source.

as for the food? as with La Nacional the tapas were quite variable. grilled veggies with romesco had a good smoky flavor. grilled squid was too chewy, though the garlicky broth was addictive (fun to sop up with bread).

the paella (there are several to choose from..as well as a couple with fideo) was perhaps not as great as the best I've had at La Nacional....but close. it did have a good socarrat.

any paella or fideo is $21 a person (minimum two people).

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  • 2 years later...

The somewhat new Nolita location of Socarrat Paella Bar takes reservations and is quite a bit larger than the original in Chelsea, which I had never been to; most likely due to its size and no ressie policy, since I'm not a big fan of the wait.

And now that I've been to the 284 Mulberry St. location a couple of times, it just might become part of my semi-regular rotation. Not only has the paella been quite good and loaded with delicious socarrat each time, but the room is nice as is the service. Oh, and the "tapas" we've had to begin our meals are quite good too.

The paellas, which at dinner have to be ordered for 2, range from the low to high $20s per person. The first one we had had some giant langoustini as well as lobster tail atop the nicely cooked rice. On our next visit, we had another of the seafood paellas; this one was loaded with squid, cod, mussels, cockles, shrimp and scallops - none of the seafood was overcooked yet the flavor permeated the rice and I liked it better than the first.

Bacon wrapped dates and fried shisito peppers are the two tapas I remember most. The peppers, as well as some unlisted artichoke hearts are always available, even though they're not on the menu.

And there's a bar, which means solo diners don't have to worry. At lunch I think they offer single serving paellas.

I'm on a personal quest to learn how to make a proper paella, but I don't think there's a better place for this great rice dish anywhere else in NYC.

2011_04_09 Socarrat paella_1.jpg

Mitch Weinstein aka "weinoo"

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