Review: La Marcha

Seafood paella was the highlight of the dinner at La Marcha

On our last night in San Francisco we had dinner in a hopping Spanish restaurant in Berkeley called La Marcha. It was easy to get a reservation online, but we when we arrived, we were surprised to see the place was packed with diners. It even felt warm inside so we waited outside for our table to be cleared.

Less than 10 minutes later we were seated in the cosy restaurant with high ceilings and exposed brick walls, an impressive-looking bar with two legs of jamon or ham hanging in the corner, while servers were pretty attentive in the dining room, that was busy for the first hour and then slowly diners had their fill and disappeared.

Cauliflower (left) and mushroom croquettes

The menu is quite extensive, with a lot of tapas to choose from, followed by salads, jamon, and some paella. Even though we had four people, we were conservative with the number of dishes we ordered and it was just about right: four tapas and a paella.

Soon after we ordered the tapas began to arrive. First the mushroom and manchego croquettes (US$11) that reminded us of Chinese deep-fried taro puffs at dim sum but better, thanks to the umami of the cheese and mushrooms, finely blended.

We also had the blistered cauliflower with mornay sauce and bits of bacon lardons (US$13) that had a subtle spicy kick. The cauliflower was slightly undercooked, and seasoned with the salty bacon bits. 

Next came grilled octopus with fennel, pollen, sunchoke puree, and garbanzos (US$20). The meaty octopus was tender with a slight char and hint of smokiness. This dish was cleared quite quickly.

White bean stew, pork belly, chorizo, creme fraiche

Our last tapas was white bean stew with morcilla, chorizo, pork belly, and chermoula creme fraiche (US$15), a hearty comfort dish with chunks of meat that would have been better if they were diced to make it easier to share. There was even a slice of black pudding in the bowl.

Next came our paella marinera (US$56), a photogenic colourful dish that was carefully styled by the kitchen. On top of the thick layer of rice were mussels, prawns, and clams, as well as peas and diced peppers along with a sprig of rosemary and half a charred lemon.

We quickly pronounced the paella better than the one we had in Barcelona's Las Ramblas, the touristy food market. The rice here was not dry, though the bottom was a bit burned. Nevertheless the seafood cooked just right and we enjoyed every bite -- even cleaning up the pan.

Although we were full, we wanted to squeeze in dessert. The blackberry cabernet sauvignon sorbet (US$9) looked intriguing and we wanted to try the olive oil citrus cake (US$14) but it was sold out. The waiter suggested the chocolate cake (US$12) so we did. 

Chocolate cake, blackberry sorbet

The wine-coloured sorbet really did have a hint of wine in it, and two large scoops were refreshing. Meanwhile the flourless chocolate cake was so intense in flavour, I kept saying, "Wow" after each bite. The chocolate cake was very smooth in flavour, speckled with cocoa nibs for a bit of crunch, and was paired with a scoop of chocolate mousse! The latter could have been a dessert of its own. 

As we were eating we discovered a crumped US$5 bill under our table and we used that towards paying our bill. A delicious dinner and the bonus of $5 made it a double treat.

La Marcha

2026 San Pablo Avenue

Berkeley, CA

(510) 288 9997