Boston - June 11, 2008

Hamming It Up

Estragon Opens

You say your weekly rhythm of Thai, wine, and cupcakes hasn’t been hitting its usual thrills?

There’s no prescription needed.

Just get a healthy dose of Julio de Haro’s Estragon (so called after that feisty herb tarragon), the newest addition to the sprawling South End landscape.

Enter the gauzy-curtained enclave — where Spanish crooners own the Muzak and bold vintage posters set the scene — to a cozy parlor with damask chairs and a trippy Edwardian couch, in which one can sip sherry over art house musings.

Proceed to the mirrored bar where snapshots of de Haro’s family mingle with a vintage disco sangria machine or slide up to a table for authentic tapas like Marcona almonds, grilled quail, or carpaccio de pulpa. Las Ventas, de Haro’s new Spanish grocery store, is next door.

And with every dish less than $14?
 
It’s one medicine that’s easy going down.

Estragon, 700 Harrison Avenue, South End (617-266-0443).