Best Spanish/tapas restaurant

Located in a particularly dull section of Brighton, Tasca, with its low-key façade, is easy to whiz past -- a fact which only adds to the secretive charm of this rustic-looking "tapa tavern." From the dim, sexy bar area to the sunken dining room that channels Spanish flair but avoids tackiness, you'll find a diverse crowd sipping sangria and nibbling on paradoxically hearty delicacies: funky black bean-crab cakes, earthy morcilla (black sausage), garlic-and-anise-laced caracoles (snails in puff pastry). For those who prefer full meals, Tasca makes paella to order and a richly-flavored seafood stew called zarzuela. But the most unexpected triumph here is the dessert menu, especially the wonderfully sticky bread pudding and the toffee-and-banana pastel basque. On Thursdays, live Spanish guitar further ups the romance quotient.

Dalí has deflowered many a tapas virgin over the years; the little-changed menu keeps all the tools of seduction handy. They can be as simple as patatas ali-oli -- essentially a garlicky potato salad -- or the classic, frittata-like tortilla española; as playful as the batter-fried nuggets of broccoli and cheese known as buñuelos de verdura; or as intriguingly sophisticated as angulas -- baby eels flash-fried in olive oil and garlic. For the restaurant's regulars, meanwhile, a handful of monthly changing tapa specials keeps the romance alive.

Tasca, 1612 Comm Ave, Brighton, (617) 730-8002. Dalí, 415 Washington Street, Somerville, (617) 661-3254.