Toro

I rarely write reviews for Unilocal,but holy shit moly was this place delicious. I’m from LA and this restaurant was hands down my favorite stop.
Try the corn, try the duck. But most importantly, try the paella. The paella was heavenly. And by heavenly I mean it tasted as if Moses descended from the mountain with this plate of paella instead of the ten commandments.
Yes, it was that good. Order it. You’re welcome.

When I first visited Boston to check out BU’s grad program in 2014, Toro was the first restaurant my mom and I ate at after a long flight from San Francisco. So, I guess you could say this was where I had my first taste of the city. And man, was that initial bite tasty! I’m pretty sure this first meal solidified my choice to move here, if I’m being honest.
Since then, I’ve been back a handful of times and each time is just as good as the first. The menu features some Spanish staples like paella and patatas bravas, but also some more adventurous eats like foie gras, beef heart, and bone marrow. All of which are so insanely incredible that I oftentimes find myself thinking about these dishes randomly throughout the day. In those instances I like to pretend I’m taking a bite out of their deliciously creamy and charred lime aioli grilled corn from the restaurant instead of thinking of the fact that I’m actually eating instant ramen (grad student budget, what can I say?).
Since it is so delicious Toro does tend to get packed especially on weekends. They also don’t take reservations so getting into the restaurant might take a while. I’ve found that coming in on a weekday around 5 (before the kitchen opens) is a great way to nab a table for an early dinner. However, if that doesn’t work out for you, Toro is definitely and absolutely worth the wait.

The best tapas in Boston! The food is always on point — been there twice already! My most favorite dish are:
1. Corn — so delicious, it has its own distinct taste and spice to it
2. Duck — a must have meat dish, the sauce is very unique: salty and sweet and the duck is cooked to perfection
3. Mushrooms
4. Foei gras
5. UNI spoon — so yum !!
The wait is horrible, though we went to the restaurant at 5:15 and waited for 1 hour. But I guess it’s normal.
Definitely recommend anyone to try! Best time to go is during their opening hours.

My boyfriend and I have been meaning to eat at Toro for the past year and we finally did! We thought President’s Day lunch wouldn’t bring a huge crowd. The high bar/​communal tables had plenty of space but that was way too crowded and uncomfortable — not the right setting for enjoying tapas. We waited 30 mins for a low table; space is tight so be ready to get close to other diners anyway! For a Monday lunch, the service wasn’t as good as it should’ve been. None of the tapas were paced out and we ran out of room on our small table. But, on to the food.
complementary bread — very soft and fresh!
Pimientos del Padron (⁴⁄₅) — the crispy spicy ones were the best. Some were just bland eh which is why I’m giving 4 stars. If the whole bowl was crunchier and spicier, it’d be a lot better.
Maíz Asado (⁵⁄₅) — this was my favorite dish! The cotija and crème on it was delicious. We wanted to order more!
Croquetas (⁵⁄₅) — I’m not a huge fan of cod, so I was skeptical of my boyfriend ordering the croquettes. But these were absolutely amazing!
Queso de Cabra (³⁄₅) — I love goat cheese and always order it at Tapas Bars. I was dissapointed in the goat cheese at Toro. It wasn’t rich enough and the presentation just didn’t make sense.
Churros (⁵⁄₅) — Only one dessert and it’s churros — three of them to be exact. It was a perfect ending to our Toro experience.

Between a 3 and a 4 star, ultimately though, this is a food review so gets 3.
If reviewing on atmosphere alone then this would be a 5 star place, small, loud, and genuinely buzzing when I arrived around 7.30 in the evening.
We were seated within about 10mins (I believe they don’t accept reservations, certainly for smaller parties) so all in all, as I sat down my expectations were extremely high.
The food is far from mediocre, some of the dishes were genuinely good (Empanada de Cabra) — as good a use of goat meat I’d eaten in a long time.
For me though, too many ‘just OK’ dishes such as the patatas Bravas or the spiced carrots for example.
Slightly hindered by the fact I’d eaten at estadio in DC (14^th St. if you’re ever there) the week before and sadly pales by comparison.
Best Tapas in Boston? Maybe… maybe…but far from being the best I’ve had though.

