Lomito Al Cabrales at Kika Tapas

^{PHOTO: Joel Veak}

Cambridge's Kendall Square and the neighboring Area IV have dramatically blossomed as dining and drinking destinations. Their handful of veteran restaurants were recently joined by a flood of newcomers covering a broad swath of popular niches (New American, gastropub, beer-geek bar, modern Asian, gourmet pizza), as well as some category-defiers (what exactly is Firebrand Saints, anyway?). Joining this increasingly attractive and diverse lineup is the Spanish tasca, the original small-plates destination, in the form of Kika Tapas (350 Third Street, Cambridge, 617.245.6030).

The restaurant features an eye-popping interior inspired by the deliriously melodramatic, vividly colored films of Pedro Almodóvar: reds and blacks and whites rendered in an intricate mix of patterns, with zebra woods providing a soothing counterpoint in grays and whites. The long white-quartz bar features wide, comfortably spaced stools, while circular and conventional banquettes offer cozy dining-room seating. It's a gorgeous, romantic space. Spaniards may not be renowned for cocktails, but this bar pours some beauties, like a smooth, well-balanced caipirinha ($9). Four kinds of sangria (glasses $8-$9, pitchers $26-$32) offer fruity, low-alcohol refreshment, while the wine list centers on affordable bottles, mostly from Spain. The menu ranges from 10 pintxos (a few bites on toasted bread) to three dozen tapas (good-sized small plates), plus a few larger entrees, including three versions each of paella and fideuà (paella's vermicelli-based twin) in two sizes.

Kika executes well enough on simple classics like a big wedge of oniony tortilla Española ($5), queso de cabra montañes ($8), a disk of tangy, lightly oven-charred goat cheese in a bright tomato/basil sauce, and alcachofas salteadas ($8), three perfect artichokes sautéed in lemon- and herb-scented butter. Kika isn't afraid to wander beyond Spain, either, proffering a lovely pão de queijo ($6), a Brazilian bread made with cheese and tapioca flour, here rendered as three handball-sized spheres that arrive moist and chewy, like dense South American gougères. Butifarras ($9.50) are at once rustic and luxurious: grilled pork sausage halves in a fig/port sauce are topped with poached apple and a generous, tender slab of foie gras. But the most arresting tapa of the night might be lomito al Cabrales ($9.50), three char-edged pork tenderloin cutlets in a sauce of nearly hypnotic richness, made with a lot of cream, some porcini, crimini, and oyster mushrooms, and a carefully administered dose of queso de Cabrales (a blue cheese so intense it can make you dizzy). That might be Kika on a small plate: the elemental pleasures of classic Spanish tavern fare, ravishingly wrapped in rococo trappings - a package perfectly engineered for date night.