Table Hoppin': Bocado Tapas Wine Bar in Leominster now offering 'lite bite nights'
Spring and summer not only bring seasonal menus highlighting fresh flavors to local restaurants, but also new types of dining options.
Bocado Tapas Wine Bar in Leominster recently rolled out “lite bite nights,” allowing guests to opt for tapas, paella or charcuterie instead of a full-course meal. The lite bites are offered Sunday through Thursday. Perfect for sharing, whether seated indoors, or on the patio with a glass of wine or cocktail.
The lite bites choices: The Ultimate Bocado Board, $35: Spanish cheeses Manchego and Mahon, Jamon Serrano ham, Marcona almonds, mixed olives, mushroom confit, cornichons, quince paste, honey, roasted garlic feta stuffed peppadews, toasted baguette; Paella Experience, $40: choice of one cheese or charcuterie, Spring Paella, chicken, chorizo, asparagus, cherry tomato, sweet peas, basil, tomato broth, Manchego gratin, crispy fried shrimp, lemon saffron aioli and a choice of churros y chocolate or flan; The Mini Experience, $45: choice of one cheese or charcuterie, choice of three tapas, choice of churros y chocolate or flan.
The lite bites are only available at the Leominster Bocado at 20 Central St.
The restaurant has new hours beginning this month, opening from 4:30 to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 4:30 to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 4:30 to 9 p.m. Sunday.
Go to bocadotapasbar.com, or connect on Facebook.
Other news from Niche Hospitality Group
Bocado Spanish Wine Dinners are scheduled for June at Bocado Worcester and Bocado Leominster. The signature wine dinners feature five courses paired with regional Spanish wines.
In an effort to comfortably seat as many guests as possible, Niche requires tickets to be purchased in tables of two, four or six. Limited bar seating at the Worcester Bocado will be available in groups of two.
The wine dinner at Bocado Worcester, 82 Winter St., is from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. June 14; Bocado Leominster, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. June 15. Cost at both locations is $100 per person, includes tax and gratuity.
Go to nichehospitality.com for more information and reservations.
Steve Champagne, executive chef/partner of Niche Hospitality, said the popular Test Kitchen dinners will return on June 24 at Niche’s test kitchen site, 30 Major Taylor Blvd., Worcester.
Dinners will not be held in July or August, resuming in September. Guests are returning to restaurants and enjoying activities and foods they missed, said Champagne.
Niche Hospitality Group also owns and operates Bocado Tapas Bar in Wellesley; The Fix Burger Bar in Worcester, Marlborough and Leominster; and Mezcal Tequila Cantina in Worcester.
Patio dining is back at the Marlborough Fix and Leominster Bocado.
West Brookfield Asparagus festival
The West Brookfield Asparagus and Flower Heritage Festival will take place 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., May 21, on the West Brookfield Common, rain or shine. The festival was canceled in 2021 due to the pandemic.
The event celebrates all things asparagus and flowers, with local growers, artisans, businesses and organizations participating. A frog jumping contest is scheduled at 1:30 p.m.
Free to the public, the festival is a day of food and family fun!
For more info, connect on Facebook.
Wine & Beer Tasting in Sturbridge
It’s a new venue for the return of the annual Wine & Beer Tasting hosted by Venture Community Services in Sturbridge, with the support of Ted’s Package Store of Charlton and Webster.
The indoor/outdoor event is scheduled June 9 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the Barn at Wight Farm in Sturbridge. There will be more than 20 stations with food, drink samples and games.
Tickets, $50 per person, can be purchased at ventures.org. Proceeds benefit people with developmental disabilities in the community Venture serves and its new program for young adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Venture Community Services also will host a charity Golf Classic on June 17 at Blissful Meadows Golf Club in Uxbridge.
Registration is 8:30 a.m. with a 9 a.m. start. Golf with cart is $150 and contest passports, $30.
Passports entitle entry in all contests that will be held at the course that day. Go to Venture Community Services for more information.
Applebee’s May promotions
Applebee’s restaurants in New England has announced fundraiser and special freebie promotions during May.
National Nurses Day and Teacher Appreciation Week is ongoing through May 15.
Nurses and teachers can enjoy a free appetizer with any entrée purchase at Applebee’s Grill + Bar locations. Offers is available for dine-in or to go with a valid work badge.
All Applebee’s New England locations will raise funds for Special Olympics chapters in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Vermont. Through May 28, guests can purchase pin-up cards in $1 or $5 increments, with 100 percent of proceeds benefiting each state’s local Special Olympics chapter.
Guests who donate $5 will receive a $5 off $25 voucher, valid at their next Applebee’s visit. In 28 years, the restaurant chain has donated $800,000 to the Special Olympics. Leominster is one of the cities that has benefited from donations.
In addition, the New England Jimmy Fund fundraiser runs through May 28, with Applebee’s locations in Massachusetts and Rhode Island helping to raise money in support of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
Guests can purchase pin-up cards in $1 or $5 increments. Donate $5 and you will receive a $5 off $25 voucher, valid at your next Applebee’s visit. Group donating to the New England Jimmy Fund in Massachusetts takes place locally at Applebee’s in Auburn, Hudson, Millbury, Sturbridge and Worcester.
Wine and cheese paring in Hardwick
Hardwick Vineyard & Winery, 3305 Greenwich Road, Hardwick, will have a wine and cheese pairing, 6 to 7:30 p.m. May 20.
Wine educator Missa Capozzo will pair five of Hardwick’s wines with five cheeses from Smith’s Country Cheese in Winchendon.
Tickets are $49 per person and can be purchased at eventbrite.com.
The winery’s new hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday; 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Jim Nicas enjoying retirement
Never expected to chat with Jim Nicas (it’s usually by phone) in the parking lot of the former Castle Restaurant in Leicester, but it happened earlier this week when I was on a morning assignment at the new Castle Cantina.
Nicas was driving through the lot on his way to his home located next to the restaurant. Nicas and his sister, Evangeline Nicas, sold the Castle Restaurant and property last fall.
Owners of Castle Cantina lease the property, and opened their restaurant in February.
Nicas and his wife, Denise, live on Cape Cod and are in the process of selling their Leicester home. Jim said the couple is enjoying retirement and family, especially grandchildren.
He said he and Denise have eaten at the Castle Cantina several times. These days, running a restaurant isn’t easy, he said, and the new owners are doing a good job.
Nicas' parents, Stanley J. Nicas and Helen Nicas, owned the Castle Restaurant for 71 years.
So many dining memories!
If you have a tidbit for the column, call 508-868-5282, or email bhoulefood@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Table Hoppin': Bocado Tapas in Leominster offering 'lite bite nights'