I absolutely love coming to Toro and I wish I came more often! My friends and I shared 6 Tapas, all of which were so delicious and we left with food comas.
–QUESO MAHON: very mild cheese with peppercorn (not overpowering)
–COLIFLOR ASADA: so good. I think it was my favorite dish of the night. It was so flavorful!!! I definitely recommend.
–PATATAS BRAVAS: an all-​time classic. Compared to the past, I think they give you more red and white sauce. The potatoes were steaming and so crispy!
–MAIZ ASADO CON ALIOLI Y QUESO COTIJA: I was slightly disappointed because the corn was very small and they didn’t give you as much white sauce this time…
–MEJILLONES: the broth was bomb-​dot-​com. I ended up soaking the bread in it!
–PAELLA DE INVIERNO: we were skeptical at first because kale + squash + brussel sprout leaves didn’t sound appetizing but wow it was amazing. I definitely recommend!
Tips–
*Come early! We got there at 4:15 on a Saturday and there was already a line. By the time we were leaving, the wait was up to 3 hours! Crazy!
*I highly recommend getting drinks while you’re waiting. I’ve never been disappointed from any of their drinks!
*lots of street parking nearby — meters take coins and card

Toro is a good tapas restaurant. I also enjoyed the wine and cocktail I had. The service was very good (thank you Wesley and crew), especially for a very busy restaurant in the South End. Toro also has a very fun, smoky environment within i.e. our server getting pressed by a table next to us into drinking from a porron (Spanish wine drinking vessel).
We had the patatas bravas with spicy tomato sauce and aioli. Mix the sauce together, it was delicious. The tuna belly, served on one over sized crostini, was also excellent yet small. The pardon peppers were good. The foie gras torchon was good with a tasty purée and spiced apples although slightly bitter on the finish. The boquerones (pickled white anchovies) were good and went well with the complimentary bread that seems to appear just as fast as it is eaten. The curried goat empanadas were very tasty. The gambas were exceptional because of the sear on the shrimp and the delicious sauce.
Alas the paella was salty and had a «beyond caramelized» underside. Our table sent the paella back and our server spoke to the chef and we were not charged for the dish. To finish we had a trio of cheese selected by the chef. The cheese board was garnished with quince paste, blood orange, red currant, and crushed spiced nuts mixed with something I could not place. The cheese and accompaniments were good and went well with sherry. It was a nice way to end the meal. Our server also informed us that the cheese board was on the house because of the paella. Totally unnecessary but very classy and an excellent way to do business.
Toro is expensive (based on portion size but it is tapas), but it is a fun place with good food, good drinks, and excellent service. Please try this fun tapas spot in the South End.
Toro does not accept reservations.

Toro is definitely known for their drinks and tapas! It can get very busy on any night of the week. It is recommended that you arrive between 5:00 — 5:15 PM to put your party’s name down and sit by opening at 5:30 PM. I came with co-​workers and we had no problem being the first wave of seating at opening.
recommended tapas:
* QUESO DE CABRA: The softened ripe goat cheese with beets was a great way to start the meal! We took our complimentary bread and dipped it into this and it was delicious. Our busser was sure to bring us more bread when he saw how much we loved it!
* HAMACHI CRUDO: This is a light tapas that varied from the usual heavy and salty dishes giving a great balance to our meal.
* FILETE A LA PLANCHA: The skirt steak was cooked perfectly, in slices that were easy to bite into and cut if you wanted smaller pieces.
* GAMBAS AL AJILLO: The garlic shrimp was very flavorful and nicely cooked!
* CHURROS: These are the only churros I have ever had that melted in your mouth. They were crunchy on the outside, but not too crunchy to cut the roof of your mouth, and would just fall apart without chewing. An order of this gives the same number of churros as number of people in your party.
mediocre options:
— TORTILLA ESPANOLA: This is an egg, potato, and onion omelette shaped into a cake slice form. I didn’t think anything special of this.
— PATATAS BRAVAS: I am a huge fan of patatas bravas, but I thought they could cook them a little more to get a little more crunchy.
— UNI BOCADILLO: This was the most hyped menu item. This is a pressed uni sandwich paired with miso butter and mustard seeds, but I couldn’t taste anything. The sandwich is very small in size with very little filling, but the bread overpowered any taste of uni or miso butter.
— ESCALIVADA CATALANA: The smoked eggplant was nothing fantastic; I don’t think I would order this again.
My coworker raved about the VERDAD Y AMOR cocktail so we were sippin’ on those all night. It is a tequila cocktail that is sweet as much as it is sour!
The tables are very cramped here. For 3, we were stuck at a corner table so that all of our knees practically touched one another’s. The servers very much want to get you in and out. Every request for more tapas items, refill on our waters, or more cocktails seemed like a request that itched them the wrong way. Our server in particular was not in a good mood at all and managed to ruin our drunken state of bliss. The bussers, however, were pleasant and so accommodating!

