Bar Spero

[Mark Dedrick]

Sorry if this topic already exists, I couldn't find it!

I've now eaten here twice, and I really like the place. I love Spanish food, and the type of food they do is very up my alley. The menu is divided into "raw bar", "from the fire" and "Let's Go". There's also a list of daily specials which include oysters and other items that would otherwise fit into the first two categories. It's a confusing set-up, but how we've navigated it both times is to get around two "Let's Go" for four people, and round the meal out with around four items from the other two categories. In both cases this yielded roughly the right amount of food, and as you'll notice if you check the menu, will also lead to a rather expensive tab. I think the food justifies the price, but it's good to go into this with your eyes open, particularly since they have billed this restaurant as not a fine dining destination. 

Standout dishes for me have been the Jonah Crab (basically crab rice), and the Ribeye from the "Let's Go!" section. The Hearth Veg from the "From the Fire" section are fantastic. And everything I've had from the raw bar or the daily specials car has been great. 

[Pool Boy]

We dined here this past October with friends and were able to sample a lot of the menu. We enjoyed it, but I found it overpriced for the whole experience. I am not saying I would not go back, I'd give it another go for sure, but I'm not in a rush to do so.

[malokd]

Had a great dinner here on Friday night.  We ordered:

Oysters with a tomato mignonette

Hiramasa crudo with a strawberry vinaigrette

Roasted potato with chicken and pork cracklings and a seaweed butter

Hamachi collar with sesame gpchuchang mole

Jonah crab rice

Basque cheesecake ice cream

Spanish French Toast( torrejas?)

Total: $300 for two -- gratuity is included

I have seen posts about the price and portions and I have to say-- we were absolutely stuffed after desert.

The cooked food was very rich.  It's important to balance it with fresh/cold appetizer selections.  The only bust was the Hiramasa crudo-- the sauce had an off taste that was not described well in the menu.  The rest of the food was delicious.  Standouts were then hamachi collar and the oysters.  The Jonah crab rice was delicious but reaaally rich.  It was clear that there was a lot of work going into each dish-- felt the price was fair.

I would definitely go back once the menu changes.