Soon, you’ll finally meet Oakland’s long-in-the-works Spanish joint, Duende. And there’s... a lot going on here. Coffee. Wine. Art. Live music. Oh, and food from Oliveto vet Paul Canales.

We cut through the clutter to bring you this: the three best ways to use Duende...

When Spain’s just a little too far away.
At its core, this is a restaurant specializing in all things Spanish. So you’ll channel your best Don Quixote and lead your date to a rustic wooden booth. Dive into shared plates of pork chop/brussels sprouts paella and albondigas (meatballs). Then tilt at windmills later.

When you’re heading to a party in Oakland.
On the other side of the bar is the Bodega, which is sort of a café/wine shop. Here, you can pick up a little Verve espresso for energy, some house-bottled olive oil for your hostess gift and some Spanish wine or sherry for the party. Or skip the soiree and take the wine to your table.

When you want to hear the Wilco guitarist, minus Wilco.
The Fox is across the street. There’s a mezzanine at Duende. So it’s only a matter of time—specifically, weekends—when that mezzanine will host live music performances. There’s talk of flamenco and a residency with a Wilco guitarist.

We hear those guys love flamenco.