After some very satisfying snacking at The Butcher Shop, Mr. Rabbit and I continued our Boston “south end” dining tour in search of dinner. We did some menu reading, and I liked Union’s Grill’s July prix fixe, but Mr. Rabbit was too full of pork to entertain three courses. Stella was too packed to even consider, so we walked off the pig by strolling down to Toro.

Toro doesn’t take reservations, and we were told there would be a 30-45 minutes table wait… but we lucked out with immediate bar seating, so chose to eat there (our usual preference anyhow). Service here was slow to start… the one bartender was genuinely busy, but Mr. Rabbit gets twitchy if he has to wait more than ten minutes for a cocktail. He was eventually subdued by a vino tinto de verano (then got all dreamy chatting about Spain). And I was completely seduced by a spectacular dark and stormy.

We ordered a steady stream of tapas, and were impresed by the majority of the results. My favourite of the night was a venison special served on flatbread (innovative and flavourful). Mr. Rabbit raved about the brussel sprouts (ew). We both liked the sweetbreads, although their breaded and fried presentation would make them delectable to even the most squeamish eater (if not informed of their actual gland-ularity).
Chick peas with sausage and egg were OK. Stuffed dates were tasty, but definitely not spa food. And I think we had something else, but I really can’t remember…

Dessert… churros - fried donut sticks with “hot chocolate” (really, more like hot fudge). We were really excited about this dessert because we had closed a holiday drinking binge with the best churros in Madrid, and we were dying for a fix. Toro’s rendition was respectable, but wanting for more chocolate… I wanted a big, old cup - like in Espagne.

We also had a couple glass of garnacha (jammy and totally satisfying), and finally a sherry (him) and a pink cava (moi). This place is a winner - innovative menu, great cocktails, fun vibe - and personable service despite the slow start. But the room is very “busy,” so if you’re in for a slow, romantic evening, this might not be your place.

Posted on July 20th, 2007 by rabbit
Filed under: Boston, Restaurant Reviews