At Gaudí Tapas and Wine, Dreams Come True via CT Magazine

Photo: Ryan Levine c/o Connecticut Magazine

Connecticut Magazine recently sited Gaudi Tapas and Wine as one of their favorite restaurants for 2018. We thought you should take a look…and taste.

Saray Ruiz saw something in the little house-like building off Route 37. The one with the small parking lot and everyday architecture. The one others drove by thousands of times without a second glance.

I’m going to open a restaurant there one day, she’d tell her twin sister, Noemi Ruiz, and anyone else who would listen to her dream. “It’s not going to happen,” Noemi would say.

At the time, a few years back, the spot was home to a Mexican restaurant. Saray had a feeling that would change and thought the cozy spot could host a restaurant inspired by her childhood in Lleida, a small town in the Catalonia region of Spain, within driving distance of Barcelona. This past fall, when she and her once-skeptical twin opened Gaudí Tapas and Wine, her dream became a reality.

And what a dream it is.

For the restaurant, the Ruiz sisters recruited chef Juan Flores, whose experience includes working for celebrated Connecticut chef Arturo Franco-Camacho at Shell & Bones in New Haven. Flores’ ambition is to earn a coveted Michelin star, and after one eats here, it is clear he has the skills to make that goal laudable rather than laughable. He’s joined in the kitchen by his brother, Óscar Flores, who handles desserts and worked under Michelin-starred chef Luis Bollo. Together they have created a diverse, tapas-centered menu ranging from cold and hot to seafood and meat. We loved everything we tried, but would order all new dishes next visit because the place encourages culinary explorations.

Read the complete article on Connecticut Magazine.

Gaudi Taps and Wine 52 Pembroke Rd, Danbury, CT 06811