I LOVE TORO. I have been here a couple of times over the last year and every time is superb. Since they don’t take reservations, it is hard to get a seat if you don’t come early on a weekday. Friday and Saturday nights usually involve a 1+ hour wait to get seated. On the occasions where there is a wait, I usually pop down to Flour Bakery down the road and have a dessert while waiting for seats at Toro to open up.
Toro is classic small-​plates Spanish tapas, and is best enjoyed with a group of friends so that more delicious dishes can be ordered. The last time we were there, we got the following:
Maíz Asado con Alioli y Queso Cotija (grilled corn with aioli, lime, espelette pepper and aged cheese, $ 9): the corn. Oh my goodness, THE CORN. As a devout carnivore who would never order or willingly eat a salad in a restaurant, I have to say that this corn will change your life. I never thought I would say this about a vegetable, but this corn is no mere vegetable. This corn is love, this corn is life. Arguably the best dish in the restaurant. The corn is hot, grilled to perfection, and slathered in a creamy aoli that coats each kernel and provides it with a richness that just bursts in your mouth. I could eat this corn every day (except for the inevitable health problems that would come with that). If you come to Toro, DO NOT LEAVE WITHOUT EATING THE CORN.
Jamon Serrano de Fermin (premium cured Spanish ham, $ 14): very similar to prosciutto, this came on a cutting board with 7 generous thick slices. Perfect to eat on its own or wrapped around some of the complimentary bread for the table.
Ostras en Escabeche (marinated Island Creek oysters with cranberry mignonette, orange power and grains of paradise, $ 12): I’m not a huge oyster fan myself (something about the texture and the sliminess), but these were quite good. Not overly salty or fishy.
Gambas al Ajillo (Griddled garlic shrimp with cascabel chilies, parsley and lemon, $ 16): you can’t go to a tapas restaurant without trying this classic. The shrimp were flavorful, garlicky, and beautifully presented. I thought the price was a little expensive for the amount of food, but the flavors were very good.
Pato con Membrillo (smoked duck drumettes with quince glaze, $ 10): probably my least favorite dish of the night. Overpriced at $ 10 for 2 small duck drumsticks without much unique flavor.
Asado de Huesos (roasted bone marrow with radish citrus salad and oxtail marmalade, $ 14): my other favorite dish at this place. Beautifully presented with a large slab of bone marrow on a cutting board, served with tender melt-​in-​your-​mouth marinated brisket on the side.
Paella Valenciana (mussels, clams, shrimp, Spanish pork sausage, chicken & Calasparra rice, whole $ 52, half $ 26): we opted for a half-​order of the paella. It was a little salty for my taste, especially the rice at the bottom. I would probably skip this in favor of getting more tapas next time.
Tl;dr: get the corn and the bone marrow. Skip the duck drumettes. Come here — this is the best tapas place in Boston!

