Trendy Tapas on the Cambridge-Somerville border.
Written: Jan 13 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Fun, great "bar eating", wonderful Sangria, excellent meat tapas.
Cons: Fish could be fresher, parking is difficult, gets crowded early.
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| vickie's Full Review: Dali |
Dali is a very good tapas restaurant located on the Somerville-Cambridge border. The bar area and the décor are the first things that you notice when you enter Dali. Although it is small, this place oozes charm and character. Dried chili peppers, animals skins, stuffed animals, dried flowers, garlic braids, pots and masks all hang above and around the Spanish tiled bar. Behind the bar are more framed tiles, Spanish fans, a tilted gold-framed painting of Salvador himself and a painting of a fleshy nude. It may sound chaotic but it is colorful and happy. Eating at the bar is my favorite way to enjoy Dali.
Dali actually has a full menu of Spanish food, but it is the tapas for which the restaurant is best known. There are "hot" and "cold" sections of the tapas menu as well as an ever-changing list of "Tapas Nuevas." Prices for tapas range from $3 to $8 per serving (entrees range from $17-$22).. If two people share one dish, you each get a couple of good-sized bites. My husband and I generally share four or five dishes for a dinner meal…and we are "healthy eaters.!" There is a very good Spanish wine selection. However, I suggest that you skip the wine and go for a pitcher of Sangria. The Sangria at Dali is probably the best that I have ever had; flavorful with lots of fruit floating in it but not sweet.
From the cold tapas menu I recommend the meat and vegetable selections, things like the cured ham, mixed greens with hearts of palm, marinated olives and roasted red peppers. Unfortunately, the seafood selections, including both the marinated fresh anchovy fillets and the octopus vinaigrette, had the taste and consistency of canned instead of fresh.
From the hot tapas menu I, again, recommend the meat selections and suggest that you avoid the fish. Again, the salmon balls with caper sauce had a strong, canned flavor…although the texture and color were good. The garlic soup is excellent as is the garlicky chicken and the grilled Spanish sausage. The pork sausage is figs is also very good. The pork tenderloin with Blue Goat Cheese and mushrooms has been out of this world each time I have had it!
My favorite selection from the Dec. 1999 "Tapas Nuevas" menu was the Venison sausage with pomegranate sauce. The sausage was lean and flavorful, not at all strong and the sauce was the perfect accompaniment. I tried to order the sauteed fresh Iberian sardines, but none were available, even though I was there at the start of the evening instead of the end!
The service at Dali is very responsive and professional. Parking is on the street….and it is dicey, at best. Since the place is small and fills up quickly (expect a wait after 7:30 pm on weekdays and a LONG wait on weekends) your best bet is to arrive for an early meal….in which case parking won't be much of an issue either! The combination of the atmosphere, the great Sangria and the very good (if not really great) tapas make Dali a fun place to spend a different kind of evening. I suggest that you give it a try.
Dali
415 Washington St.
Somerville
617-661-3254
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
vickie
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Location: Waltham, MA
Reviews written: 75
Trusted by: 113 members
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