Broken Spanish brings an upscale experience

Though the ambience might be similar to sister restaurant B.S. Taqueria, Broken Spanish offers a fine dining alternative for Mexican fusion food lovers. Potted plants and the abundance of wooden furniture give the restaurant a homey, welcoming vibe that makes the experience feel like an upscale dinner party.

The restaurant feels open and airy even though it is extremely dimly lit. Patrons have to make do with the flickering light from the lone candle on the table to make out the small letters on the menu. Be prepared to resort to external lighting from bright cell phone screens.

A pottery shelf, a cabinet of curios and a wall collection of black and white photographs add a considerable amount of quirkiness to the experience, echoing the concept of B.S. Taqueria.

A pre-dinner drink comes in a cazuela earthen dish garnished with citrus fruit slices and flowers. The drink, also named Cazuela ($20), is meant to serve up to two people in a adult-style milkshake-sharing fashion — though it is considerably stronger than what you might have had as a kid. With a blanco tequila base mixed with mezcal, mandarin napoleon, lime, fresh jicama and pineapple with a dash of fresno chili, Cazeula kick starts a meal in an exciting and refreshing way.

Dinner is a tapas-style affair, and the lamb neck tamales with king oyster mushrooms and Queso Oaxaca ($15) starts off the meal nicely. The tamales come in a steel pan, covered in chunks of lamb and a sprinkling of cheese. They are slightly crispy on the outside and wonderfully moist on the inside, and the tender strips of lamb neck are well-seasoned with just a hint of spiciness and a kick of fresh cilantro. The cheese gives each bite a slight creaminess that rounds off the dish nicely without overpowering the other flavors.

Next is the Chile Relleno ($13), featuring a fresh poblano pepper stuffed with potato, kale and lemon, roasted and then smothered in soubise sauce. The sweet pepper casing combined with the hearty stuffing is a wonderful combination, and the onion-based soubise decorates the dish with a richness that is surprising but welcome. The poblano is very mild, and the heat kicks in only after your taste buds register all the other different flavors in the dish. The soubise’s flavor is not too heavy but could benefit from a bit less seasoning as it is slightly too salty.

The last dish of the night, and inexplicably the largest among the three, is the chicharron ($34), a mouthwatering hunk of crispy pork belly served in a moat of citrus sauce with elephant garlic mojo, garnished with a garden of radish sprouts and pickled herbs. A bite of this dish tastes just like a bite of bacon. The pork belly is extremely tender; it is firm yet falls apart with the lightest touch, and the tangy, slightly spicy soup that soaks into the meat cuts through the richness of the fatty belly to balance out the textures. There is a slight nutty flavor to the meat, thanks to the crispy skin that may or may not be the best part.

The tab reflected the quality of the meal, but it was worth every penny. Broken Spanish takes a step into the modern Mexican food takeover on the restaurant front and proves to be a worthy companion to B.S. Taqueria.