My family and I have been going to Socarrat Paella Bar for years now. We first discovered it when an article came out in the New York Times recommending the place. We’ve been there dozens of times since.
Mother’s Day
For Mother’s Day, we had to drive my daughter and her Fiance into the city. They came out for the weekend. While sitting in their apartment, someone mentioned going to Socarrat in the 50’s in East Manhattan. Since it’s one of my favorite New York City restaurants, I was eager to go.
Socarrat
The restaurant is located at 952 Second Avenue in Manhattan. Since we didn’t want to sit inside, when we got there, the staff placed us in a pleasant outside portion of the restaurant located on the second floor. There was an overhang, which was good for us since it was pouring that day. There was a plexi-glass divider to separate us from the other group who sat on the same deck.
Tapas
The tapas are absolutely delicious. I would recommend the following:
- GAMBAS AL AJILLO – sizzling shrimp, olive oil, garlic, Guindilla peppers
- CHORIZO…CHORIZO! – chorizo, paprika, white wine sauce, fava bean pesto
- COSTILLA DE TERNERA – short ribs braised in red wine, butternut squash purée
- COLES DE BRUSELAS – crispy Brussels sprouts, chopped almonds, sweet and spicy glaze
- DÁTILES – bacon wrapped dates stuffed with Valdeón cheese, almonds, roasted apple purée
- NAPOLEÓN DE VERDURAS – layered eggplant, Portobello mushrooms, zucchini, tomato, goat cheese, basil oil, pumpkin seeds
All spectacular and very tasty!
Main course
For the main course, we had paella (what else?). My favorite is the CARNE, which consists of short ribs, boneless free-range chicken, chorizo, snow peas, mushroom sofrito. It is truly superb!
My kids loved the ARROZ NEGRO, which consisted of shrimp, calamari, white fish, scallops, piquillo peppers, fava beans, squid ink sofrito.
It’s truly the best paella you will find in Manhattan.
The prices aren’t cheap, but you will walk away totally satisfied.
For more information or to book, go to https://socarratnyc.com/midtown-east/
