Tapas on Tap at Gracie's

Gracie’s Table is a small restaurant in the village of Dennis along Route 6A snuggled in alongside several art galleries and the Cape Playhouse. In its newest conversion it is an intriguing combination of a Tapas bar and Spanish cuisine.

Food
Really two menus in one restaurant, we chose to dine on entrees. We thought we’d return for the tapas. But as we were seated in the bar, we tried to observe the bar patrons selection of tapas and satisfaction with each. We are happy to report that they seemed to enjoy themselves.

We ordered the much recommended Pork Confit, served over red cabbage and covered with sour cherries. We’re not sure why it was recommended, because it neither over-promises (on the menu) nor over-delivers (on the plate). Too much pork fat was allowed to drain from the pan to the plate for our taste, but it was otherwise tasty.

We decided not to wait for Paella, since the menu warned it would take 25 minutes. So we played it save with the Chicken Basquaise. Too safe it turns out. Advertised as Bell & Evans, trade lingo for never frozen, this quartered chicken lacked nationality and salt.

Used to be that restaurants would inform diners that they did not use MSG. Looks like they’re going to have to start advising us they don’t use salt either. In what appears to be a disturbing trend on Cape Cod, or a concession to their elderly diners, restaurants are not salting their food. What’s worse here is that Gracie’s didn’t even have salt on the table.

Wine and Cocktails
We started with cocktails because of the interesting offering of concoctions. We decided to stay with a cocktail sampling when we tried to read the wine menu. Except for the Sangria, confusing groupings of mostly wines from Spain and California did not inspire a bottle. Although we had eyed an ’00 Rioja, the price did not seem to jive with the label.

In another nod to the older diner, the other side of the desert menu had a nostalgic listing of after dinner drinks. Does anybody else remember the Stinger? We skipped dessert but saw a wonderful plate of fruit with creamy topping float by. We did have coffee served in a French press, which was a highlight of the meal.

Service
Turns out the bartender is pretty adept at mixing drinks and conversation. The other wait staff were pleasant enough but too young or inexperienced to turn a lackluster menu into a fun trip into another culture. We dined on perhaps the busiest night of the week in the busiest week of the summer but the service did seem to flow smoothly.

Atmosphere
Tiny would be the way to describe the reception and bar area. The dining rooms also very small are not visible form the entry, but the kitchen was, as were the toilets in the restrooms, since the doors don’t have closers. On this evening there was an endless parade of 2 couples dining together, mostly from the older set.

The coziness adds little to the overall ambiance of the place. It’s just too small to be attempting a full service menu. More of the tapas bar downstairs would be appropriate for such a tight space, with Spanish entrees upstairs for those selected diners. One menu downstairs, one menu upstairs. That would also add some excitement to the place.

As a result, the price of the place doesn’t match the overall experience. What we sampled only rates one *, although the other bar patrons would rate their tapas with 2 **. But the prices of either menu still rate 3 $$$.