May 2024

Dining Review: Gemini – Boulder, Colorado

Gemini is a tapas style menu conveniently located right on Pearl Street and very well rated. Their menu is seasonal sourcing local ingredients but focusing on dishes inspired by areas in Spain such as Barcelona and San Sebastian. While there is lots of upscale dining downtown, this was definitely our vibe. 

We started by ordering a pitcher of the red sangria and quickly ordered a second as it was one of the best sangrias we have had. It was a great balance of all the flavors, not too sweet, not too boozy, very enjoyable. 

The rest of the meal was a bunch of tapas and plates. Our server was helpful in keeping our order reasonable for our group and we ended with seven tapas plates and two entrees. We were very excited to dive into this meal!

House salad – market lettuces, radish, cherry tomato, sherry shallot vinaigrette

It is always a conscious effort to get vegetables in on vacation so a salad was welcomed. Everything was simple, fresh and tasty.

Charcuterie Board – Jamón Serrano, Manchego, Colorouge, quince, rosemary crackers

You know we are good for a meat and cheese board and this was no exception. One of the cheese was particularly funky and landed as everyone’s favorite. 

Pesciato Frito – fried smelts, lemon, scallion, remoulade

Kevin adores smelts so this was an easy tapas to add to our order. The entire table enjoyed it and we had no problem clearing the plate. In addition to smelts, there were fried pieces of lemon and scallion as well.

Patatas Bravas – crispy potatoes, salsa brava, garlic aioli  

A classic tapas dish that is a crowd pleaser. Crispy potatoes topped with garlic aioli and spicy salsa. This is a great choice for anyone trying their first tapas experience as well. 

Croquetas de Chorizo – chorizo, potato, Idiazabal

Another classic tapas dish that I love to order. I don’t know how they get the filling so creamy but it is deep fried goodness. This was also topped with grated cheese which was a nice touch. Always a favorite!

Champinones – seared mushrooms, garlic, charred scallions, egg yolk  

We had our eyes set on this dish as well as we saw the menu and it did not disappoint. A mix of various seared mushrooms in a garlic oil dressing and an egg yolk in the middle that got all incorporated with the mushrooms. This dish was super flavorful and full of earthy, umami depth. Great dish and highly recommend ordering. 

Baked Goat Cheese – caña de cabra, strawberry quince coulis, pistachio, toasted baguette

There is never a thing as too much cheese. This actually ended up being my favorite just ahead of the Champinones. It was just everything working together to make a delicious bite of food. Do not miss the rind – it’s the best part and I bet most people do not eat it as we skipped it until our server said to eat it. 

Octopus a la Plancha – fingerling potatoes, saffron aioli, grilled red onion, roasted tomato, pimenton  

The first of two entree plates was the octopus which if it is on a menu, we generally order it. There was enough for our group of five adults to all have a piece of octopus so it is a reasonable size for an entree portion if one person ordered as their meal. The octopus was well prepared and the dish was rounded out with roasted tomatoes and grilled red onion. I think the group could have ordered another round so everyone could have had more octopus as it was definitely enjoyed. 

Gemini Paella – arroz negro, prawns, little neck clams, Hokkaido scallops, chorizo

The second entree was their paella. We adore paella so we were hopeful that this would be a good representation. The menu had a negro version which means the rice grains are black, typically that color due to the introduction of squid ink which proves additional salty flavor. The dish also had a generous amount of seafood including prawns, clams, and scallops. I really liked the paella and it was a very sharable portion. 

Overall we really enjoyed our meal at Gemini. All the dishes we had were delicious and stayed true to the Spanish roots. I will give another shout out to the sangria. If you are looking for an upscale meal in a relaxed environment, this is a great choice to experience. We certainly recommended it based on our meal for your Boulder vacation. 

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