T here are notable similarities between the Iberian Peninsula and the promontory we call Italy : a love of cheese and cured hams , a deep commitment to wine culture , and an unflagging sense that the area ’ s food will transport you to a region saturated in the richness of heritage . So perhaps it ’ s not surprising that Brian Kingsford and Jennifer Matta — the chef-owners of Bacaro — would commit themselves to a translation of Barcelonian and Portuguese culinary life .
Located next door to their first restaurant , Otra ( which means “ other ” or “ another ” in Spanish ) is an altogether different space , though the two restaurants share an adjacent parking lot . Where Bacaro sprawls through two floors , Otra manifests an urbane intimacy . The renovation of its building — originally a nineteenth century firehouse — is an homage both to history and to Spain . Two immense arched windows mimic the firehouse ’ s engine doors , but the interior is a world unto itself . The dining room surrounds an expansive twentyperson bar cut from white marble and centered around illuminated shelving . The burnt ochre-hued seating grounds the sky-high ceiling in an earthy aesthetic , but it ’ s the staff — chiefly Bacaro veterans — who manifest Kingsford ’ s admiration for a cuisine that is as varied as it is precise .
Love of Italian food is ubiquitous in Rhode Island ; every town in the state has its Venetian , Roman or Neapolitan outpost . Even at Bacaro — with its exacting perspective on Italian fare — customers need little guidance finding their niche . At Otra , on the other hand , servers and other staff accept their responsibility as tour guides with reverence for the mountains , the Mediterranean and the distinct confluence of cultures from Barcelona , the southern French Pyrenees region and Portugal .
Meals begin with an explanation of the restaurant ’ s mother sauces : romesco ( almond , tomato and pepper ), lemon aioli , bravas ( chili and vinegar-tinged tomato sauce ) and piperade ( tomato and piquillo pepper relish ). They ’ re paired with the restaurant ’ s a la plancha dishes : a series of shellfish options , meats , fish and vegetables seared on a smoldering Spanish plancha , a stainless steel griddle . But the experience of Otra often starts before anything is ordered — as soon as a collection of house snacks featuring Spanish flavors is placed down . A handful of garlic Marcona almonds , a selection of olives and a small bowl of housemade lactonese , a light aioli made with milk and garlic , arrive with freshly baked bread and it ’ s here that the sauce takes center stage . Everything about the stark white lactonese suggests innocuousness , but it delivers a declaration of heady garlic so rousing as to recall , in a single bite , the
OTRA
303 South Main St ., Providence , 633-1313 , otrarestaurant . com .
Open for dinner Tuesday – Saturday . Wheelchair accessible . Parking lot adjacent to the building shared with Bacaro .
CUISINE Spanish with Portuguese and southern French influences .
CAPACITY Sixty .
VIBE Eating paella in a Balenciaga dress .
PRICES Tapas and small plates : $ 7 –$ 23 ; large plates : $ 30 –$ 45 ; dessert : $ 12 –$ 15 .
KAREN ’ S PICKS Huevos cabreados , bife a casa , anything stewed or simmered . The bar never gets old .
RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY l MAY 2022 111