Tintol

[Sneakeater]

Tintol is billed as a Portuguese tapas bar. It's on W. 46th St. between 6th & 7th Aves.

Much that was on the menu looked to me like familiar old Spanish tapas, and I didn't see any tapas (as opposed to entrees) that were identifiable, at least by ignorant me, as uniquely Portuguese. Nor do I recall being aware of any tapas bars when in Portugal. Nevertheless, Tintol has the best selection of Portuguese wines by the glass I've ever seen in New York, so it's Portuguese at least to that extent.

Having said all that, this place is a winner.

I won't go into all the of the multitude of tapas my companion and I shared. I'll just endorse her observations that everything was prepared with a great deal of evident care, the quality of the ingredients seemed high, and there was nothing -- not a single thing -- we had that wasn't completely delicious. I know there must be clinkers on their menu . . . but we didn't hit any of them.

They also have a fairly limited amount of entrees on the menu. I can't wait to try some.

Lunch for two was about $100 -- but we pigged out. You'll want to, too.

Edited March 15, 2006 by Sneakeater (log)

[Pan]

[...]I won't go into all the of the multitude of tapas my companion and I shared.[...]

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Please feel free to mention some of them; I'd be interested to read about them.

[Sneakeater]

Piquillos stuffed with brandade -- fine version of this familiar favorite.

Pickled sardines -- excellent.

Braised oxtail -- sort of chopped up with mushrooms etc.

Lamb meatballs -- something gave them a delicious smoky flavor (although overall these were the worst of our selections).

Fried deviled eggs -- what a treat! I want them at every cocktail party!

Monkfish with peppers -- fine.

Spinach with other vegetative matter -- I can't figure out how this was cooked. My dining companion guessed it was just marinated overnight in vinegar. Anyway, surprising and good.

Flan -- dencer than any flan I've had before (and none the worse for it).

Basque tort -- yum.

Edited March 16, 2006 by Sneakeater (log)

[Pan]

Sneakeater, I don't recall if I know whether you've been to Casa Mono. Granted that Casa Mono is not Portuguese, but can you compare the taste and presentation of the dishes between these two places? One thing I'd be curious about is how salty the dishes were at Tintol.

[lambretta76]

They serve an Oporto-style tripe dish (natives of that city are called tripeiros because they eat so much of the stuff.) Other than that - it's more Iberian than strictly Portuguese. Great Portuguese wine list, though...

[Sneakeater]

Sneakeater, I don't recall if I know whether you've been to Casa Mono. Granted that Casa Mono is not Portuguese, but can you compare the taste and presentation of the dishes between these two places? One thing I'd be curious about is how salty the dishes were at Tintol.

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The dishes at Tintol are less salty than at Casa Mono. Where pertinent, they also tend to be less oily. On the whole, I'd say the cooking at Tintol is cleaner than at Casa Mono, if you know what I mean.

As I was eating at Tintol, it definitely entered my mind is that I marginally preferred the food there to the food at Casa Mono.

[Sneakeater]

They serve an Oporto-style tripe dish (natives of that city are called tripeiros because they eat so much of the stuff.) Other than that - it's more Iberian than strictly Portuguese. Great Portuguese wine list, though...

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That's interesting: the tripe was the next thing I was going to order when we decided we'd had our fill. Next time.

The Portuguese wine list really is something to behold. (Well, to behold and order from.)

[therese]

Well, there I was posting merrily away re our dinner Wednesday night at Tintol, when eG's server went haywire yesterday afternoon and I lost it all.

So rather than recreate the post I'll just make the following points:

1. Excellent food all around, with mostly classic tapas.

2. Nice wine selection, and some interesting non-wine beverages including a passionfruit cocktail and various digestifs. I tried the mandarin-flavored one, proving that one need not necessarily order a sidecar to consume a sidecar equivalent.

3. Cool vibe, a bit night clubby but also relaxed. Staff welcoming and professional.

4. Great value overall, and incredibly great value considering that this place is in the theater district.

[raji]

Based on my brother's obsession with Tapas (on par with my obsession with Japanese food), the wish to find somewhere low-key for the Mother's Day holiday (not reservation-madness and crowded), and the positive vibe I got from the place on here, we booked a table for 6 (plus baby) and headed over to Tintol Sunday afternoon at 6pm. Looked dead from the outside, but once you get past the front area it opens up into a very nicely lit, exposed brick room.

I'm not a huge tapas fan myself and don't remember the names of any of the places I've been to except for El Cid, but based on our dinner there Sunday, this place is a real sleeper and the best tapas I've had in NYC.

The Spanish/Portugese wine list is great with many falling in the $20-$40 range, and with 6 people we were able to try out 4 different bottles. This is one of the larger selection of tapas which is really great; I realized that so many times I've been to a tapas place and no I was not in the mood for paella or a sardine, so i was kind of out of luck. Here no matter what you are feeling, there is something for everyone, and nearly everything was a winner.

Cheese Plate - good enough

Fried deviled eggs - with hints of truffle oil and garlic, delicious!

Lamb Meatballs - delicious smokey flavor (repeating the above)

Lamb Loin - Cooked to perfection with cumin

Pork belly - served with what seemed to be cauliflower purree, delicious!

