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Boston Globe

At Taberna de Haro, all (still) seems right with the world

Get Winter Soup Club A six-week series featuring soup recipes and cozy vibes, plus side dishes and toppings, to get us all through the winter. Enter Email Sign Up Gambas al ajillo are an eternal must-order at Taberna de Haro. Lane Turner/Globe Staff Advertisement But also, why not keep coming back to a place that's so friendly and pleasant and bon vivant-ish? That's so itself, night after night and year after year. Particularly when the check arrives and we look at it and think, oh, that's actually what a night out with food and drink is supposed to cost. That seems about right. Deborah Hansen opened Taberna de Haro back in 1998. (Then-partner Julio de Haro would go on to open Estragon.) She ran the Brookline restaurant for more than 25 years, opening Boston's eyes and palates to Spanish food and drink. With more than 300 bottles, her all-Spanish wine list showcased regional diversity, with a generous focus on the many moods and pleasures of sherry. Jerez owes her an honorary ambassadorship. Advertisement Then, last year, she passed the torch to new owner Kristie Weiss. Weiss, who worked at restaurants such as Bar Volpe and Fox & the Knife, Haley Henry and Nathalie, and Select Oyster Bar, had been looking for her own place. 'I wanted it to feel right,' she says by phone. 'I'm a neighborhood person at heart. I didn't want it to feel brand new and shiny.' Her friend Hansen asked to have coffee and a chat. She said, ''I think you should buy Taberna.' I was like, ' What ?' I didn't even think that was a possibility.' After taking the reins last year at Taberna de Haro, owner Kristie Weiss has changed the place just enough and not too much. Lane Turner/Globe Staff Hansen brought the restaurant to life, then kept it alive through a financial downturn and a pandemic, in a dining scene changing at a head-spinning pace. She knew what it needed for its next chapter. A lot more of the same, a little bit of something new. A proprietress with a particular touch. A restaurant that offers both continuity and delight, where for a few hours all can feel right with the world. Indeed, Taberna de Haro is as warm and welcoming as ever, with its dim-lit interior, burgundy walls, and gilt-framed bar, a corner of the conjoining room opening into the kitchen. The lively outdoor patio is just coming into season. When Select Oyster Bar's sister restaurant Atlántico closed, Weiss hired many of the front-of-house staff, and the service feels more professional for it. Many of the cooks who had worked here for years still do, and the menu is much as it was, lightly refreshed. Advertisement There are a few new dishes, like those stuffed dates, grilled skirt steak, and Gildas, the Basque skewers of anchovies, olives, and pickled chiles that are an ideal drinking snack. And there's more accommodation for allergies and dietary needs — for instance, the paella del jardín is vegetarian, and made with vegetable rather than shellfish stock. It's a pleasant surprise. I am particular about paella, and I've always liked Taberna de Haro's, which is made to order and takes its time to reach the table. The arroz negro is made with squid ink, squid, and saffron shellfish stock; there is also a paella del mar, minus the ink and with an assortment of shellfish. I would likely enjoy an espadrille simmered in that saffron shellfish stock. Yet I don't particularly miss the stock or the seafood with the paella del jardín. The vegetable broth has plenty of flavor; the rice is the same, lightly caramelized on the bottom; the kitchen still takes its time to make the dish right. Gildas make an ideal drinking snack. Lane Turner/Globe Staff Mostly, though, I come here for the small plates, to graze on bit by bit. Perhaps I'll start with the Straight Law, a cocktail of sherry and gin with a cornichon-stuffed olive and lemon. (For a time, there was a bar-within-the-restaurant called Straight Law, but now it's all of a piece.) Someone always orders the sangria. The sherry-curious might go all in with a flight of four; it comes with informative notes about aging, yeast, and variety, plus a snack. (Get the excellent fried boquerones, boneless white anchovies in a light, crisp batter.) Then it's time to explore the world of Spanish wine. There are also plenty of alcohol-free options, from cocktails to beer and cider. Advertisement The croquetas de jamón are crowd-pleasing magic: crisp outside, filled with rich, ham-laced bechamel inside. I'm personally more partial to buñuelos de bacalao, salt cod fritters with garlic alioli. Or there's the excellent txistorra con brandada, skinny Basque sausages served grilled over salt cod. Seared oyster mushrooms come alongside a crisp-edged, bright-yolked fried duck egg, everything garlicky and flecked green with parsley. Tender bites of Spanish octopus swim in olive oil, lightly smoky with a dusting of paprika. Dishes are consistently satisfying, and with a few plates on the table, it feels forgivable if on one visit the gambas al ajillo are a little overcooked, or the fava beans sauteed with bacon, garlic, and mint arrive on the dry side. Txistorra con brandada, skinny grilled Basque sausages over salt cod. Lane Turner/Globe Staff A plate of Spanish cheeses with Marcona almonds, quince paste, and honey includes a mix of milks and textures; it makes an excellent dessert. For a bite of something a little sweet (and a little bitter), try grilled bread topped with a house-made dark chocolate truffle, drizzled in olive oil and sprinkled with cocoa powder and sea salt. What do we want from a restaurant? I mean really want — like, if it was the only restaurant in the world. A place that's friendly and serves good food. A place that's good for date night, friend gatherings, family dinners, alone time at the bar with a book. A place with atmosphere. A place we can visit regularly, without getting bored or going broke. Taberna de Haro is all of these things. TABERNA DE HARO ★★★ 999 Beacon St., Brookline, 617-277-8272, Wheelchair accessible Prices Tapas $5-$19, main dishes $26-$38, paella $39-$42, desserts $10-$16, cocktails $15. Advertisement Hours Mon-Sat 5-10 p.m. (Open Sundays in May only, 4-8 p.m.) Noise level Convivial. ★★★★★ Extraordinary | ★★★★ Excellent | ★★★ Very good | ★★ Good | ★ Fair | (No stars) Poor Devra First can be reached at