Get a Taste of Spain on a Warm Evening at Taberna de Haro

With the winter behind us, it’s time to talk about where you can get delicious food and fine wine with outdoor seats on a spring or summer evening.

Taberna de Haro is the perfect place for an outdoor evening with exotic Spanish food ranging in price and over 300 different wines. They open their doors at 5 p.m., which should tell you how seriously they take the evening atmosphere.

Chef and sommelier Deborah Hansen said that there is no set date for their 30-seat outdoor café seating. “We open it up as soon as it reaches 70 degrees,” Hansen said. “I love when the day starts out at 70 degrees and the temperature drops. You can tell the New Englanders from the rest when the temperatures drop in the evening and they stay out there.”

Last July, Taberna de Haro expanded their restaurant and got a full liquor license. They can sit 60 people now, and offer a new tapas bar. The expansion allowed for a more agile preparation for the outdoor seating. “We used to have the tables and chairs up in the attic, which made moving them very difficult,” Hansen said. “The outdoor atmosphere is fantastic. It’s urban but it isn’t chaotic.”

Hansen was formally trained in Madrid in 1997. She loves to share her passion for authentic Spanish food and wine with the Brookline community, which she describes as both “educated and worldly.”

“One of the great things about Brookline is that the clientele are open minded to exotic or intense foods,” Hansen said. “People are willing to try ox tail or frog legs. It is a real pleasure to serve people who aren’t squeamish.”

Taberna de Haro offers some pretty unique dishes. They offer pata negra, a black-hooved pig, which was not available in the United States until 2007. “We try to evoke Spain in every way possible. We don’t do fusion. We do authentic,” Hansen said.

Hansen teaches a culinary arts course at Boston University, a children’s class called “Cooking Up Culture,” and an adult education class at B.U.

If you are interested in a unique menu, which ranges in price from $4 tapas to expensive dishes and wine bottles, and a fine way to take in Spanish flavor in the warm Brookline nights, Taberna de Haro is ideal.

When it comes to working in Brookline, Hansen made it known that there is no substitute. “I would never consider doing business anywhere else,” Hansen said.