Toro has been bookmarked for longest time and I finally got a chance to go on a Friday during lunch time. Our server was Emily and she was lovely, super sweet and knowledgable about the menu. She recommended dishes that would go well with our paella dish (i.e. the Brussel sprouts)
Toro has a really nice homey feel — not the luxurious snobby vibe you would get at a high end restaurant. However… you are seated so close to the next person you can literally hear their entire conversation.
Pros:
1.Good service
2. Good food — all the dishes can be shared; pretty good sized portion
3. Good price
Cons:
1. Paella takes about 30 min or longer to make
2. Food takes awhile to come out
3. Appetizer dishes seem to be seasonal (lot of dishes i wanted to try wasn’t on the menu)
Food Review:
— ENSALADA CORTADA: (3.5÷5) This salad was lightly dressed and well mixed and had a good ratio of lettuce to croutons to cucumbers… etc. However, this salad is not a dish I would come back for or order again. Did not leave a lasting impression. ($ 10)
— BRUSSELS SPROUTS (⁵⁄₅): This dish that Emily recommended was amazing and just as previous Unilocalers have stated. The grilled brussels sprouts was delicious. It was a simple dish — olive oil, salt, and pepper. It is cooked perfectly and goes well with any dish. I would recommend this 100%; the table beside us had 2 orders of the brussels sprouts. ($ 10)
— PAELLA: (⁵⁄₅) Worth the 30 min wait. It fills your belly up like a good ol’ home cooked meal. The rice is the perfect «mushy» texture, but firm enough to balance out the assortment of seafood that is mixed in the paella. The clams and mussels were nice and fresh. The shrimp was also flavored and really tasty.
If you are in the South End area, definitely check it out.

I love Toro! It so far my favorite tapas restaurant! Living outside Boston now I definitely miss the delicious grilled corn topped with good slathering of fresh queso, mayo, and lime– YUM
Definitely stop by and I am forewarning you that it is always packed and it is a tiny hole in the wall so be prepared!
Happy eatings!
–S

have heard people rave about this place and my friend decided to take me here so I finally got to see what the hype was all about. At first glance, this just screamed ‘new york-​like trendy restaurant’ because it was dim, cozy and packed.
I came here last night at 9pm. I only had to wait less than 10 minutes for a table for two which was great. I tried to get a drink at the bar while waiting but the bartenders were super busy.
Once we were sat, we were given waters. The waitress took a while to come back to get our drink order and then a while to take our main order. But once she did get our orders, everything came out pretty quickly.
We got the oysters with vinaigrette, foie gras, bone marrow, corn and the duck drumlettes. The oysters came in 4 and had a nice tanginess. I wish the oysters were more meaty. The foie gras was quite delicious. This was my first time having it and each bite was heavenly. Silky smooth, I guess? Yet fatty. I guess that how foie gras is suppose to be? The sauce had a nice creamy, sweetness to it. When the foie gras was gone, I dipped my bread in the sauce. The duck drumlettes came in two and were tasty though it reminded me of ham. I expected a different texture and taste to it but still yummy. The waitress suggested the corn as it is a big item people like to order. I must say it was my least favorite. I’ve had corn of the same style and it was just so so at Toro. It was the only thing that was unfinished of all of our orders. It lacked flavor that I had hoped for. Also the corn wasn’t the big juicy types. My favorite dish was the bone marrow. Oh man, just thinking about it makes me salivate and I literally just ate it! It was tender and flavorful. The bread with it was amazing too.
Overall, Toro is good. I gave one star less because I think it was a tad too expensive for what I was given. The wine I got (rioja) was just whatever. The food was good but not out of this world (except the bone marrow). Chances are I will come back because I’d like to try the other dishes but I guess Tapas in general is more small, pricey plates.

Awesome food!!!
There has always been an hour or more of wait everytime I visited this place and finally got lucky to try the food and I am glad I did. The small plates are not too small. We were group of 4 and tried 5 dishes and were really stuffed by the end of meal. Green chilies, corn on the cob, potatoes, garlic shrimp and vegetarian paela (half) — dishes have a little different names on the menu but the servers will know what you mean just giving these names. Every dish that came was just tasting better. I just loved the food. The prices weren’t too bad either. Check the photo uploaded by me of all the dishes mentioned here.
No reservations. We reached around 1 had to wait 15 – 20 mins but by 2.30−3 was quite empty. Enjoy the complimentary breads as a side with the appetizers.

