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Pipa
November 18th, 2007
Pipa is a tapas restaurant-come-ABC Carpet sales tool. It shares a space with the home décor store and is adorned with a sea of chandeliers and lamps, all with price tags hanging. It’s an odd concept but it works, creating a wildly colorful setting for tapas that are just as vibrant. The atmosphere felt nearly whimsical on a cold, rainy Friday evening.
Pipa seems to draw large parties, there to celebrate with pitchers of sangria and selections from the menu of small plates split into tapas, charcuterie, quesos, croquetas and cocas (open faced flat bread sandwiches). We were indeed there to celebrate as well, as a close friend had just run the marathon and I had taken my spirits exam. Being a big group, we sampled a bevy of dishes. A “pulpo gallego”, sautéed octopus with roasted potatoes and black olives was in dainty octopus rounds, bursting with earthy, spicy flavors as was a “Gambas al ajillo”, a shrimp with garlic and chiles. My two tortilla Espanola (Spanish omelette) critics both approved of a pure tortilla, served in a wedge, dotted with hearty potatoes. We sampled two cocas, both served on crisp bread with towering toppings of mushroom, caramelized onion, dried fig, Serrano ham and toasted almonds and another with sobrasada, artichoke, tomato, piquillo peppers and manchego cheese. I loved the interplay of sweet and savory with the crispness of the bread. We also ordered a peach cobbler, a chocolate flan, and a chocolate cake which were decent though wildly overshadowed by the tapas. Service was spot-on with tapas served in duets, rather than overloading the table at once.
Pipa started off on a bad foot – having lost my reservation after failing to confirm with me in advance. But they recovered gracefully, wooing us with free sangria and scrounging up a table within twenty minutes or so. From then on, it was a fully enjoyable meal. I’d return to Pipa anytime to sample more of the menu.
Pipa- 38 E 19th Street Between Broadway and Park Ave South
Cuisine- Tapas
Word to the Wise- Provide the restaurant with a number where you can be reached for confirmation.
5 Responses to “Pipa”
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Great point about Pipa’s ability to recover gracefully from the delay in seating us. I was so happy with my sangria and conversation that I didn’t even notice how long we had been standing there! It’s so rare to find that kind of attention — I went to Aurora in soho this past weekend and after waiting over 40 minutes past our reservation time to be seated, the hostess didn’t even apologize once. It really tainted my whole dining experience. So glad you mentioned that about Pipa
Great post!
One minor point of contention, I think it was a cheese flan we had, not chocolate. Excellent observations about the service though. I was so ready to be furious at them, especially since I had been the first one to arrive and told them the name our reservation was under and nobody bothered to point out that the reservation hadn’t been confirmed until I had been standing around for 30 min waiting for the rest of our party to arrive. In fact, I was pretty pissed, but they knew exactly how to appease me–profuse apologies and free booze!
Cheese flan you’re right! That’s why I wanted it!! I was wondering why I’d be into a chocolate flan. I could not find the dessert menu online.
Yea, the hostess was strange at first but then when I started getting angry she was suddenly very nice and accommodating. Moral of story: I should get angry more often?
That’s a good moral. You’re always good at getting things taken care of though.
As you know, I am quite the Spanish tapas snob but I must say that Pipa went beyond my expectations. I was expecting a trendy, well decorated restaurant with watered down sangria and sub-par tapas. While the Sangria was a bit weak, the tapas were really tasty and more authentic than most ’spanish’ restaurants in Manhattan. With some of the best tapas I have had in NYC, and a bill that does not put a dent in your wallet, I will be happy to return to Pipa with you!