A Great Restaurant is the Sum of Experiences – Edo Gastro Tapas

Don’t let the name fool you, Edo sounds like it could be a Japanese restaurant. Then I looked at the rest of the name, and saw Tapas, and my curiosity was piqued even more. They had great reviews, but Spanish food is not my preference so I put off going for a while. Big mistake. I actually went to their sister restaurant Anima by Edo for lunch first, had a mostly great experience, and then decided to try the original. I also met one of the partners who had a very interesting story and culinary journey which took him to live in places like Italy and Spain. Not just anywhere in Spain, but the food capital – the Basque Region, which is actually where the name of the restaurant was inspired from (if I remember correctly).

I could tell the partner was extremely passionate about food, and that his experiences directly translated into his restaurants. I believe that the success of a restaurant is based on many factors, but one of the most intangible is the experiences of those involved. Someone who travels around the world, experiences a number of different cuisines, and high levels of service, is a much stronger operator than someone who hasn’t had such experiences. You can read all the cookbooks in the world, but meeting a passionate Balsamic producer in Modena or visiting a region to get a sense of the terroir, is something that cannot be learned from books. This brings us to Edo.

I went with their tasting menu, which for $80, is a bargain for this level of cooking:

To start, they brought an amuse of gazpacho which was refreshing and flavorful. A good way to open up the palate:

Next scallops and some bread with koji butter. The scallops were full of bold flavors and the bread was warm, soft in the middle and had a good crust. Not too crunchy, but just enough. It reminded me of a certain chain pizza dough in a very good way. I think if it was topped with some salt, like a good focaccia, it would of been perfect.

Next, the blue fin tostada. Each bite was a harmonious blend of crunch and corn flavor from the tostada, cold freshness and fat from the tuna, perfect hits of what I believe was onion (perfectly cut tiny so it didn’t overpower), umami from furikake, a touch of citrus, all brought together by the avocado puree.

Next, a tarte flambe which was like the previous dish, but instead of tuna, was a wagyu pastrami. This one had a delicious crema and the Manchego was perfectly shaved and added the right aromas to this dish. In contrast to the previous dish, this one could of used a bit less onion:

After, what was brought to the table showcased the brilliance of the chef. It was basically a taco or handroll (could go either way), with candied nori as the shell. I thought this was very creative and well executed. Each bite was a delicious blend of crunch from chips on top, a bit of heat from the gochujang aioli, beefy short rib, perfect temperature sushi rice and a bit of sweetness from the candied nori. This was a winner. A lot of chefs can make a good Bolognese, but this dish shows a lot of thought, creativity, and passion in the kitchen of Edo!

The next dish was a crab cake which was good as a crab cake but not as transformed or creative as the previous dishes.

The last savory dish was a curried pork cheek. The pork was extremely tender, but I prefer a curried beef dish in its more traditional form. I think it could incorporate some rice element too.

Dessert was a strawberry granita and corn ice cream. The kitchen was able to extract a lot of strawberry flavor.

Overall, this was an impressive meal. The service was very very very efficient. Every dish came out at an optimal time. Just the right amount of space between each dish. I thought this would be a long drawn out tasting menu, but it was timed just right and very enjoyable. Nine courses in less than an hour! An extremely well run kitchen. I could tell that the experiences of the partner I had met, were being translated into the service and food. Many of the dishes were near perfect. I would return and recommend. I think they are temporarily closing by October 18, to move to a new location, so if you want to experience this, I would go sooner rather than later.