Vera

This place started off fantastically well. The beer list is very solid, and the wine on tap is an interesting gimmick. We started off with the lamb and pig face bocadillos, which were the best sliders I've ever had. We followed with bacon wrapped dates, which are impossible to mess up. They were delicious. We concluded with and were excited for the paella. It was flavorless and the meat was overcooked, but the restaurant handled it admirably by comping the dish and offering us something else, which we declined because we were pressed for time and late to a party. Because the sliders were so good and because there was so much on the menu I wanted to try, I would definitely go back.

Tried this place for the first time Saturday night.  It was recommended by a foodie friend so I had high expectations.  We had 8pm reservations and were seated promptly when our friends arrived.  The hostess was very nice and accommodating.  

I was disappointed by the limited number of items offered on the menu, especially for a tapas place.  We started with the fried garbanzo beans, which were good.  We then ordered two items from each main category: seafood (the garlic shrimp and clams with chorizo in squid ink), vegetable (eggplant with honey and papas bravas), and meat (blood sausage and chicken thigh).  We also ordered the warm bread and butter plate.  The stand out was the roasted chicken thigh: it was so moist, juicy, and well spiced.  The skin was very crispy and delicious.  A close second was the bread and butter plate: the bread had a thin crispy crust and thick, chewy center.  I really liked the accompanying spreads in the following order: sea salt and pepper butter, quark and honey, extra virgin olive oil, and the bean puree.  

I was really disappointed that they only had three dessert offerings.  We tried the crema catalana dessert which was their take on creme brulee.  It was good, but not memorable.  We ordered just the right number of plates for 4 people and shared a bottle of wine.

Our server was friendly and knowledgeable.  She made good recommendations regarding number of plates and also recommended the chicken thigh when we couldn't decide on a second meat dish.  She did try to push the rib-eye special twice when discussing the menu.  She also could have made more eye contact with us when talking since she seemed to be preoccupied with something else or looking around the room, especially when she gave us the check and thanked us for dining here (without looking at any of us sitting at the table).

Overall there are other better tapas places in the city.

I love this place. My office is a few blocks away and I send clients over there all the time. It's difficult to put Vera into a traditional category. I feel like it's more of a wine bar with amazing small plate items than it is a restaurant with an amazing wine list, but it's a really blurry line. I guess the best way to refer to it is well balanced. I feel equally at home at Vera sampling wines and enjoying a cheese plate as I do bringing in a small group of friends and sharing the small plate menu items while sipping wine. The paella is my favorite menu item, but it requires  a few people to eat because it's an extremely large portion. There's something about the rice they use at Vera that makes it special. I can't put my finger on it, but most of the other places I've had paella just can't pull it off the way they do at Vera. The staff is extraordinary. I learn something new about wine each time go and they do teach it in a way that I don't feel like I'm being talked down to which is greatly appreciated. When you go, be sure to order the bread. It sounds silly, but the bread and butter combo is probably my favorite bread service in the city.