Estragon

This is a cozy tapas bar. Nice location, tens of yards from Police department. The tapas are more like appetizers. Grilled lamb chops are very juicy. Worthy of another trip.

Estragon’s $ 1 bar tapas are no longer, but they’ve been replaced by a «Tapas Blitz» menu at the bar, featuring $ 1, $ 3, & $ 5 tapas, Mondays — Thursday, from 5pm — 7pm.
On my April visit, I found myself a spot at the bar beside a local frequenter of the establishment, who proclaimed with certainty that this was the best Spanish restaurant in Boston.
After perusing the single sided Blitz menu, I settled on:
. GARBANZOS FRITOS $ 1 Blitz/​$ 5 normal price
Crispy Paprika Chickpeas
. COLES DE BRUSELAS $ 3/​$ 9
Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Chorizo, Golden Raisins
. Torreznos $ 3 (not listed on the regular menu)
Chrispy Fried Pork Belly, Salsa Picante
. PULPITO A LA PARRILLA $ 5/​$ 11
Marinated, Grilled Baby Octopus
Later on adding an additional bite:
. QUESO DE CABRA $ 1/​$ 14 for 4
Warm Goat Cheese & Tomato on Toast
The first to arrive was the pork belly, while the next three was delivered in one fell swoop. So the fried bits of pork with the squiggle of red sauce had my full initial attention. The crisp skin and chewy meat and fat were wonderful, but the sauce was a bit too much for me, so I wiped some off. Perhaps I’d ask for the sauce on the side in the future.
The octopus were three meaty whole big headed leggy beauties to an order, covered with a light crisp. The chickpeas light crisp balls that I popped into my mouth one at a time. And the brussels sprouts numbered nine tender halves tossed with sweet and savory in the raisins and chorizo bits.
As the bulk of my order were fried, I decided it might be a good idea to add one of their $ 1 toasts, and went with the goat cheese and tomato which was served warm. Having enjoyed their pintxos in the past in their dining room, I was a bit surprised at the petite object which was presented before me. It was perhaps 2 bites at most, though the crisp bread contrasted well with the soft and savory spread.
Based on a review of the Unilocal photos, I suspect that the portions of the rest of the happy hour offerings may have also been shrunk some, with 7 octopus vs the 3 I received, a larger count of brussels sprouts, and the chickpeas were in a brown dish vs the smaller white dish mine were served in. I’m a bit bummed, but ultimately a lighter portion for a smaller price enabled me to try more things. And to me, variety is the spice of life!
On my next visit, I’ll probably try a few other items such as the Croquetas de Jamon, the fried artichoke hearts, and chicken empanadas.
Note: Since my last visit several years ago, they have installed toilet paper holders in their ladies’ room.

Just got home from eating at Estragon. The food was okay, but tasteless. They don’t really season any of there food. So a bit dry. I ordered the steak and fries, the steak was a bit chewy. And my partner ordered the pork chops, perfectly done but again not season at all. Other then that the waitress was nice but didn’t come around very often. I wouldn’t go back again. First time for everything though. When it comes to tapas I would rather prefer Toro down the street from there (South end). Or Taberna De Haro (Brookline).

Great décor, food and drinks are good. Attend private functions and dine there regularly.

Fantastic vibe, exceptional menu, hibiscus infused tequila was perfect. The grilled octupus alone is worth returning for. We had the tenderloin steak, lamb, Brussels sprouts, shrimp, arugula salad, and bread pudding. Nothing disappointed. We wished we could have kept eating for another few hours. Highly recommended.

