Spanish food is an inexplicable weakness in L.A.'s dining scene. My list:
La Paella (Beverly Grove): Tapas are their forte, but strangely not their paella…
Tatel (Beverly Hills): Really good tortilla española, in a terraza setting…
Saso (Pasadena): Basque-influenced. It started off promising during its grand opening, but there have been some not-as-good reports since…
Gasolina Café (Woodland Hills): OK food…
Soulmate (WeHo): A hangout place which happens to have (somewhat soggy) paella on its menu. Their pan con tomate, however, IS worth ordering…
Otoño (Highland Park): I appreciate their effort… Don’t order the thick-cut jamon…
La Española Meats (Harbor City): The socarrat in their takeout paella is often missing, but damn if this isn’t the most crave-worthy (non-catered) racion de paella in the L.A. area! The bocadillos are also huge bites as well…
… and notably missing:
Spain Restaurant (Echo Park): An Argentinian place masquerading as a Spanish joint.