Dali - Authentic Spanish Tapas

My mother-in-law came up for a visit over Labor Day and when we were deciding where to go for dinner, she requested Dali, an authentic Spanish restaurant in Cambridge. Nick and I were all-in as it had been quite some time since we had been to Dali and we were due for a return trip.

Small Pitcher of Cava Sangria

My first trip to Dali was on a family outing before I could legally drink! A few sips of my mom's Sangria and even I knew it was something special. The Cava Sangria was as good as I remembered: fresh, sweet and delicious. The directions for their sangrias are supposedly somewhere on the internet, but I recommend going straight to the source!

Interior of the back room - loads of Spanish details (among other things!)

Dali's menu is similar in style to those in Spain, with plenty of small plates (both cold and hot) for the table to share. This is one of the best ways to enjoy restaurant food as it gives you a great way to try so many different plates and really get a feel for the place. For our group of three, we had five small plates and an order of paella.

Jamon Serrano (cured ham from Spain)

Queso Rebozado con Miel (Deep-Fried Spanish Cheese with Honey and Sweet Onion)

Espinaca Catalana (Baby Spinach with Pine Nuts, Raisins, Garlic and Sherry)

Paella del Oceano (Seafood Paella) 

Chuletillas (Gilled Baby Lamb Chops in a Peach Sauce)

Lomito al Cabrales (Pork Tenderloin with Blue Sheep Cheese and Mushroom

We tried to mix up our proteins and have some greens on the table. Of the dishes above, my favorite of course was the fried cheese with honey! The peach sauce on the lamb was yummy, however, the lamb itself was a bit overcooked. The dressing on the spinach was outstanding. There's something about these sherry dressings - I need to find a good recipe stat. Nick loved the pork tenderloin with the rich, pungent blue cheese sauce. The flavors of the paella were spot on, however, it was missing that crust at the bottom, which I did miss it a bit.

Cafe con Leche

Tarta de Santiago (Almond Cake with a Coffee Cream Sauce)

After a delicious meal, we of course had to top it off with something sweet and a cafe con leche (I really wanted to feel like I was back in Spain!). The dessert we could all settle on, with a little suggestion by me, was the Almond Cake, which was the perfect way to end the meal. The cake was moist and had a rich almond flavor, and was sweet but without being overly so.

As always our visit to Dali was a pleasure, and if you are looking for great Spanish food I would highly recommend a trip. I still need to get there for their Pescado a la Sal, which is a whole fish baked completely covered in salt - a signature dish of the restaurant.

Have you been to Dali?