Shrimp Scampi - Juicey shrimp, tasty butter/herb/garlic sauce with plenty left to sop up with the bread

Bacalhau Cassoulet - good code dish

oxtail ragu - also delicious to be sopped up by the bread

Flaming Chroizo - you'd think it was for show, being that it's in the theatre district, but the flambe toasted the sausage to perfection

Quails with Mushroomand sherry - after the cheney jokes were done, I only managed to get into the mushrooms, which were superb

Our waiter was a cheery guy and very helpful, although he had just started there, and it seemed like they definitely had their sh** together. Obviously they know what they're doing in the kitchen, because even on an off day (the place was only about 30% full) everything was cooked to perfection. I will definitely be back and I'm just hoping that because it's RIGHT off Times Square but seemingly off the tourist map, it will not become a tourist destination, rather a solid respite from an otherwise awful area to eat out.

[mazman]

Been to Tintol once, agree the food is terrific and the Portugese wine selections are great. Think there are a few dishes that are "Portugese" in provenance, specifically the Pork Loin and Clams which is based on a traditional dish from the Alentejo region I think. Tintol's version is not a bit different than the one's I have had in Lisbon but absolutely yummy, as were most of the dishes. Strangely, the only dish we didn't like were the Papas Bravas, which seemed not at all like the ones I have had at other Spanish Tapas places. Overall, better (and cheaper) than Casa Mono, a slight notch below Tia Pol and Jaleo in DC

[Daniel]

Can you guys please describe the fried devil eggs..

[Sneakeater]

They're deviled eggs. But they're fried. I want one RIGHT NOW.

Hope that helped.

[Sneakeater]

OK. Seriously.

They're deviled eggs that are then fried with some sort of breading or crust.

[Daniel]

Deviled egg dipped in egg and then fried.. Lovely..Might as well wrap with bacon too..

[Sneakeater]

When you open your tapas place, I'll rush right over.

[Sneakeater]

I'm not sure they're dipped in egg. There isn't that much of a crust. Maybe it's batter. OK, I guess batter would have egg in it.

[Sneakeater]

When you open your tapas place, I'll rush right over.

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I guess, till then, we have the mushrooms at Yakitori Totto.

[Daniel]

Just saw that José Meirelles of Tintol will be at the Beard House on the 7th of June..Fried stuffed quail eggs are on the menu..

Edited May 17, 2006 by Daniel (log)

[dan.]

This place is wonderful and affordable. The lamb dishes in particular. I really can't reccomend the lamb loin enough.

[H. du Bois]

After just having steered a visitor to NY away from Times Square in another thread, I dined here tonight, and changed my mind. Tintol is wonderful.

Everything I ordered was terrific. The lamb loin is to die for, the fried deviled eggs (which I couldn't quite imagine from the description) are the devil's candy, and the flaming chorizo was a festive and delicious beginning to the meal. I was particularly impressed with the stuffed squid, which was delicate in texture and smoky in flavor.

Everything else was wonderful, too (loved the quail & mushrooms!), though I wasn't that impressed with my tasting dessert, especially after having sampled my friend's creme brulee (which was called something else - creme catalan?). Whatever the name, that was the dessert of the evening.

Had planned on sampling their wonderful red wines, but we somehow got started on caipirinhas, and never looked back.

Edited June 8, 2006 by H. du Bois (log)

[Sneakeater]

the fried deviled eggs (which I couldn't quite imagine from the description) are the devil's candy,

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Ya know, they really are addictive. Every time I think of them, I think, I WANT SOME NOW.

I mean, I'm sitting here, heavily medicated, with a hole in my belly, and generally feeling miserable -- and reading your post, I STILL think I want some of those NOW.

[H. du Bois]

Do they deliver?

[therese]

An early dinner two Wednesdays ago with husband and children (13 and 16) prior to a show at the Marquis, "The Drowsy Chaperone." We walked from the hotel (Morgans at Madison and E. 37th), which offers the opportunity to see all sorts of restaurants along the way that we most definitely didn't want to visit, as well as lots of opportunity for the kids to taunt me: "Hey, Mom, look, it's the Hard Rock Cafe! And Olive Garden---ooh, we've never been to Olive Garden!" They're such cards.

This was our second visit to Tintol, and a few things have changed in the interim. The most important is that they now take reservations, so if you are trying to make a curtain you might want to consider that option, particularly on the weekend. We were still able to get a table, but the restaurant was largely full by the time we arrived.

They've also dropped some of the more interesting beverages, including some cocktails and (I believe) digestifs that I'd tried and liked last visit.

The food is still great, and service fine in spite of the place being packed.

We had...

piquillos with brandade

cheese platter (can't recall specifics, as we were inhaling the food)

grilled octopus

almondegas

potato salad with tuna and olives (though I was sort of underwhelmed by the olives in this one)

papas bravas (very spicy)

ovos verdes (two orders)

No time for dessert, so I don't know if those options have changed.

Excellent value, service and kitchen both very efficient, and we had no trouble making our curtain.

[Luckylies]

went tonight, liked more in morning...

preview;

"why did the eggs have white truffel oil?"

" huh... Portugese wine"

"yay blood sausage"

...I promise, I'll really write something descriptive, really.

[Nina C.]

I just started a new topic in the wine forum asking for help but thought some of you who have been might have suggestions as well.

I'm going to Tintol tonight. As someone who doesn't know very much about wine, that wine list is a little intimidating. What did you drink? What should I look for?

Thanks for any help you can give!