Introducing: Bar Raval, Grant van Gameren’s much-hyped Spanish pinchos bar

Name: Bar Raval Contact Info: 505 College St., thisisbarraval.com, @bar_raval
Neighbourhood: Little Italy Owners: Grant Van Gameren (Bar Isabel), Mike Webster (Momofuku and Bar Isabel) and Robin Goodfellow (Ursa) Chefs: Van Gameren and former Bar Isabel sous chefs Ryan Baddeley and Keenan Mcvey

The Food: Guests at van Gameren’s new pinchos place dine shoulder-to-shoulder, eating from a tapas menu that doesn’t bother much with fanciness: small bites like steamed leeks on romesco, morcilla sausage with quail eggs and salty boquerón—quintessential casual northern-Spanish snacks—are eaten with toothpicks. The canned seafood, some of it imported, some house-made, includes preserved mussels, smoked mackerel with rosemary, as well as berberechos—small, saltwater clams from Conservas de Campados that are steamed in the can they come in, then served with a side of chips and a house aperitivo sauce. Embuditos (cured meat), and plancha-grilled seafood, meats and cheeses round out the snacks. And at Bar Raval, anytime is tapas time: it’s open every day, from 8 a.m.–2 a.m.

The Drinks: Bar Raval’s low-octane tipples, like the Jack Knife made with Tio Pepe, promote day drinking (as well as afternoon functioning). A long list of fortified wine, vermouth and sherry is available all day, too. The bar itself is built for speed and functionality: it boasts a sunken, angled gutter that keeps the team’s mise en place out of the way.

The Place: A tin roof is all that’s left of what used to be Teatro. Intricate, Antoni Gaudí-inspired woodwork (completed by design team Partisan for a price tag of $200,000) melts mahogany into swooping curves, with few right angles in sight, making the bar feel like a warm and super-stylish grotto.