Browntrout
The large double-sided menu at Dudley Nieto’s Old Town tapas restaurant Eivissa, named for the Balearic party isle of Ibiza, features a pair of ostensible bloodstains over which are superimposed a pair of incomprehensible non sequiturs: “Taste the art. Drink with all senses” and “The essence of the essence.” If the aim is to foreshadow a sense of discombobulation, then bravo. Nieto, who rivals Geno Bahena for the archipelago of restaurants he’s skipped about, has forgone his usual Mexican in favor of a bisected approach to tapas, aspiring to both tradition and the more modern wave of Spanish gastronomy born of Ferran Adria. It’s a broad stroke, with sections of the menu devoted to luminous vodka balls and sangrias, charcuterie and cheeses, and plates large and small. One of the more aggravating offerings is a selection of “chupitos,” shots of thick viscous sauces into which has been inserted a single bite of protein or veg impaled on a skewer. Sweet and thick as milk shakes, these are antithetical to the concept of shared plates, as are the stylized Basque pinxtos, oversize slices of bread topped with towering mounds of mushroom duxelles and cheese “air,” or duck breast and tomato mint foam, equally overportioned and little worth the effort. Even the most successful of the offerings, the tapas classicas and paellas, seem a bit off, the tortilla piperada more of custard than a classic Spanish omelet, and Nieto’s rendition of the paella Valenciana is essentially a risotto, with creamy rice and the stark absence of the coveted crusty socorrat scraped from the bottom of the pan. Many plates are accented with pointless El Bulliesque flourishes—quince sodium alginate “ravioli” alongside the rack of lamb ravioli, jamon iberico gelee with seared wild salmon. Nieto is trying to have it both ways, but as one tablemate observed, “If you haven’t mastered the basics don’t attempt an advanced class.” The bar stays open till midnight on Thursdays, 1 AM on Fridays, and 2 AM on Saturdays. —Mike Sula
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
$$ ASIAN, JAPANESE, THAI | LUNCH: MONDAY-SATURDAY; DINNER: SEVEN DAYS | OPEN LATE: FRIDAY & SATURDAY TILL 11 | BYO
