Restaurant Review:

The Spanish have so many things in the culinary world right, and we really should transfer some of the brilliant ideas to other foods.

The best example is tapas. The appetizers, both cold and hot, are perfect for meals and allow diners to share in so many different tastes while enjoying their favorite adult beverage.

Imagine tapas at an Italian Restaurant? A bite or two of fettuccini Alfredo, or a small plate of lasagna and a glass of Chianti — what a great world it would be indeed.

Until we convince the rest of the culinary establishments of this obvious advantage to dining, we have the Spanish. And, in Costa Mesa, Boqueria Restaurant has embraced this concept.

The name of the restaurant is taken from the large public market in Barcelona, where many gather to buy fresh fruits, vegetables and spices.

Boqueria attempts to use the same concept of fresh ingredients in their tapas, and, for the most part, they succeed admirably.

There are 21 items, and none of them are more than $12. It makes tasting a wide variety of dishes extremely possible and gives diners a full spectrum of the restaurant’s many strengths and few weaknesses.

The location of the restaurant is at the Rooster Café. Because the breakfast and lunch joint closes at 3 p.m., Boqueria is able to take over Wednesday through Saturday and present a room that looks like it is exclusively used by them.

There are tables close together and a couple of longer bench-style tables, which makes conversation with one’s neighbors unavoidable. We shared a carafe of water with the couple next to us and then began discussing the menu.

Our meal began with the red sangria. There is a white version of the fruity alcoholic drink that is usually made with fresh fruit, sugar and carbonated water. The red was dry and had a bit of a bite to it, something I liked. The white had more of a lemon taste.

The sangria went well with our first dish, the queso con membrillo. The manchego cheese, which is also served with grilled jamon, was a nice dry cheese. The picon cheese was very creamy and rich, very much like a blue cheese flavor.

The small amount of quince that accompanied it was also a nice touch, adding a bit of sweetness to the two cheeses.

My guest and I both enjoyed the croquetas del pollo. The fried chicken and bacon fritter had a great sauce with it that tasted like it had roasted pepper with a hazelnut, which gave it a nice deep smoky flavor.

The jamon serrano y lomo embuchado con pimientos guindilla was a nice combination of two meats and a very unusual pepper. The jamon, a cured Spanish ham, is served in thin slices almost like a mini-deli platter tray. It is a great meat and perfectly acceptable eating by itself.

The dry cured pork was the second meat, and I thought at first it would be too dry and flavorless, but was completely wrong. It had nearly as much flavor as the ham.

I had never heard of a pickled banana pepper, and the odd-looking vegetable not only added visual stimulation to the dish, but the crunchy, slightly spicy pepper gave a nice contrast to the meat. I found myself eating a piece of pepper with meat, which I am sure is why the chef placed it on the plate.

The paella was the only dish over which I did not agree with the chef’s conception. It was prepared properly, and I enjoyed the chorio bilboa and homemade sausage, but I just wish there was more of it. My guest and I fought over the lone piece of chicken and were left with mostly rice. Shrimp is often used in the rice with saffron dish, but with the chef already using scallops in the vieiras a la plancha, he could easily put some of the shellfish in the paella.

The last dish of the evening, the scallops, was a perfect way to end our meal. The seared scallops were placed on a plate with jamon dust and a red mojo sauce, which included balsamic vinegar, garlic and peppers. The scallops were cooked perfectly and had a slightly crunchy exterior, but were not too firm.

This is an experience that I relished. It is nice to bring a touch of Spain to the area. My hope is that more people recognize it for the gem that it is.

Boqueria

Address: 750 St. Claire, Costa Mesa

Phone: (714) 727-7286

Website: www.boqueriarestaurant.net

Cuisine: Spanish tapas

Specialty dish: none

Alcohol served: wine

Entrée price range: $1.50 to $12

Family friendly: not so much

Credit cards accepted: American Express, MasterCard and Visa

Rating: *** 1/2

JOHN REGER reviews local restaurants and may be contacted at [email protected] or P.O. Box 2984, Seal Beach, CA 90740.