Came here for their $ 1−3−5 happy hour tapas and I would definitely define it as A-​OK. Some of the food I had was great — fried baby octopus, goat cheese toast, some was ok – pork belly, and some was pretty disappointing — kobe beef slider, ham toast

Went here with some friends to grab a bite to eat on a Friday night. It was pretty crowded, but we were able to grab three seats at the bar.
We were all pretty hungry, so I was able to sample a wide selection of their food offerings:
Surtido de pintxos:
Chorizo (3 stars): This chorizo was good, but was nothing special in terms of flavor or what it was prepared with.
Lengua (2 stars): I am a lover of tongue when it is prepared well, but I felt like this dish missed the mark and was a bit tough overall.
Higaditos de pollo (2 stars): Maybe I am just not he biggest fan of chicken liver, but I found this dish to have a slightly odd taste.
Queso a la plancha (4 stars): This dish was actually one of my favorites as it was very simple and light, but had a great flavor from the grilled cheese on top.
Alcachofas fritas (4 stars): This was another solid dish as the artichoke was lightly fried and served with a tasty sauce.
Coca (3 stars): I have had some really great flatbreads recently and I just wasn’t very impressed by this version. I think that the toppings were decent, but the crust was pretty lackluster.
Chuleton a la parrilla (4 stars): This dish was pretty good – the meat was prepared well and had great flavor, though it was a pretty small portion for the price.
Drinks (2 stars): I can’t quite remember what drink I got since it isn’t listed on their online menu, but it definitely had a weird overall taste to it.
Overall, this place does some things well, but most of the dishes that I tried left much to be desired. On top of that, this place can get pricey pretty quickly because of the tapas-​style plates – which are priced high and aren’t the largest portions. The best bang for your buck here is probably to try the Surtido de pintxos as you can choose up to four different versions to try.

large portions and relatively cheap for the area but most of the food lacks flavor and is a bit fried. Great friendly and honest staff that gave us a heads up that we might be ordering too much (portions are large and heavy for tapas)
Would leave this place as a drinks option or greasy night out versus food.

It is actually hard for me to pick out a favorite among the three Spanish tapas restaurants (Estragon, Toro, and Barcelona) in the South End. As someone who is fairly familiar with Spanish cuisine, I find the food at Estragon to be slightly more traditional. I wouldn’t call it 100% authentic, but close enough especially when getting it in Boston.
For our latest dinner here, we ordered the chorizo pinxto, potatoes Bravas, Catalan spinach, and jamón Iberico. Everything was delicious and tasted like something I would’ve gotten in Spain. For spinach fans, Estragon is the only one out of the three tapas places in the South End that serves this dish! As for the jamón, it was as heavenly as we had expected it. A perfect balance of fat (yes you want a little of that) and flavor. It was definitely overpriced. However, being in Boston, not Madrid, the ham unfortunately became a rare commodity.
The service was pretty good overall. Water could’ve been filled a bit quicker. We also had a bottle of Spanish white. It was OK but the good part was we got to take it home.

I went here with a couple of my guy friends and the food was absolutely amazing. It’s a very traditional Spanish spot: ambience and food wise.
The chirizo’s are a must. Aside from that, their patatas bravas and croquettes were also great.
One of their specials were beef tripe but I wasn’t a big fan of the texture of it. It was extremely mushy.
The service was outstanding. Our waiter was very nice and even paced the dishes so there wasn’t too many on the table at once.
Great place to eat. Between the 5 of us, we each only paid $ 50 and that included wine as well as 12 dishes.

Went here with my girlfriend and we had a blast. Great atmosphere and service.
We had the Paella and it was delicious. I will definitely be coming back.

This place is a little out of the way from any public transportation, but I think worth a trip! The interior is pretty cute and the staff is friendly. We ordered a couple of drinks, surtido de pintoxs, and paella mixta, all of which were delicious. The only critique I have is that the paella mixta, which has seafood & chicken, did not adequately incorporate the taste of chicken in it; we felt like it was added as an after though. Otherwise everything was great!

