Spain comes to Walnut Creek
The new restaurant with its own miniature teleferic
The new kid on the block in Walnut Creek is an authentic Spanish tapas bar named Teleferic Barcelona. So new it doesn’t seem to have a website yet, or a listing on Zomato. On the second floor of a still unfinished buiding smack at the corner of Mt. Diablo and Main, Teleferica has brought genuine tapas and a wide selection of Spanish wines to burbs. The kitchen is open to view, sending the aroma of garlic and olive oil through the dining room.
The large open kitchen
The place is already crowded with the the young and hip. The noise level is loud (although nothing like it would be in Spain, which is totally deafening), the energy level is pulsating, food is coming around on carts like a dim sum joint in the city:
The rolling cart of tapas prepared to circulate
No Spanish restaurant is authentic if it doesn’t serve paella. Teleferic produces one large pan every 30 minutes, your portion will come to your table when it’s good and ready.
The house paella
There are a few larger plates, or rationes , but we didn’t have one, preferring to stick with the basics.
The classic tortilla espagnola
Why tortilla means bread in Mexico and omelet in Spain is a mystery I’ve never solved, but there you have it. This was a slice of egg and potato omelet served on a small piece of toast, just like in Madrid. The topping is a bit of paper thin jamon, the highly prized cured ham of Spain.
A cornucopia of calamari, with squid ink aioli
The black aioli is a visual shock, and the taste is amazing.
I guess everybody needs to serve some kind of burger, and the albondigas sliders here fulfill their social responsibility.
Itty Bitty burger with imported manchego cheese.
In European fashion, our salad came late in the meal. This was the one dish we had that was large enough to share, a salad with fruit.
Salad with mango, papaya and other good things
This plate was enough for the 3 of us, and we enjoyed it completely.
Proper review of a restaurant requires that I order dessert, so I threw myself on the menu and ordered the churros;
Fried dough the Spanish way
Okay, it’s just fried dough and sugar, with a cup of melted chocolate to dip into. Gail thought they were not cooked through, but managed to choke one down anyway.
Teleferic is definitely the hot, hip new place to be in Walnut Creek, and will be even better in warm weather when you can more comfortably sit outside on the deck. Service was excellent, but the wait staff all wear suspenders so they I was clearly a kindred spirit. The food prices are in the middle–not cheap, not ghastly. I thought the bar prices were a bit steep, a glass of wine for Gail and a margarita for Carol set me back $27 without tip.
One interesting thing I noticed is that there are 4 large table that would seat 10 in the center of the room—they plan on having large groups from families or offices or organizations as a common thing. The small plates make it very easy and sociable to have a group here.
Teleferic isn’t much the place for a romantic dinner for two, but it’s a fun place to go with friends and enjoy authentic Spanish foods in a very Madrileño atmosphere. I’ll be back.
Totally Unauthorized 