3 minute read
Together At Xuntos | By Sarah Mosqueda
Beguiling spot for tapas and pintxos opens in Santa Monica.
Sandra Cordero, celebrated chef-owner behind paella-focused Gasolina Cafe in Woodland Hills, turns her attention to tapas and pintxos at new Xuntos, a half mile from the BroadStage in downtown Santa Monica. Born of DutchSpanish heritage and spending summers in Spain’s Galicia, Corderos completes her grazing menu of savoury snacks and finger foods with natural wines and superior sherry and vermouth cocktails.
Xuntos is the Gallego word for “together”—appropriate since tapas are intended for sharing and because the restaurant joins two storefronts in a 1926 building.
Around diverse small plates, groups gather in booths, couples at the bar or at tables bathed in warm amber light overlooking the dining room. A palette of deep reds and warm pinks, and a wall shingled in sea scallop shells, make for a romantic atmosphere throughout.
The menu offers delicacies of Galicia as well as Asturias, Catalunya and Basque Country.
Deftly executed pintxos include anchoa del cantabrico en brioche, which tops an impossibly buttery sliver of brioche toast with a single salty anchovy. More pot-pie slices than pockets, empanadas find a flaky, braided crust filled with Galician tuna or with chicken and marcona almonds. Aged jamon Iberico de Bellota is sliced by hand.
There are skewers of tender lamb, finished with romesco sauce, and of squid. A platito of cheese pairs with tinned-seafood conservas, perhaps cockles or mussels.
Among tapas, mariscos include fresh local fried anchovies, garlic shrimp and delicately charred sea bass collars.
And among non-seafood items are classic patatas bravas or stuffed padrón peppers. Sweet and smokey costillas con salsa barbacoa come three ribs to an order. A Denver-cut bistec con salsa verde or squid ink pasta offers more substantial fare.
The natural-wine menu presents a tightly curated selection of sparkling, white, rose, orange and red wines. There are beers from Galicia and Catalunya, cider from Galicia.
But vermouth and sherry cocktails are where the beverages shine.
The Coronation uses sherry, cider and orange zest for an OldFashioned vibe. The Calimoxto blends cherry, cola and red wine for a profile that's part sangria, part Roy Rogers.
Postres include the citrus- and cinnamon-inflected crema Catalana. But the signature dessert—displayed at the bar with the jamon Iberico—is the tarta de Santiago, powdered-sugar-dusted almond cake with whipped honey butter.
Like Xuntos itself, it's not to be missed.
516 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica, 424.744.8727, barxuntos.com
