“Oh and the food will arrive when it’s ready”……. the famous last words of many a Dubai waiter after dutifully repeating your order.

Dubai it seems never tires of rolling out a share concept. Many times, it’s probably down to a combination of laziness and fad following but at Boca it’s something that actually works and that’s because the menu revolves around the home of tapas – Spain and along with it the nearby coastal regions of France and Italy. All of this plays beautifully to their approach of taking great ingredients and letting them shine. I’ve mentioned this before but more often than not, it’s the simple things in life and food that seem to always resonate with me. Perfection is great but a genuine love of ingredients and attention to detail is always a winner.

So, when it comes to small plates, if there was ever a dish that quintessentially typifies tapas it would surely be Fried Padrón Peppers (AED 60), a Galician specialty that has become synonymous with Spanish eating. Boca’s example is a good one and is of course the perfect accompaniment to an ice-cold refreshment.

Moving on to something a little heavier and their take on the traditional Spanish Los Huevos Rotos (AED 60), or broken eggs, was my lip-smacking favorite. What you get here are fried eggs served on top of fried potatoes, along with some beef chorizo. The idea is to break the yolks, so they flow onto the food creating a rich sauce. I could actually eat this for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Along the way, our server was always right on point but never overbearing and had mentioned that the Grilled Sardines were excellent. It didn’t take much convincing - so up next was this beautifully mild Beurre Blanc infused number that came with a homemade crostini. Sardines are classically Mediterranean and these were light and flavorful and without a hint of the sometimes heavy oil that can come with these little sardinas.

While all of this is going on, you can expect a decent soundtrack in the background which sets the tone nicely and when combined with a pretty compelling happy hour makes Boca one of the go to post work hangouts in DIFC.

Bottom Line:

To be sure, there’s so much more on offer here and with a nicely crafted menu that changes regularly and skillfully designed interiors by one of our favorites - Bishop Design, it only strengthens the case to make another return.