well known for the variety of stores, art galleries, private show venues and restaurants that entertain passerby’s at any time of day.

As you wander off on Valencia, look for Picaro Tapas Restaurant located on 3120 Valencia Street. Picaro has been serving authentic, traditional Spanish cuisine since the 1980s along with their sister restaurant, Esperpento also located in the Mission District.

They begin your dinning experience with bread and their special spread. No one knows exactly what’s in it, however the garlic taste is undeniably rich. The name of the restaurant has “Tapas,” meaning small plates.

When starting, you have many choices as far as serving size and main entrees. You can either choose a series of tapas or, order a huge entree called a paella. It is a traditional Spanish plate that includes stewed rice covered with vegetables and seafood or meat or both.

The flavor of the meats and veggies are absorbed by the rice and topped with their most important flavor, saffron. It’s huge, some serve 2-3 people, others serve 6-8 people. The tapas are fun to order and dine on. You can order as many tapas as you’d like, but they fill you up fast.

Usually for two people, they suggest about five tapas. Their veggies are grilled to perfection. Meats are perfectly tender and juicy. And as if their seafood section, each dish is carefully flavored and sauteed to perfection.

Their sangria is delightful and complementary to their food. You can have a glass for $2.50 or a whole vase for $10. It’s totally worth it and makes your experience so enjoyable.They always have live bands playing about the restaurant, completing the Spanish cuisine experience.

It’s always nice when having an intimate lunch with a friend or a family dinner. They have a patio at the front and the back. Beautiful candles lit for the night make for a nice scenery.

They have fun upcoming poster events going on in San Francisco posted on their entrance walls and most are relevant to the Latin community. It is located 2 minutes away from the Bart station leaving less worries for parking problems holding up the fun.

This article has been updated to fix formatting issues. 9:10 P.M. 10/11/13