Finally got here and have been waiting for 4 years!!! Wowwww the flavors are amazing, the waiters are super kind, the ambience is lovely, and the presentation is on point.
We had The starter DATES with goat cheese inside. Oh my goodness wow wow wow. get the dates with goat cheese. SOO HEAVENLY
the goat cheese with bread, scallops and tuna were delicious as well!
The paella with seafood and meat was absolutely divine. It’s HUGE even if you get the half order and was so savory… A must get for sure.
But the winner was the bone marrow. IT BLEW MY MIND!!! I never had bone marrow before in my life and WOW now I understand why people love it so much!!!

I went to Toro last night with a group of four. I automatically have to knock off a star for anywhere with communal seating because it just feels terribly low end.
The food was pretty good and really cheap. The grilled corn was amazing but terribly messy. I hate eating with my hands so that was a challenge. It was served like corn on the cob cut in four smothered in a delicious aioli. Another winner was the eggplant and also the paella. We got a few other things that were okay also. Drinks were a little too sweet for me but overall we enjoyed our food and our waitress was lovely.
The atmosphere also lost the place some points. First of all, who doesn’t take reservations? We lucked out getting a table but in general that just sounds kind of like poor customer service. Some people like to plan out their evenings and don’t want to stand in the cold for an hour.
Also, the place was too small for the amount of tables. You couldn’t really move. The staff was attentive but the bus staff would constantly nudge you to wiggle in between you and the person next to you to wipe off the table or whatever instead of saying «excuse me.» At one point I was leaning far to my side uncomfortably for several minutes — and since the tables are communal I was basically in a strangers lap. If you’re going to force strangers to sit next to each other perhaps make the accommodations more comfortable
Overall, Toro gets three stars. If it was on the food alone I probably would have given 3.5 to 4. but because of the atmosphere which lent itself to a slightly lower end vibe I’m giving 3 stars.

When thinking about my favorite places in Boston, Toro is definitely top 3 for me. Everything about it from the food to the drinks to the atmosphere and service is top notch. The only thing that isn’t is the wait (no reservations), but its well worth the wait.
Must haves:
Maíz Asado con Alioli y Queso — the corn and the sauce that glazes it is amazing. Everyone I’ve gone with raves about it.
Asado de Huesos — I’ve had one or two bone marrows in my life, but the bone marrow here is really flavorful.
Supplements:
Paella Valenciana — A good amount of food and pretty tasty.
Pâté de Cerdo — Good amount of flavor. Always leaves me wanting more
Drinks here are tasty as well. Weather permitting, there’s outdoor seating as well. If I’m ever in Boston again, would definitely go back.

Wow I’ve been wanting to try this place for so long but can never get in. I called on many occasions and was told it’s 1 hr plus wait, actually came early on a Monday night and it was still the same wait. I rarely ever consider anything worth standing around that long for, so no. Finally on this fateful Christmas Eve, I tried my luck again and was able to score a couple of seats at the bar. Even if the food was the best thing I ever tasted, making it this difficult to come here is a 1 star deduction already. If you’re concerned about people not showing up, demand a CC hold, otherwise it’s really a waste of my time…
Anyways, our dinner. Sitting at the bar was slightly cramped especially since it filled up pretty fast. It is LOUD in here. A few people next to us at the bar was celebrating birthday or something and getting pretty wasty faced. Do not come if you want a quiet romantic date.
Now food.
The good:
Paella Valenciana: We got the half portion and it was still huge. Lots of seafood on top and the rice was a very good consistency. If there’s only 2 of you, get the smaller size so you have room to try other dishes. The bigger portion is ginormous and you won’t be able to eat anything else unless you take a significant amount of it home.
Churros: Always love churros and these were freshly made, crunchy and come with a very thicke chocolate dipping sauce. Yum!
The decent:
Pimiento del Padron: pretty much like blistered shishito peppers, it tasted good but I can make this easily at home.
Jamon Blanco: Jamon with crab meat and avocado on toast, taste bite and a slightly larger portion for the tapas.
The meh:
Our waiter highly recommended the Erizo con Caviar. It’s caviar, uni, quail egg and Iberico ham. Not a new concept at all I see Ken Oringer’s Clio/​Uni in here but this one just didn’t quite work for me. It was a little dry overall and overly salty with the ham bits. I’ve had much better of the same elsewhere. Not worth it at $ 15 a pop.
Filete a la Plancha: Skirt steak was cooked very well but I didn’t like the cheesy butter on top at all.
Overall: It was still an enjoyable meal despite some of the negatives here however not overwhelming in any way to justify the difficulty getting a seat here during normal dining hours. I won’t be returning anytime soon.

