Boqueria brings authentic Spanish tapas to Atlanta’s Colony Square
Colony Square has welcomed a new addition to its growing list of eateries. Boqueria, a Spanish tapas bar and restaurant, opened a new location on the corner of 1221 Peachtree St NE on Jan. 21. Serving as a love letter to Barcelona and its vibrant energy, restauranteur and owner Yann de Rochefort said Boqueria embodies the Spanish culture of good food and social dining.
“I love the casualness of being able to go to a tapas bar and order a bunch of different things. The food is generally either ready-made or quickly available, and it blends with the fluidity of the bar where you can be standing at a bar talking to different people. You’re not committed to staying put in one place at your table with the conviviality of the table,” Rochefort said. “We have this deep need to connect over food, and when you have a bar serving great food, you get the best of both worlds.”
The menu offers an authentic twist on traditional Spanish dishes such as the patas bravas, bikini — a thin pressed grilled sandwich filled with jamón and cheese — and gambas al ajillo. It also features creative cocktails that play with ingredients such as paella rice wash, jamón ibérico, and shishito peppers. The Atlanta Voice got to dine at Boqueria after its opening week, and some highlights that are also worth trying are the mushroom croquettes with truffle aioli, brussels sprouts with jamón ibérico vinaigrette and the seared marinated lamb skewers.
The open-concept space is a design of wide windows that wash the place in natural light during the day and turns into ambient lighting at night. Patrons can sit at multiple bars where they can either watch bartenders shake up drinks or the chefs as they whisk up their favorite dishes, all while enjoying the company of the people they came with.
The idea of Boqueria was born from Rochefort’s experience of living and studying in Spain. That idea formed into its first location in New York City’s Flatiron neighborhood in 2006. It has since expanded to D.C., Chicago, Nashville, Boston, West Hartford, and now Atlanta. The Colony Square location marks its 11th location, with Rochefort attributing Atlanta’s bustling food scene, its demographics, vitality, and growth as reasons why it was the next best place to bring a bit of Barcelona to the city.
“I hope they [patrons] leave with a smile on their face. I hope they feel like they were well taken care of and the staff was happy to see them. I think it’s a sense of connection with the people that they came to have dinner with and with the people who hosted them that I hope they leave with.”
