First Pics: Torero tapas and paella bar opens in Italian Market
Torero Bar, the tapas place that we told you this week would be opening soon at 940 S 9th St. in the Italian Market, has already opened with an expansive menu that includes much more than just tapas – and one helluva happy hour.
Chef Miguel Martí Rossello, who was most recently chef at Mixto in Center City, drew from his heritage growing up on the Catalan-speaking island of Mallorca off Spain’s Mediterranean coast. There’s a section on the menu of traditional tapas like patatas bravas and garlic shrimp and sliced meats including jamon iberico. But there is also a large selection of meat and fish entrees (and some really unfortunate misspellings) on the menu: langostinos, skirt steak, octopus, cod, lamb. Brunch will also be served, starting at 10 a.m. on weekends.
Kitchen is open till 10 p.m. nightly, but a rotating roster of pinxtos (Basque word for tapas) and the full bar will be served till 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. Full menu is below.
Rossello said the specialty, however, is the paella, inspired by the family recipe passed down from his grandmother, who was raised in Alicante (a couple hours south of paella-central Valencia).
For our money, the best bang for your buck is the kick-ass happy hour – $4 for a pinxto (Basque word for tapa) and a small beer or wine (three-ounce pour). It goes 5 to 8 p.m. Monday to Friday. The choices yesterday were quite tasty.
