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New York's smoking ban didn't come soon enough to save the folksy Flamenco murals at this Spanish warhorse, open since 1927. But while tobacco may have browned the walls and yellowed the tabletops, it can't account for the rotting ceiling tiles and rickety chairs. Still, someone still cares about the food, which is comfortingly well-prepared. There are a few regional nods, with a Catalonian-style veal and a particularly soulful Galician soup, but it's the seafood that wins repeat visitors. Garlic and oil are abundant in the addictive, slightly spicy baby shrimp ajillo while the moist, fragrant paella a la marinera doesn't skimp on saffron or shellfish. Thick, smoky pork chops could feed two, maybe three people, but the surprisingly youthful faces in the dining room prefer the gently priced tapas, like thick slabs of Tortilla a la Espanola or broiled chorizo, with their pitchers of expertly made-sangria. At the bar, a much more mature crowd of locals only reminisce about their sangria days; they moved on to the harder stuff long ago. — Kathleen Squires

If you call the restaurant with an hour's notice, they will bring food right to your car.

Tortilla al Espanola, $16.75; shrimp ajillo, $20.75; paella a la marinera, $21.75