OMG I LOVE THIS PLACE. Doesn’t take reservations, so either get there really early or really late. Had to wait at least 45 min for a table. Street parking. And knowing the south end, usually hard to find! But otherwise, adorable place. Inside is dark but has a nice date-​y feel! And so many amazing dishes, it’s a MUST TRY place. Very #worthit.
We ordered:
–elote (mexican corn with cotija cheese): this is AMAZING. You have to order this. #obsessed
–paella valenciana: this is super filling. It’s good, but I kind of suggest ordering other stuff, unless you go with a huge group. Ordering this was too much for us.
–bone marrow/​oxtail: YES. Very delicious and you won’t regret ordering this one either. Very rich in flavor.
–grilled shrimp: very flavorful and NOMtastic as well.
–tuna tartare
–some cauliflower dish: a little salty, but we wanted a vegetable.
–churros: by this time we were overstuffed, but these were delicious!
Servers were very attentive and food continued to come. It’s hard when you come here hungry cause then you over order, which is definitely what happened to us. Recommend the corn and bone marrow was definites for what to eat, other than that, try everything and anything! Toro knows how to bring out the flavor in the foods and it’s a spectacular experience.

Hmmmm, this was one of my fav spots a few years ago! But I came for lunch and was underwhelmed. The service was great, though!
The brussels were mushy, the shrimp wasn’t hot and crispy, the Hamachi Crudo had an overwhelming buttermilk sauce, the best part of the meal was the Patates Bravas sauce, pan con tomate, and the tortilla espagnola. Sadly, the lunch just didn’t live up to my memories of the place!
Perhaps I need to try again, not for lunch and not the night before Christmas eve.

Toro is one of my favorite restaurants in Boston. I saw chef Jamie on a recent episode of food network’s «Chopped» and he dominated the competition.
I can’t say I’m surprised since toro takes simple spanish tapas and adds a unique spin on them.
The food here is uniformly good. If you’ve never been be sure to get the patatas bravas, a simple but delicious potato tapas with a spicy sauce. The corn is amazing and a must try. It gets messy but the flavors and textures work really well together.
Try any of the cheese dishes. I recommend the cows milk with blueberry compote.
The Garlic Shrimp are delicious. Succulent shrimp in a rich and flavorful sauce.
The vegetarian paella is another dish worth trying. Flavorful rice with spices and chopped veggies. It’s a big dish so a half order is probably enough for two.
Toro is a bit cramped but the atmosphere is great. There’s usually a wait, even on weekdays, but it’s well worth it.

The best tapas restaurant in Boston. The grilled corn alone is worth the trip/​wait for Toro.
Toro is a small restaurant and you should expect a wait, esp on the weekends. I’ve come here on a Friday at 4:30, when the bar opens and you can start putting your name down for a table, and still didn’t make the cut for the first round of seating. They do not accept reservations so expect up to a 2 hour wait. I’ve never had trouble grabbing a seat at the bar for dinner. But, if the restaurant is really packed there is also a separate wait list for the bar.
I dine here every couple of months and my go to dishes are grilled corn, empanadas, uni toast, duck drumettes, potato bravas, and did I mention the corn? The only thing that I have tried there that I would not recommend is the churros. I’ve only had them once and they were burnt and overall not up to what I believe is Toro’s standard. Instead I recommend ordering another order of corn, because yes the corn is that good. I would also be hesitant to recommend the paella as well. I ordered the paella once and found the dish to be too salty and wish there was more rice included, but my friends seemed to enjoy it. Portions are small so expect to order about 3 – 4 dishes per person.

