Unidos Restaurant & Wine Bar — a casual, lively, wildly busy Spanish vino and tapas restaurant — replaced a Japanese shop called Akira Sushi, which would seem to be just a real estate footnote.
But for those of us who love to read between the lines, to find meaning in shadows and runes, it seems a statement — a cultural shift of Studio City’s much-loved Sushi Row from the simplicity of fish on rice to the complexity of mariscos with garlic aioli over fried rice in a pan.
Though Ventura Boulevard is still richly endowed with options for sashimi — Teru Sushi and Katsu-ya approach legendary status — culinary alternatives have turned Sushi Row into a Street of Edible Dreams. Lala’s Argentine Grill has been around for a long time. So has Talesai, Firefly and Jinky’s. Heavy Handed makes a fabled smash burger. And without a reservation, Unidos is a tough room in which to find a seat. Not impossible. But patience, and a glass of Albarino sure do help.
After many years of being a tapas-free zone, SoCal has seen a resurgence of Rioja in recent months. Branchs of the high-profile Spanish trendy Teleferic Barcelona opened in Brentwood and Long Beach. Xuntos popped up in Santa Monica. Casa Dani made a lot of noise in Century City. Bar Siesta has a fanatical following in Silver Lake.
Here in the San Fernando Valley, we’ve had Vino Wine & Tapas in Encino for a while. And now, we’ve got Unidos (11830 Ventura Blvd., Studio City; 818-906-9527; www.unidoswinebar.com). Which is open for dinner every night. With a big crowd of those moving from small dish izakaya to small dish tapas.
As long as you don’t mind a lot of sound … and not a lot of light … Unidos is a lot of fun.
It’s a wine bar with a reasonable number of wines on its list: 18 Spanish, 21 French and 21 Italian. But it’s the small bite Spanish dishes that got me through the door — the first bunch of which are literally listed under the heading “Bocaditos” (“little bites”).
Gambas al ajillo — head-on prawns, garlic, chili flakes, paprika and grilled bread — at Unidos in Studio City (Photo by Merrill Shindler)
Croquettes at Unidos in Studio City (Photo by Merrill Shindler)
Unidos in Studio City is a lively place, with an extensive wine bar, and a menu of Spanish classics, with numerous tapas, bocaditos and pintxos — all packed into a smallish space. (Photo by Merrill Shindler)
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Gambas al ajillo — head-on prawns, garlic, chili flakes, paprika and grilled bread — at Unidos in Studio City (Photo by Merrill Shindler)
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Add on the “Pintxos,” the Basque word for small bites held together with toothpicks, plus a sizable selection of “Tapas” and you’ve got a meal for those of us with a limited culinary attention span.
As good as the “Platos Fuertes” of chicken Milanesa, whole branzino in olive parsley sauce and a 12-ounce New York steak might be, those dishes are more serious than what I want when I crave being confronted with a few dozen little dishes. And for me, those small dishes began with a bowl of warm Castelventrano olives — the perfect opener of salt and oil and musk and a flavor as ancient as water. Olives connect then and now with every bite.
Also, for that matter, bread. Which in this case is crusty sourdough, served with a tomato dipping sauce, jamon Serrano, jamon Ibérico and boquerones (marinated anchovies).
Order the charcuteria, and grilled bread comes with hams, with chorizo, with a trio of cheeses, and with dried fruit and nuts.
And speaking of cheese, there’s nutty manchego stuffed into warm Medjool dates with smoked paprika under the bocaditos. Sweet!
The “Tapas” section begins with a reminder that this is a Spanish restaurant on Sushi Row. The crudo is hamachi sashimi with smashed avocado, serrano chiles and lemon juice. Which is so very much … us. But the calamares a la plancha — sautéed calamari in a cilantro-garlic sauce — takes us back to Spain with the first bite. As do the wonderfully crispy, crunchy, nearly burnt (which is a good thing!) patatas bravas, with a spicy aioli sauce — a sauce that’s served with a number of the dishes. It doesn’t grow old. Indeed, it’s just perfect on the tortillas Espanola, an omelet of eggs, leeks and potato.
There’s more grilled bread with the gambas al ajillo. Bread also is needed for the steamed mussels, the scallops agua chile, the sautéed mushrooms, the grilled octopus.
But bread isn’t needed with the dessert; the crema Catalana is sweet, but not too sweet. I don’t know if the caramelized apple is Spanish or American. It doesn’t really matter. It tastes just fine — a small dessert ending a meal of many small dishes.
Merrill Shindler is a Los Angeles-based freelance dining critic. Email mreats@aol.com.
Unidos
Rating: 2.5 stars
Address: 11830 Ventura Blvd., Studio City
Information: 818-906-9527; www.unidoswinebar.com
Cuisine: Lively, smallish room with an extensive wine bar, and a menu of Spanish classics, with numerous tapas, bocaditos and pintxos, along with a pair of paellas (plus nightly specials).
When: Dinner, every day
Details: Wine bar; reservations essential
Cost: About $50 per person
On the menu: 6 Bocaditos (Small Bites) ($6-$15), 3 Charcuteria ($21-$35), 5 Pintxos (Basque Snacks) ($8-$12), 9 Tapas ($14-$24), 3 Soups ($9-$13), 3 Salads ($15-$19), 2 Paella ($40-$60), 5 Platos Fuertes ($30-$60), 5 Vegetables ($6), 6 Postres ($10-$12)
Credit cards: MC, V
What the stars mean: 4 (World class! Worth a trip from anywhere!), 3 (Most excellent, even exceptional. Worth a trip from anywhere in Southern California.), 2 (A good place to go for a meal. Worth a trip from anywhere in the neighborhood.) 1 (If you’re hungry, and it’s nearby, but don’t get stuck in traffic going.) 0 (Honestly, not worth writing about.)
Dining and Cooking