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Use the bread to catch every bit of sauce on the Galician-style octopus.
Small plates have become a mainstay of American dining over the past decade. Their Spanish inspiration, tapas, are also increasingly popular. In Madison, Estrellón, the Icon and Eno Vino all serve variations of tapas. Now State Street newcomer Zandru’s adds a more traditionally Spanish version of these small dishes to the downtown scene.
The restaurant is in the former Palmyra Mediterranean Grill space (and the former longtime home to the Yellow Jersey bicycle shop). Co-owner Alberto Santos refurbished the space and opened Zandru’s in March.
The menu, like the atmosphere, stays fairly simple. Dishes are intended to be shared and the portions definitely allow for a few bites per person in a party of four.
From the tapas menu, start with the garlic marinara setas, a tasty vegetarian dish of sautéed mushrooms in a white wine marinara sauce, topped with parsley and lime juice. The Spanish sausage meatballs, perfectly seasoned and set off by a rich beef reduction sauce with slivers of onion, were also a win.
The Galician-style octopus was another great, simple dish. A very generous portion of tender octopus meat was served with just a hint of olive oil and a dusting of smoked paprika.
Many tapas are accompanied by slices of crusty bread to soak up the savory sauces.
The Spanish style chicken wings verged on crispy and come coated in a fresh tomato sauce. The wings are lightly seasoned but most of the flavor is in the garlicky sauce.
The tapas menu is heavy on seafood — calamari, shrimp, mussels, prawns, scallops and clams all make an appearance — often set off with chorizo. Ordering seafood in our landlocked position can be a bit of a risk, but the dishes didn’t disappoint.
Zandru’s has a separate menu section for montaditos, essentially a Spanish version of bruschetta. Take advantage because they are delightful. We ordered the pork; the grilled bread slices came heaped with shredded pork, sauteed onions and colorful bell peppers. They’re also served with Spanish sausage, skirt steak or vegetables.
Paella, the Spanish rice dish, is available in four different versions (vegetable, chicken, seafood and Valencia) in servings for either two or four. The menu warns of a 35 to 45 minute wait and our server also asked up front if we’d be ordering paella, so we put our order in with our tapas order. Unfortunately, we still waited upwards of an hour. Our server did eventually come over to apologize for the delay and explain that the chef was really busy, even though the restaurant was only about half full at that point.
When the paella did come, the wait was quickly forgotten. The two-person portion was plentiful for four. The Valencia, the classic style of modern-day paella (it originated in Valencia) is the best of all worlds, as there’s a little bit of chicken, whitefish, shrimp, clams, mussels and scallops, as well as house-made chorizo. Chorizo is apparently a bit of a controversial add to paella in the culinary world, but I found it well worth the rule violation.
Everything in the paella was cooked expertly, each bite containing flavor of the sea and land. The lovely hint of saffron, also responsible for the golden yellow hue that takes over the rice, ties the whole dish together. Don’t be alarmed by the rice stuck to the bottom of the paella pan it’s served in; this is the socarrat and is considered a delicacy.
Zandru’s also offers a small selection of entrees. The churrasco (skirt steak) came perfectly medium rare and was topped with a beautiful mix of mushrooms, onions and sun-dried tomatoes. The papas leonesa went well as a side, the thick slices of potatoes soaking up the juices. The kitchen also accommodated my request to do the brussels sprouts aglio and olio from the tapas menu as a side and they were another good accompaniment, crunchy and almost sweet.
Other entrees concentrate on seafood — shrimp and calamari. There are also lamb chops, salmon dishes and, oddly, an entree of eggplant parmagiana.
I’m excited to see Zandru’s establish its place downtown. With a laid-back atmosphere and a nice variety of dishes and prices, this could be a go-to spot for casual date nights, family outings and students wanting a quick bite to eat.
Zandru’s Tapas Bar & Restaurant
419 State St., 608-960-8272, facebook.com/ZandrusRestaurant, 11 am-11 pm Tues.-Thurs., 11 am-midnight Fri.-Sat., 11 am-11 pm Sun., $3-$46 (paella for two)
