A couple of weeks ago we decided to go see a Broadway show that was coming to the Hanover Theater in Worcester, Massachusetts and what’s a show…with out great dinner! I did a little research on restaurants near the theater and came across Bocado. Bocado is located at 82 Winter Street in Worcester. Bocado is a Tapas and wine bar meaning lots of small plates to share. We decided to do what they call the “Bocado Experience” for $80.00, not including drinks for two people. This included two items from the meat and cheese section of the menu and six…yes six tapas choices along with churros and chocolate sauce for dessert. We came hungry, so we were ready for the food to start!

We started our choices with the fried goat cheese with honey, warm bread, and their classic chorizo. A small pickled pepper and a little square of quince came on the plate as well. The chorizo was very good, spicy not too much. The absolute star of this dish was the fried goat cheese with honey that we spread on the warm bread. This was so delicious my description will not do this plate justice. It was crunchy, creamy, sweet and a little bit of tart from the goat cheese. I have made fried goat cheese in the past and really enjoyed it but to have it with the honey really put it over the top. I will definitely be re creating this dish at home sooner than later.

Next was the fried calamari with lemon, garlic, and crispy capers with an orange horseradish crema with piquillo peppers. ( sorry no picture, did I mention how hungry we were?) We enjoyed this dish as well, I think I liked it a little more than Jim but I have to say the calamari was so tender and sweet and then you get a small amount of hot from the sauce. I would order this again in a heartbeat!

This next dish was Jim’s favorite, well along with the fried goat cheese. It was the pork meatballs with fig, red wine, and blue cheese. When you take a bite of the meatball with the fig and blue cheese, it is literally the perfect bite. The meatball was so tender, then came the sweet from the fig and then the tang of the blue cheese. These were definitely a highlight and one we kept going back for. We tried to contain ourselves as we still had so much more coming out. Needless to say we finished that plate!

Next dish is one of my all time favorite dishes to order anywhere. Who does not love bacon wrapped scallops? Sweet and salty is never bad but at Bocado the scallops are served with white truffle honey and red pepper flakes. The red pepper flakes added just a pinch of heat to the sweet and salty bite. Needless to say, yes I ate them all. In my defense they were not the really big scallops. By now we really needed our stretch pants on as we were slowing down but still had four more dishes coming!

Shrimp with olive oil, garlic and parsley was up next. This was another great dish with nice flavors from the garlic and parsley, Although this was a good dish it was not my favorite but would never snub it if it shows up on my table again!

5 hour braised beef in a barbecue sauce with mashed potatoes and creme fraise. This beef was so tender, no knife needed here. This was another home run, so much so we were taking; it back to the hotel with us as we were really running out of room with two more dishes left.

One of Jim’s all-time favorite foods is beans and rice. So for the last main course, Jim picked the steak and rice. This was sliced steak with rice and beans. The steak had a piquillo chimichurri sauce that brought an incredible amount of flavor to the dish. A little hot but not overpowering. This was a delicious dish with tons of flavor and another dish we were not able to finish but we’re taking it with us!

Last, but not least, was dessert. You don’t get a choice with the dessert. Everyone gets the churros with chocolate sauce. I love churros so I was perfectly fine with this! If you are not familiar with churros they are strips of fried dough and here they are served with a chocolate dipping sauce. Jim liked the churros without the sauce, but come on now, what’s not better with chocolate? I enjoyed my bites with the chocolate sauce!

This was an amazing experience from start to finish. Our waitress, I believe her name was Shannon, was born at the old Pease Air Force base and grew up in the Portsmouth, NH area. We had lots to talk about and so many places in common that we all love. The food was nothing shy of some of the best food we have had and hands down the best tapas bar we have been to. The portions are not small at all, you will not leave hungry. so many options and a friendly knowledgeable staff.

Although our experience was over and we had our To-Go Bag in hand, I thought I would share with you that there is a significant amount of homeless people in Worcester. We passed many going to the theater and then to the restaurant. When we saw a young man sitting under the bridge with a sign that said something about smiling and he was not asking for money or anything at all, we decided he needed our To-Go Bag more than we did. Needless to say, he was very happy and extremely thankful.

If you find yourself in Worcester, Massachusetts be sure to make a reservation at Bocado as they fill up every night for dinner. Check out their full menu on line and be sure to give them a like on Facebook.

Enjoy!