Imagine you are a traveler along a dirt lane in northern Spain one autumn evening. You are merely looking for a nice, comfortable, friendly place to sit down in and refuel. Around the bend ahead, you spot a warm light from behind some windows and can make out the murmur of conversation. As you come closer, the light grows brighter and the noise louder. You have found Allioli.
Though you’ll find Allioli on Grand St. (right below Roebling) in Williamsburg, it will still feel just as if the scenario above had played out. Inside you’ll find the feel of a Spanish tavern, with a deep swirling yellow walls, wooden tables made of thick planks, an inviting bar, and an eating area that is open, intimate, and communal all at once.
Named for allioli, (a garlic “mayonnaise” is the best way to describe it but does not do it justice) the restaurant specializes in Galician cuisine, though tastes of the rest of Spain are evident. The menu is heavy on seafood – any kind of seafood – and uses mainly “salt of the earth” ingredients: onions, olive oil, potatoes, fish, rock salt, and other assorted vegetables. This tapas menu might sound heavy, but after sampling numerous dishes, I never once felt like I had gone overboard, and my stomach remained incredibly happy.
All the dishes were made of fresh ingredients and tasted “clean.” I don’t know how better to describe the lingering effects in my mouth other than “clean.” The tastes were wonderful and alive. One of the main highlights for the restaurant was the presentation on each dish, artistic and beautiful; it displayed the pride the chef had in his cooking.
Among the delectable dishes we were served that night: olives marinades (a mixture of fresh Spanish olives in olive oil blended with a paprika-like spice); montaditos de solomillo (a bruscheta-like concoction with artichokes, manchego, and chilled thinly-sliced filet mignon on fresh bread [mouthwatering]); ensalada de cabrales (frisse salad with Granny Smith apple slices, roasted walnuts, & Asturian blue cheese dressing combining to make a dish sweet and strong, tart and sour); ensalada de pulpito (a whole grilled baby octopus [whose meat was fleshy and tender], red onions, and potatoes bathing in a olive oil and paprika-like spice broth); atun al la plancha Alubian con asturianas (perhaps the best dish of the night – perfectly seared tuna slices with rock salt and fava beans – the meat so tender and delightful I considered getting it for dessert); and sea bass with vegetables, lemon slices, and its own broth wrapped and cooked in parchment paper to maintain its moisture and flavor.
Allioli is a wonderful addition to the burgeoning Grand Street corridor. It is a friendly restaurant with good, solid food, and a wonderful atmosphere. The prices are reasonable: appetizer dishes were under $10 and constitute small meals in themselves; and main entrees average $16 and are enormous.
Thursday nights (which was when we dined) features stupendous live flamenco music and dancing. Monday evenings are a sort of happy hour all night long, with tapas only and drink specials. (Speaking of alcohol, Allioli’s wine list is stocked with an assortment of wonderful full-bodied Spanish wines.)
The management wouldn’t let us leave without trying their dessert; a chocolate soufflé made of Catalan cream (flan more or less), Spanish sparkling wine, and stuffed with a raspberry sauce. Another winner from Chef Diego Gonzalez.