Restaurant

Ocho's owners, Zach Harjo and Gelsey Hanson, have quietly transformed the former site of Matt's Gourmet Hot Dogs into a sexy tapas bar that is luring crowds from the well-worn Ballard Avenue bar circuit over to the western reaches of Market Street, where Vans-sporting hipsters are seldom known to tread.

But tread they will for the rare late-night bite in Ballard. Served until midnight, the menu was inspired by the couple's backpacking travels through Spain, where they fell in love with the concept of tapas that are actually priced like tapas (not $15 "small plates"), using a few simple, knockout ingredients.

We're talking mushrooms in a sherried cream sauce on crispy little toasts, topped with fresh arugula; dates stuffed with blue cheese and pancetta; white anchovies and roasted bell peppers skewered onto an artichoke heart; and clams with chorizo, garlic and white wine. Even in their most basic moments, like when quince paste meets a slice of Manchego cheese, a dusting of cinnamon turns the whole thing into something you would give a thief your wallet for rather than have him steal out of your mouth.

Running the tiny kitchen are chef Colby Chambers, formerly of Canlis, and sous-chef Kailee Eck, who can still be found working the pantry at Wallingford's Tilth. At Ocho, they've created an ever-changing menu using a combination of Spanish imports and local greenmarket findings. It's nothing revolutionary if you've ever had tapas in Spain. But considering the goal here, that's a good thing.

Harjo brings the brains (and an occasionally showy Tom Cruise bottle spin) to the bar. If the muddled sangría tastes familiar, it's because you've had it at La Carta de Oaxaca, where he crafted it as their bartender. It's joined on Ocho's cocktail menu by a white sangría and the Sagrada Familia, sangría made with pear brandy and pink cava (see, you need three glasses already just to try each one).