Now this is awkward.
The other day, The Brooklyn Paper received a call from the owner of Ooba, a new tapas bar on Grand Street in what the brokers like to call “East Williamsburg.”
We like tapas, so we were on the next G train.
Walking to Ooba, however, we came across Xunta, another tapas bar that opened the very same week one block away on Grand Street.
Clearly, it was time for our first-ever Grand Street tapas smackdown.
In this corner, Ooba, owned by the delightful restaurant novice Nyree Martinez. Though she was once working in the financial services industry, Martinez and her husband turned the long-vacant Grand Street fish market into an inviting, albeit cold, space that will take some time to grow into.
Her menu is not standard tapas, but a mix of traditional Spanish small plates (such as garlic shrimp, croquetas, ceviche, olives, chorizo and tortas) and some Latin-American fusion (grilled skirt steak with chimichurri sauce; and “alitas de pollo,” her version of Buffalo wings, for example).
A block away, Xunta has picked up on Grand Street where it left off after closing its longtime spot on First Avenue in West Brooklyn. The wide wood bar, live flamenco every Friday, and omnipresent soccer matches on big-screen TVs give Xunta the feel of a genuine tapas joint, a mood that’s enhanced by owner Gonzalo Fernandez, who is as Barcelona as they come. He said that rent drove him to close the Manhattan bar and reopen in Williamsburg.
OK, so how do the two rivals compare? Use our handy table below:
Sangria
Ooba and Xunta offer distinctly different styles here, with Ooba opting for a sweeter, fruitier drink that you don’t feel until the inevitable second glass. Xunta, on the other hand, goes for a winey concoction that hits you heavy from the start.
Edge: Ooba
Garlic shrimp
The classic tapas dish also offers a perfect point of comparison: Ooba’s version ($8.95) features juicy jumbo shrimp with a scant, and not garlicky enough sauce. Meanwhile, Xunta’s camarons o allo ($7.75) arrive in a piping hot clay dish surrounded by a rich garlic sauce. The shrimps themselves, however, were tough and small.
Edge: Ooba
Croquetas
Xunta wins this category outright, thanks to classic Spanish croquetas. In this case, Xunta offers tuna croquettes ($7) that taste of fish, not potatoes. Ooba’s ham and chicken croquettes ($7.95) were mostly potato.
Edge: Xunta
Other dishes
At Ooba, we also sampled the tapas version of the skirt steak ($8.95), which are sublime. Perfectly charred, yet rare, meat mingled perfectly with the chimichurri sauce for a winning combination. We also tried the crab cakes ($8.95), which are good. Meanwhile, at Xunta, we tried the much-more authentic grilled chorizo ($4.75) and grilled octopus ($14). The chorizo was excellent, but the octopus was bland and rubbery.
Edge: Ooba.
Conclusion
Xunta is clearly the more authentically Spanish of the two tapas bars, and it is a more interesting place to relax (especially during the summer when its outdoor space is hopping). That said, Ooba’s food is a bit better (and a bit more expensive), though its interior space is a bit dull.
Edge: Ooba (slightly).
Ooba [617 Grand St. between Leonard and Lorimer streets in Williamsburg, (347) 335-0373]; Xunta [507 Grand St. between Union and Lorimer streets in Williamsburg, (347) 599-0089].
