Best of Boston

It’s half past five, and Toro is already at capacity: the dining room rollicking, the bar stools long since staked out. Mind you, few restaurants in Spain would have opened so early, but that slight inauthenticity is unavoidable when you’ve created such a culinary phenomenon. We don’t use the word “phenomenon” lightly: Here, the tantalizing pintxos (uni bocadillo, Serrano ham–wrapped dates) and tapas (most notably the crispy patatas bravas, set off by piquant tomato sauce and creamy aioli) justify the hype…and the wait.