On tapa things: Triana is a bright spot in Nob Hill

The restaurant business is a challenging one. Costs are high, margins are low, and even well-established places stand perpetually on shaky ground.

Consider the case of the late and lamented El Cotorro in Nob Hill. Its formula of gourmet tacos and homemade ice cream was as popular as it was unsustainable. Turns out, it’s hard to break even when the taco you sell for $6 costs $8 to make. In 2023, El Cotorro closed after seven years in business.

On tapa things: Triana is a bright spot in Nob Hill

This brings us to a more inspiring aspect of the restaurant business: rebirth. Rather than limp away in defeat, El Cotorro owner Daniel Boardman remade the space into Triana, a tapas bar and restaurant serving up small plates with affordable Spanish wines. The restaurant, named for a historic district of Seville, Spain, has attracted positive reviews online since opening. It recently celebrated its one-year anniversary.

We booked a table for two online a couple of days in advance for Saturday dinner. Street parking is usually available on Campus Boulevard and the side streets north of Central Avenue and west of Carlisle Boulevard.

Remnants of El Cotorro’s dining room remain in the bare light bulbs hanging down from the corrugated metal ceiling. A palette of cool whites and blues has replaced the yellow and orange color scheme of the old place, and a barrier behind the host stand creates more privacy in the lower dining room.

The friendly host escorted us up a couple of stairs to a table for two by the bar in the second, smaller dining room. The place was about three-quarters full when we arrived. Windows on one side of the room look out on the traffic lining up on Carlisle north of Central. The artwork adorning the walls consisted of large paintings of pharmaceutical pills. The one looming above us was called “Xanax.” Perhaps it’s meant as an antidote to the raucous sounds of laughter and conversation volleying off the hard surfaces.

The drinks menu includes what Triana claims is New Mexico’s largest selection of Spanish wines, sherries and vermouths. Glasses are available in 6- and 9-ounce pours. The $25 bottles are served in long-necked decanters called porróns that allow patrons to pour the wine in a thin stream directly into their mouths. Cocktails and a rotating selection of draft beers round out the selection of drinks.

There are some good deals here if you can make it in before Happy Hour pricing ends at 6 p.m. For instance, a 12-ounce glass of the fruity, spicy sangria was only $6, or half the regular price of $12. Also on the Happy Hour menu are $6 tapas specials.

The food menu leads off with Soups and Stews. Instead of the usual gazpacho, Triana offers Salmorejo, the cold tomato soup of southern Spain that’s topped with jamón serrano and a hard-boiled egg. We opted for the Garbanzos con Espinaca ($6 Happy Hour/$11 after), a stew of garbanzo beans also known as chickpeas, and spinach dusted with Spanish paprika. It was attractively presented in a broad white bowl, the deep green leaves of spinach contrasting with the pale orange stew. Unfortunately, the whole thing was flavorless and underseasoned.

The rest of the tapas menu is divided into cold and hot dishes. There’s a mix of small plates and more substantial dishes like Duck Breast, Oxtail and New York Strip Steak.

On the cold side, we tried Boquerones en Vinagre ($6), a plate of white anchovies cured in vinegar and olive oil. The dozen or so fish were fanned out on one side of the plate opposite a pool of lemon-yellow sauce. The anchovies, briny and only slightly fishy, paired well with the brightly acidic sauce and were especially good on top of the accompanying grilled bread.

From the considerably longer list of hot tapas, we chose Patatas Bravas ($6). “Spicy potatoes” in Spanish, the cubes of deep-brown potatoes were served on a black plate. These are classic tapas: salty, spicy and shareable. The potatoes were crisp, not greasy, and the two sauces, a sharp, acidic salsa brava and a thick, garlicky aioli, offered compelling contrasts in texture and flavor.

A similar experience was had with the Berenjena con Melaza ($6), three large pieces of tempura-battered deep-fried eggplant arranged over pomegranate molasses. Like the patatas, the eggplant wore a crisp, nongreasy coating over a hot, soft core. It was like a better version of a french fry, and the tart, sweet and smoky sauce gave it a jolt of flavor. Again, the serving was ample enough for sharing.

Triana’s version of Croquetas ($11) are filled with a mix of mushrooms and bechamel, the butter, flour and milk sauce flavored with nutmeg. The menu indicated that there were three to a serving, but we got four piled on a rectangular plate, and I was happy to have the extra one. The piping-hot filling contrasted nicely with the crunchy coating. Just be careful you don’t burn your tongue.

Espárragos a la Plancha ($11) was a good, simple dish consisting of grilled asparagus in lemon parsley oil. The handful of asparagus spears were hot and al dente, and they picked up salt and crunch from bits of jamón crisped to a dark brown.

Gambas al Ajillo ($17), one of the more popular choices according to our server, is made up of several pieces of sauteed shrimp over an olive oil-based sauce flavored with sherry and árbol chiles. The presentation was terrific, the shrimp arranged over the sauce in a wide shallow white bowl with half a grilled lemon on the side. The dish displayed a good balance between the acidity of the sauce and faint brininess of the shrimp.

Besides the excellent sangria, I highly recommend the $16 wine flights. You get three small glasses of either red or white Spanish wines. Our white wine flight was quaffable, and the bartender did a great job explaining the slight variations in acidity, sweetness and texture between the three. What better way to find the ideal wine to order on future visits?

Dessert choices vary. On this night, the lone option was something called Banana Provencal ($12). It was another pretty dish, with rings of meringue and vanilla ice cream supporting a banana under a sheet of caramelized sugar. Banana, vanilla and caramel make up a fairly foolproof combination, and the meringue added lots of crunch.

Service was delivered via a team-oriented approach. The host seated parties and bussed tables while one server delivered food from the kitchen and the other hustled around between the two dining rooms taking orders. It was slow at times and our drinks sat on the bar for a while before being delivered. One more server would have alleviated things greatly.

Vegan and gluten-friendly options are marked on the menu.

Triana is a bright spot in a neighborhood that took a big hit recently with the closures of Slice Parlor, O’Niell’s Pub and Salt and Board. With its creative tapas menu and Happy Hour specials, it works for both destination dining and as a first stop on a night out.