There are some restaurants that evoke memories from your travels and there are others that offer food worth the trip. Bravas Bar de Tapas in Healdsburg, CA, in Sonoma Valley, is a bit of both.
Set in a quaint converted home just off the main square in Downtown Healdsburg, you can tell from the approach that Bravas was stylish and fresh. The inside is split between two main rooms, with a large bar occupying a large portion of one. Off the back there is a large deck with more seating, but the real treat is on the patio. The backyard features a large cabana style bar and room on the patio for about 10 tables.
We sat outside on a crisp but sunny day in March, just warm enough to make the outdoor heat lamps unnecessary. As soon as I looked at the menu I could tell that we were in for a treat. This was not a generic “tapas” restaurant that offers everything from hummus to pizzas. No, this was an authentic Spanish-style tapas restaurant with options on the menu that we haven’t found since our trip to Spain a few years ago.
Despite our morning wine tasting I started off with a glass of white sangria. The question then was not what to order, but what NOT to order, because everything sounded so delicious. We started off with a few of our favorites: the pan tomate (toast with tomato, Arbequina olive oil, garlic and sea salt), tortilla española (potato, onion and manchego omelette with aioli), salmorejo soup (Andalusia style chilled gazpacho), and patatas bravas (fried potatoes with spicy tomato sauce and aioli).
We spent two weeks in Spain in 2012, including visits to Barcelona, Madrid, and Seville and we all agreed that everything we ate at Bravas was as good or better than anything that we had in Spain. The tortilla was the best I ever had. Served warm not chilled, you tasted every delicate layer of potato. If you’ve never tried salmorejo, Bravas is the place to try it. I don’t even like comparing it to gazpacho because the only things they have in common are that they are chilled and use tomatoes, but the flavor profile is entirely different. The salmorejo at Bravas is smooth, creamy and the hint of olive oil provides a soft richness that leaves it both refreshing and indulgent. The patatas bravas were perfectly crispy on the outside, yet soft on the inside, with just enough spice to not be overpowering.
Of course we couldn’t stop there, everything was just too good. Next up, we added the bacon wrapped dates with blue cheese and Marcona almonds, croquettas with manchego, cider braised chorizo and Shishito peppers, homemade garlic and manchego sausage with pickled mustard seeds, and grilled asparagus. It was way too much food for our family of three but we were happy to keep tasting our way through the menu. Every bite was cooked flawlessly – crispy where it should be crispy, soft where it should be soft, and seasoned perfectly.
If you visit Sonoma and like Spanish food, Bravas Bar de Tapas is a must try restaurant. In fact, if I was visiting Northern California, I’d drive out of my way to visit Bravas. Every now and then you visit a restaurant that makes you want to go back again and again. Bravas is that restaurant and I can’t wait to return.
Bravas Bar de Tapas is located at 420 Center Street in Healdsburg, CA.