{"id":281064,"date":"2026-06-29T13:49:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T13:49:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/281064\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T13:49:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T13:49:08","slug":"heres-the-uws-dish-buceo-95s-picoteo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/281064\/","title":{"rendered":"Here\u2019s the UWS Dish: Buceo 95\u2019s Picoteo"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Buceo 95\u2019s Picoteo. Photos by Yana Krasnitskaya<\/p>\n

By Yana Krasnitskaya <\/p>\n

It was a heavy, heavy summer evening when I visited the Spanish tapas and wine bar Buceo 95. The Knicks were on the cusp of victory, the U.S. men\u2019s soccer team had just demolished Paraguay in their World Cup opener, and, as I would come to learn about 45 minutes into my meal, New York City was on the brink of a torrential downpour that would finally break the stifling humidity that had been hovering over the city for days.<\/p>\n

This would be a good time to tell you, dear readers, that I\u2019ve always been a bit lukewarm on tapas. I bristled at the idea of only having one bite of something, because inevitably I\u2019d want more. In setting out to do this column, however, I told myself I\u2019d be open-minded and boy am I glad I was.<\/p>\n

Buceo 95 had come highly recommended (by my editor, no less!), and stepping inside the dark-wooded, cool interior, I immediately understood why. Their website did not lie \u2013 the small dining room, most of which was taken up by a large rectangular bar, really did feel like \u201ca touch of Spain between Broadway and Amsterdam.\u201d All the surrounding tables were high-tops, meant for two people or slotted together to accommodate groups \u2013 a perfect atmosphere to spark conversation.<\/p>\n

The walls were brick and lined with bottles of wine, and on this particularly hot day, it felt like I\u2019d been transported to another country. The menu was also an escape. Over 40 dishes, broken out by category: vegetables, seafood, and meat. I\u2019m\u00a0 a huge fan of anchovies, so the picoteo, ($6) which translates roughly to a \u201clight nibble,\u201d immediately caught my eye.<\/p>\n

When it arrived, the dish stole my breath a little. Two pieces of the cured fish were speared neatly on a single skewer, slotted between plumb cherry tomatoes, green guindilla peppers that resembled miniature tree roots, a large green olive, and two mouthwatering chunks of manchego cheese. Artfully laid on a slab of black stone and decorated with confetti-like bits of chopped parsley and salt crystals, the presentation caught me by surprise. I was struck by how fun and whimsical it looked. And, spoiler alert, it tasted even better. The burst of sweetness from the juicy tomato paired incredibly well with the saltiness of the anchovy and the creaminess of the cheese. The pickled peppers added a nice bit of crunch that gave way to the earthy heartiness of the olive. It took me more than a \u201clight nibble\u201d to work through all the different flavors and textures; and I immediately ordered another one because I couldn\u2019t wait to go on that journey again. I realize not everyone is a fan of anchovies but I wouldn\u2019t let it deter you. The fish is subtle here and complimented well by the brightness of the pickled vegetables and savory cheese.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Buceo 95\u2019s hongos<\/p>\n

If that doesn\u2019t appeal to you, there are many other wonderful tapas to choose from, like the hongos \u2014 pistachio-crusted mushrooms stuffed with goat cheese $15) \u2014 or the bu\u00f1uelos de jam\u00f3n \u2014 serrano ham and manchego cheese fritters ($14) \u2014 which come with a delightfully spicy dipping sauce.\u00a0 Still, of all the things I tasted, the picoteo left the biggest impression on me. It\u2019s a sublime way to start a meal at Buceo 95, especially when paired with a glass of the rich but incredibly drinkable Rioja ($14).<\/p>\n

The history of tapas is a little murky. The actual word translates to \u201ccover\u201d or \u201clid\u201d in Spanish, and the most famous origin stories date it back to\u00a0 somewhere between the 13th and 16th centuries, when tavern owners would cover a drink with a small piece of bread, ham or cheese to keep it from dust or flies. Eventually, that became a snack that was served alongside the drink and the rest, as you would say, is history. Nowadays, tapas can be anything\u00a0 \u2013\u00a0 crispy chunks of potatoes, perfectly fried croquettes, or slender pink shrimp dipped in garlic oil \u2013 but no matter what\u2019s on your plate, the intention behind it is to partake in the experience with others and share both food and wine merrily.<\/p>\n

Just as the skies opened up that evening, two lovely women came and sat down next to me. The tables were so close, I immediately joked that we\u2019d be having dinner together. As it turned out, the joke was on me because that\u2019s exactly what happened. Over a couple glasses of wine \u2013 I was on my second glass of the Rioja, they each on their first of the house ros\u00e9\u00a0 \u2014 we chatted about the weather, the neighborhood, and of course, the restaurant.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis place has been around forever,\u201d one of them said. \u201cGreat place to get a bite before a show or to catch up with a friend.\u201d I wondered if she knew that she just described the concept of tapas perfectly. Here we were, total strangers, enjoying a glass of wine, a light bite and leisurely conversation as we waited out the rain.<\/p>\n

A little while later, after my third order of picoteo had arrived, she turned to me and asked, \u201cHave you watched Heated Rivalry?\u201d<\/p>\n

I swallowed the delicious bite of olive, anchovy and cheese, took a healthy sip of wine, and nodded emphatically. Maybe I was starting to come around to the concept of tapas after all.<\/p>\n

The Dish: Picoteo ($6)
The Restaurant: Buceo 95, 201 West 95th Street (between Amsterdam Avenue and Broadway). Open seven nights a week, from 5 p.m. to midnight.<\/p>\n

Read all Here\u2019s the UWS Dish columns\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Subscribe to West Side Rag\u2019s FREE email newsletter\u00a0here<\/a>. And you can Support the Rag\u00a0here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Buceo 95\u2019s Picoteo. Photos by Yana Krasnitskaya By Yana Krasnitskaya It was a heavy, heavy summer evening when…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":281065,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[20730,24344,75,84,83,9,24,63],"class_list":["post-281064","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-manhattan","tag-heres-the-dish","tag-heres-the-uws-dish","tag-manhattan","tag-manhattan-headlines","tag-manhattan-news","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281064","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=281064"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281064\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/281065"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=281064"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=281064"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=281064"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}