Decent paella but not the best I’ve ever had. I feel like they could have added some more seafood and it was a tad small for sharing. Cute place for a big group though and the atmosphere was pretty nice

I can’t believe I haven’t reviewed this place yet!
This is my favorite place to go to in the South End.
Why you ask?
1. Great location (especially for people working at BMC or BU Med campus)
2. The ambiance, the décor (Bookshelves full of books and random golden phoenix statues), and the weird movies that they play on their TV (a bird documentary has been on few times when I’ve bee there)
3. Great authentic tapas and amazing Paella!
4. Tapas happy hour! ($ 1, $ 3, $ 5 tapas? What more do you want?)
5. Great selection of beers, mixed drinks, delicious Sangria from an interesting spherical sangria machine
6. Great great great service :)
7. It’s not as busy as some of the other tapas bars (also has more welcoming feeling in general)
When you get there make sure to try out their Fig Old-​Fashioned, it is one of the best drinks I’ve had in the city.

If David Lynch designed a restaurant.
Cocktail menu is not for the faint of cock, and their descriptions are beautiful & ingenious. V down.
Menu items were traditional — although prepared exceptionally well, weren’t as funky as the design and cocktails may lead you to expect.
This is an unexpected South End gem, and (not to diminish its excellence) a great plan B if Toro is full.

Delicious and romantic, too. We stumbled upon Estragon after a night at SoWa open studios. Luckily we found parking nearby as it can be difficult in the area. The absolute highlight of the evening was the FRIED ARTICHOKE HEARTS. A must! I also enjoyed the brussel sprouts. Don’t waste your $ on the pintxos to start but if you do I really liked the chicken liver dish. Heard good things about the lamb chops… may be regretting not ordering that one. There’s definitely something for everyone. Will have to come back!

Tapas with reasonable portions. A group of 4 to 6 is perfect to try out most dishes.
I first came here for restaurant week but have returned a couple of times to try out most of their tapas.
Friendly and helpful service created a delightful dining experience.

I came across Eatragon when I looked at tapas places near where I lived on Unilocal.I went to my favorite place Toro the night before. I was looking for somewhere new and low key to go with two other friends. It came down to here or Barcelona in the South End. I let one of my friends pick so we decided on Estragon. It is far into the South End but is cute, quaint neighborhood feeling to it. It was not crowded at all and it was nice to feel like you had some space. The staff was super friendly and attentive. The drinks are delicious. I had the tamarind margarita and moor’s last sigh. I tried my friends drinks and they were really good as well. We ordered the following:
–Chicken turnover
–Grilled baby lamb chops, cauliflower mash
–House beef meatballs, brandy cream
–Pork loin stuffed with machengo cheese and ham
–roasted Brussels sprouts, chorizo, golden raisins
–arugula salad
Everything was delicious and I could have ordered more. My favorites were the Brussels sprouts, cauliflower mash and meatballs. The food was nicely prepared, had great flavor. We all got chocolate espresso Martinis and split a roasted pear with ice cream. Both were delicious and prefect end to a nice meal. I had a nice time and consider this as one of my favorite places up there with Toro. I will definitely go back again soon!

I was at Estragon with family and we all agreed that the good was very good and the miss steps were really not good at all.
The were very good about taking us right, away, we did have a reservation. We had a nice table in a quiet corner. The restaurant had a lot of background din so I was a appreciative of the table. Our waiter was helpful with the menu but never asked us after the fact if we needed anything else or was everything good.
If you do go, the Paella was wonderful. The sauteed garlic shrimp was enjoyed by all. There was a beef dish that was a big disappointment (sorry I don’t remember which one it was) and the fried zucchini was way over fried. I’d probably go back to Estragon but I’d definitely stick to the seafood meals.

We bought a Groupon and made reservations for a Saturday night.
When we got to the restaurant, it wasn’t empty, but wasn’t packed as much as I expected for a trendy restaurant on a Saturday night.
I think this was one of the better tapas places we’ve been to. I thought portions were reasonably sized and bigger from what I normally expect from tapas places. Also pricing was fair.
We ordered the Patatas Bravas, Pollo al Ajillo (garlic chicken), Albondigas de Buey (meatballs) and I believe the Chorizo on toast, all of which were tasty.
We heard good things about the Garbanzos Fritos (fried paprika chickpeas), so we ordered them. This was probably my least favorite part of the meal. They were dry and tasteless.
I would return here again at some point.