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Alex Ureña claims to have converted his eponymous nouvelle Spanish restaurant into a simpler, cheaper bistro spotlighting the classic cuisine of northern Spain. Don’t believe him for a second. The prices are lower, true (entrées, $18 to $24), bistro-style mirrors have been installed and tablecloths banished, but the talented Bouley veteran hasn’t abandoned his sophisticated style. While Ureña has forsaken foams and added crowd-pleasers like gazpacho, paella, and fried chickpeas, he can still be found making chips out of serrano ham and smoking lima beans to embellish wine-braised octopus. In bustling tapas-bar fashion, ham is now sliced out in the open, and the wine list has become exclusively Spanish. He does break tradition with the cocktails, though, daring to spike San Sebastián’s famous calimocho, an unlikely blend of red wine and Coke, with a shot of rum. — Rob Patronite and Robin Raisfeld

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