In contrast to the open, airy feel of Verbena, Sì murmurs cozy chic. The design team of owner Mo Roman transformed a former Italian restaurant into an alluring, honeycomb-like space that evokes the colors and exoticism of Andalusia. At night, the gold walls in the tiny first-floor dining area glow, tea lights flicker on wooden cubes built into the stucco walls, and blue and white fabrics partially conceal intimate dining alcoves while a high, oval bar in the center of the room gives diners a perfect perch. I took a seat at one of the long maple benches to one side of the room and ordered a glass of Tempranillo, which came in a flat-bottomed glass, just like it might in Spain.
I felt at a distinct disadvantage at Sì. Not only was I not a local, but I was also dining alone at a social institution: the tapas bar. No matter: one by one, the plates appeared before me. I couldn’t stop myself from polishing off a salad of roasted beets and fluffy micro greens dressed in a bright orange vinaigrette (“Valencia mojo”) and topped with two disks of chèvre tinged with cayenne and paprika. Next came two dark and mysterious dishes: a texture-rich blend of sautéed exotic mushrooms, French lentils and almonds and a casuela (typical Spanish red clay dish) of fragrant, inky-black rice, chunks of squid stuffed with ground shrimp and chorizo and a dollop or two of aioli (garlic-infused mayonnaise). Resigning myself to the doggy bag at this point, I still managed to enjoy a few bites of my final plate: perfectly tender lamb chops with a crisp, peppery basil crust, and a delicate but rich olivada (olive sauce).
Though classically Spanish for the most part, Sì’s chefs obviously have fun with ingredients found more easily in Virginia than in Valencia. Along with marinated anchovies and calamari, there’s salmon and rockfish. And gazpacho with sherry vinegar doesn’t seem to mind sharing menu space with roasted asparagus and Belgian endive. It all made me wonder about Mo Roman, a versatile restaurateur who’s not Spanish, nor has he ever even set foot on the Iberian peninsula. How did he create a tapas bar that’s both convincingly Spanish and comfortingly local?
The answer is that Roman, who’s been in the restaurant business for 17 years, has a passion for finding a space—be it an old bank (Bank) or carriage house (Sì)—and coming up with a concept and cuisine that will transform that space in the most exciting way. He actually embraces the crapshoot, the risk, of restaurateurship. As he told me in his office, “It’s all a gamble. What works here and now might not work next year and somewhere else.”
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