3.5 for last few visits. Rounding down from 4 to reflect the trajectory this place has taken for me.
Once upon a time, 3 – 4 years ago, would have given Toro 5 stars without a question — the food was INCREDIBLE and I raved and raved about this place to visitors and to new friends who just moved to town looking for good eats. Last few visits — half or almost all the food was either overly salted or underwhelming and not worth a recommendation to anyone.
IF YOU DON’T WANNA READ AN ESSAY HERE YA GO:
GET THESE:
–Head cheese (It’s a special) — pig
–Jamon Blanco — crab and avocado on toast with a bunch of other tasty stuff
–Maiz Asado con alioli y Queso Cotija — corn with queso, they make it best
–Ensalad de pulpo — octopus salad — very good
–Sangria
MAYBE GET THIS:
–Sea bass
–Griddled shrimp
ORDER WITH CAUTION:
–Paella Valenciana
–Foie gras
–Brussel sprouts/​asparagus/​any veggies with olive oil seasoned with salt/​pepper
–Patatas bravas
_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​
Read on for specifics — food, atmosphere, service.
MORE DETAIL ABOUT THE FOOD:
Corn — good every time hands down.
Head cheese (special) — ALL STAR of the night. If every dish were as beautifully and deliciously made as that one, I’d be giving them 5 stars.
Jamon Blanco –Another shining star. La Quercia tardo, marinated Jonah crab, black garlic, crispy shallots and avocado on toast. It tastes as good as it sounds.
Octopus salad — citrusy and very finely made, great flavors
Lubina a la Sal (Sea bass) — pretty good. Skillfully seasoned and cooked well. Not bad if you want seafood, although I think there are other dishes worth more bang for your buck.
Paella Valeciana — Can I have some food with that salt? Dang, this dish was wickedly salty. If my dining friends, who have a high salt tolerance and salt everything, say the dish is too salty, it definitely is. Not enough seafood flavor in the paella despite mussels, clams and shrimp. The Spanish pork sausage didn’t make this dish salty — I tested it out. Easily shareable, will fill you up and make you drink 5 glasses of water before end of meal.
Foie gras — well made, way too small of a portion, and overly overly sweet sauce (carrot argan purée in this case). Not a bad choice if you’re cool with a one bite well made cut of foie gras. Not shareable!
Veggies (brussel sprouts, asparagus dish) — just no. $ 12+ for stuff I can make better at home? Again, they’re way too heavy handed with the salt over the veggies and there’s nothing special about them. Very underwhelming. Just spend your hard earned cash on more interesting dishes here.
Griddled garlic shrimp — wasn’t in love, didn’t hate it. This dish could have used a bit more oomph
Patatas bravas — snore. Not sure how you can make this better. Sauce is underwhelming.
If they ever have pork belly on the menu, go for it! So good, and the veggies that accompany it are actually good, too, at least 3 years ago.
SERVICE:
Waitstaff and runners are awesome. Top notch service.
Hostess/​host could do a better job — not too great with seating; just awkwardly executed. Also, not good at managing the door and keeping it closed. Come on! We live in Boston and it’s freaking winter! I can’t imagine how the people next to the door must have felt considering the blasts of chill winter air were blowing on me halfway into the restaurant. Other establishments do a better job ensuring door stays closed while taking down names.
ATMOSPHERE:
Hipster chic. Great vibe. Intimate and cozy — it’s always full in there, which adds to its in demand factor.
OVERALL:
While Toro was once touted as number one for tapas, I’d say I can no longer recommend this place with confidence. Lucky we got there 15 min before restaurant opened. The food just isn’t worth a 1 – 2 hour wait anymore.
Go to Barcelona Wine Bar in Brookline for good eats (I hear South End location is good too and less of a wait)

I was in Boston visiting for a weekend with my cousin. We went to Toro and we were told there was a 2 hour wait. I was willing to wait it out since it had such wonderful reviews. However my cousin wasn’t that committed. haha. Luckily she found two seats by the bar. Sitting and eating dinner at the bar isn’t the most comfortable thing to do, as it gets very crowded, however we made it work.
The food was great and very flavorful! We ordered several tapas and a paella. Everything was great, although I wasnt a huge fan of some of the seafood that was in the paella (very odd because I love seafood). The service was just average.

