Enter Dahlia Tapas Tequila & Wine, past the lush patio, and through the vibrant purple front dining room, and you’re in a bar/dining area that pulses with warm décor and Spanish-inspired music and aromas.
Andrea Bocelli is singing “Besame Mucho.” (I know, he’s Italian and the song was written by a Mexican, but that Spanish tapas bar vibe works. Trust me.)
The bar takes up one entire wall, gleaming with spirits that form the foundation for Dahlia’s extensive and innovative cocktail menu.
Take a seat at the bar and order a drink – perhaps the Matadora with orange tequila, yuzu liqueur, agave, lime and grapefruit bitters – while you browse the menu.
Tapas, the small plates Spain is famed for, are the specialty here and there’s a sumptuous selection highlighted by the boquerones – white anchovies with garlic, lime and peppers; Jamón Ibérico – paper-thin shaved ham served with rosemary and Marcona almonds; potato croquetas with ham, Manchego and a spicy brava sauce; bacon-wrapped Medjool dates stuffed with Spanish chorizo and served with pickled vegetables; and Chilean lamb chops marinated with smoked paprika and other spices and served with mint yogurt and a zingy salsa roja.
Don’t miss the crudo, a top customer pick. It’s luscious raw campeche with cucumbers, avocado, pickled red onions and micro greens, atop agua chile rojo, literally “red chile water.” It’s piquant but not volcanic.
Cocktails at Dahlia such as (left to right) Appassionato, Malverde and Matadora, complement the small plates (clockwise from left), including croquetas with brava sauce, crudo with agua chile rojo, Medjool dates stuffed with chorizo and wrapped with bacon, and lamb chops with salsa roja (photo by Darryl Webb for North Central News). 
Jamón Ibérico – paper-thin shaved ham served with rosemary and Marcona almonds (photo by Darryl Webb for North Central News) 
Chilean lamb chops with salsa roja (photo by Darryl Webb for North Central News) 
Crudo with agua chile rojo (photo by Darryl Webb for North Central News) 
Croquetas with brava sauce (photo by Darryl Webb for North Central News) 
Medjool dates stuffed with chorizo and wrapped with bacon (photo by Darryl Webb for North Central News)
There’s plenty more, but you get the picture. The dishes are made for sharing, so you can sample a wide array of tastes during a single visit with friends. There also are full meals, including ribeye and tomahawk steaks.
Dahlia opened in 2023, the creation of owner Audrey Corley and chef Andrew Renteria. Corley, whose Boycott Bar has been a fixture in the Valley bar scene for more than two decades, teamed with Renteria, who with his brother Nicholas operated Chubasco Tacos. Chubasco began in the back of a van, then grew to a food truck operating next to Boycott. Andrew eventually became Dahlia’s chef and Nicholas moved away from culinary into a new venture.
Originally, Corley and Renteria were thinking tacos and tortillas, “but it kind of just developed into more elevated items,” she said. “Chef Andrew put a lot of love and work into it.”
The restaurant is in one of those tiny houses along 7th Street that have seen a number of iterations over the years – most recently this one was Rice Paper, serving Vietnamese food. Two doors down is Coffee Cartel, in another renovated old house, and Dahlia customers are encouraged to park there because parking at Dahlia’s is scarce.
“The house has such character,” Corley said. “We wanted to mix that with our character – Spanish on my side and Mexican on Chef Andrew’s. We opened it up to expose the beams and brick. It’s a snug place; we’re like a hug.”
Corley started bartending when she was 18, opening Boycott almost 21 years ago as a ground-breaking lesbian-owned nightspot. It has been in its current Melrose location for eight years.
For Corley, bar/restaurants like Boycott and Dahlia can be pillars in building strong neighborhoods.
“I look at bars as community gathering places. I think people find a safe haven in some of those places. Dahlia is gay-owned and I’m very proud of that, but the truth is this is for everyone, it’s what the community should be, even more so now than ever. It’s acceptance, it’s food, it’s love.
“I’m mainly motivated by people and I’m very lucky to have all my businesses in my favorite neighborhoods. I love my Melrose roots, but I also love being part of Coronado. It’s such a unique little neighborhood. The people have been really supportive.”
Right now, Dahlia is only open for dinner, perfect for the theater and arts crowd looking for a place to stop before a performance.
“Lunch and brunch are something we might toy with in the future, but I think it’s more of a dinner space right now,” Corley said.
“We were nominated one of the top date spots by Yelp,” Corley said. “We feel a little romantic, all the way from the time you come in here, it’s personalized for our guests. We’re small enough that we can do things like that.
“I want my legacy to be that we took things and we created spaces that people feel good to come to, and leave here feeling better than when they came. You cannot receive without giving. You do people right and the universe does right to you.”
Dahlia Tapas Tequila & Wine, 2221 N. 7th St., is open Tuesday through Thursday from 4 to 10 p.m.; Friday through Saturday from 4 to 11 p.m.; and Sunday from 4 to 9 p.m. For more information, call 602-582-2157 or visit www.dahliatapas.com. Reservations are strongly recommended.
