Check Out the Classic Spanish Menu at Oloroso

Chef Townsend Wentz just opened Oloroso, his third restaurant in Philly after Townsend, offering French fare on East Passyunk Avenue, and the Italian BYOB A Mano in Fairmount. But this time, he went Spanish. The new tapas spot, at 1121 Walnut Street in what was most recently Petruce et al, is named after a variety of sherry made in Spain. It’s early days — Wentz is still tweaking the menu — but Oloroso is now open nightly from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m., with the kitchen serving until midnight.

Go to Oloroso’s website and you won’t see a menu up just yet. But Eater got a look. For now, it’s made up of 20 tapas plates, a few paellas (veggie, meat, seafood), and a handful of entrees: wood oven–roasted chicken, hangar steak, branzino, and fideos con mariscos (angel hair pasta with shrimp, clams, and mussels). Other Spanish classics, all on the tapas list, include boquerones, grilled octopus, clams in sherry, and bone marrow. The eggplant tagine is made with honey, ginger, and piparras peppers; the marinated tuna is dressed up with chili, orange, and sesame.

To drink, there are several types of sherry to choose from, including one on tap, plus Spanish wines by the glass ($12-$16), some ciders and beers, and a list of vermouths. The sangria comes in “citrus white” and “plum red.”

Cocktails, like the Hyde & Oakes with brandy, sherry, charred pineapple, lemon, egg white, and bitters, run $13-$14. Like the food menu, options and prices are subject to change.

Allison Hangin is running the bar and star sommelier Gordana Kostovski is Oloroso’s general manager. Reservations are already being taken online, via OpenTable.

This is the second Spanish tapas restaurant to hit Philly in 2017; Barcelona on East Passyunk Avenue opened over the summer.

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