Dining at Bellota a couple weeks back I was treated to a fun off-menu item — patatas bravas "animal style" topped with jamon Iberico and chorizo aioli. Eater reminded me of the dish today with a new list of off-menu delights around the city, noting that this one is a bit pricey since that jamon doesn't come cheap, $35.

The SoMa Spanish destination from the Absinthe Group and former Coqueta chef de cuisine Ryan McIlwraith impresses on multiple levels, not the least of which because of the paella selection — four kinds nightly, including a vegetarian option, as well as the option of trying two in a divided paella pan, called Dividida. Also, the space itself, in a formerly non-restaurant warehouse space in the Airbnb building (a.k.a. the Gift Center and Jewelry Mart) got an beautiful renovation at the hands of Sagan Piechota Architecture, which went as far as to carve patterns into the concrete columns.

Also delicious is the Asturian white-bean and chorizo stew with morcilla (blood) sausage, pork belly, and octopus; and the creamy clam and sea-urchin croquetas, that are an unusual treat, especially for urchin fans.


For budgetary reasons, SFist editors and contributors occasionally accept complimentary meals from restaurants and their publicists. More often, we pay out of pocket for our meals. While we refrain from writing formal reviews, we make every effort when giving opinions about restaurants to be objective, and to focus more on food and ambiance than service in order to make up for any possible bias.