With its deep sherry selection and hand-made paellas, this Knox-Henderson restaurant and wine bar feels plucked directly from Barcelona

Airy, light-filled and polished, Barcelona Wine Bar (5016 Miller Ave.) provides a sharp contrast to the many bars and fast casual joints that now populate its Knox-Henderson neighborhood.

In Spain, tapas are bar snacks – a little plate of anchovies marinated in vinegar and olive oil, perhaps, or a bowl of mussels steeped in a spicy broth. Barcelona serves both of those plus two dozen other mostly traditional tapas, including Spanish hams and cheeses, roasted vegetables, empanadas, albondigas and patatas bravas, a classic dish that marries fried potatoes with a spicy, smoky tomato sauce.

If you want to go light, order a few small plates. Pair them with a glass or two of sherry, a specialty on the drink menu here. Or go big; the paella mariscos, laden with shrimp, squid, mussels and clams and plenty of crispy rice scraped up from the bottom of the pan, is made-to-order and built for two.

A version of this story appears in the January issue of 360 West Magazine