Manolo Tapas

The reign of Spain extends up to Washington Heights at this tapas joint focusing on the cuisine of Galicia, in Northern Spain. According to co-owner (and, yes, Galicia native) Jesus Perez, his hometown's food—with its Iberian bent—is noted for its "earthy" and simple" ingredients and unfussy preparation methods, highlighted here in a sprawling menu divided into montaditos (a kind of Basque crostini), soups, salads, paellas, and hot and cold tapas. Decisions! The tapas alone add up to about 40, including Serrano ham, offal (pig's snout, ear), boquerones, cured yellowfin tuna and langoustines imported from Spain. (Perez is also importing some of his octopus and squid.) Hear those screams of "Viva!"? It's from beer lovers rejoicing over Manolo's menu of over 50 suds—many of them from hard-to-find brewers like La Zaragozana and Mortiz. Wanna wow your gang? Order the Estella Inedit: The beer was created by Ferran Adria of El Bulli fame. Cue the "Vivas"…

See more: Washington Heights restaurants, Spanish restaurants, Tapas restaurants