La Vara
Spanish restaurant · Cobble Hill
268 Clinton St, Brooklyn, NY 11201
Highlights
Spanish tapas with Moorish & Jewish influences, crispy eggplant
Spanish tapas with Moorish & Jewish influences, crispy eggplant
"La Vara is the sort of place someone might take you if they were trying to convince you to move to Cobble Hill. The Basque restaurant serves great wine and a bunch of small, beautiful plates—things like deviled eggs with green tahini, iberico ham with crispy artichokes and anchovy aioli, and slow roasted suckling pig with tximitxurri. During the warmer months, we like to sit outside, which always feels like a neighborhood block party. But the big booths in the brick-walled dining room are nice, too." - willa moore, molly fitzpatrick, bryan kim, neha talreja, will hartman
"Alex Raij and Eder Montero are major players the Cobble Hill dining scene, and their Spanish tapas restaurant La Vara is a compelling destination for Moorish and Sephardic fare. The grilled beans, octopus with citrus and olive oil, and Iberico sausage are some standout snacks. Raij and Montero also added the international seafood restaurant Saint Julivert Fisherie to the neighborhood. Don’t skip the specials at either location, especially the springtime gooseneck barnacles." - Robert Sietsema
"A hidden gem in Brooklyn known for its Spanish and Moorish-inspired cuisine." - Kevin Chau
"The Spanish food at La Vara involves things like anchovy aioli, spicy ink sauce, and various types of vinaigrette. They’re delicious, but they’re really tough to pair with wines. The wine list here has some good options, like fino sherry and txakolina, but if you have something else in mind, just bring it in with you." - matt tervooren
"La Vara is one of our favorite restaurants in NYC, and it’s also one of the best places to eat tapas in the city. However, unlike a lot of other spots on this guide that are great for groups, we feel the need to warn you that the food at La Vara is so good you won’t want to share it with all six members of your book club. We’d suggest you come to this charming little brick-walled spot with one or two other people who truly deserve that last little bite of lamb meatball, fried artichoke, or octopus." - hannah albertine, bryan kim, matt tervooren