Yes, this really is as good as it gets. There is not much more I can add that the plethora of reviewers before me haven’t, but I wanted to make sure I kept up those awesome ratings.
Tapas. A place for small plates, sharing, conversation and laughs. Not only does Toro deliver all, they do it with excellence! My friend and I had no idea what to pick, so we relied on our friendly and knowledgeable server for recommendations. Since it’s hard for us simple people to pronounce the menu items, let me just describe in my best way what I tried:
— Goat cheese with grape sauce and pistachios
— Cured spanish ham
— Pork paella with noodles (daily special)
— Fried potatoes
— Grilled corn
HO​.LY COW!!! Everything, I mean everything was out of this world. I do have to say no matter what you pick, you must always include the corn. It was definitely the highlight and worth every bit of the mess it made.
This seriously was one of the more memorable dinners I’ve had in a while (in a great way) and I cannot wait to go back and work my way down the menu. If you go, make sure to get there early as it’s a small place and they get really packed. Obviously I know why.

+ good food, fun flavors
+ nice staff
+ good cocktail, beers, wine pairings
— very rushed service, you will feel like you’re being edged out
— small, tiny tiny portions not based on plates, but based on people in your group
— loud, crowded, they’ll squeeze you anywhere! Not a place for anything intimate
— no reservations and the line will form fast!
Per recommendations of others, I got the dates and since there was only two people, we got 2 dates ($ 6), but then the table next to us who also got dates, but had 3 people… received 3 dates, what? I wanted 3 dates too!
Other than that, the food was pretty good. Mussels are a good bang for your buck, it comes with aged sausage which give awesome flavor. The bone marrow comes with ONE bone, but with some citrus on it (lemon and orange slices) which give it a great zing! The corn that everyone raves about comes in 4 peice which is about the size of 1 whole corn… if you can make it yourself, def. do it, but if you can’t…the flavor here is pretty amazing.
Also nabbed a cider and their red wine + lemon soda mix which were both delicious. Light, but a perfect pairing to break up all the oilyness from the food.
Personally, I prefer the tapas locations in brookline, but for the area… Toro meets your tapas needs. Just be aware they take no reservations and it gets crowded FAST! They squeeze you in just about every corner of the place they can. Be prepared to eaves drop on everyone’s conversation!

So when I used to be really poor (we’re talking adult experiences like having your rent check bounce poor) I’d buy this Chilean Sauvignon blanc at Trader Joes for $ 3.99. Keep this in mind, it’s important for the rest of the story.
I came here after a rather traumatic experience at Boston Medical Center. I was in need of booze to calm the nerves and food to fill the belly. I figured since it was the middle of the day on a Wednesday, i’d be safe from a lengthy wait. This was the only positive facet of the entire experience. I sat at the bar and was taking a while perusing the drink list. I was unfamiliar with the wines and my go-​to type [Sauvignon blanc] was $ 14 a glass. Cray. I made a light joke of this to the bar tender as he was trying to help me settle on something and he gave me such a look of disdain that I just wanted to get up and leave. I ended up settling on the Pinot Grigio which was a tad cheaper and tasted just like the above mentioned Trader Joe’s well drink.
The food was nothing special. In fact, I must have been sloshed the last time I came here to think otherwise. I had the yellowtail sashimi [ok], the garlic grilled shrimp [easily the star of the meal, but Tapeo’s take on it is much better], the grilled asparagus [awful. accompanied with cream and tomato based sauces that did not mix at all. the red sauce was so abrasive that I wouldn’t have eaten the dish but i was SO HUNGRY and it was like $ 14? The quality of asparagus was akin to what you find on a Sunday afternoon at Market Basket. No joke.
Also, take a look at the silverware. Did they steal this from a university cafeteria? What an embarrassment.
All in all, this $ 70 splurge [not including tip] was not a punishment I was prepared for.