Great food. The food is in pretty big portions for tapas. The prices are very reasonable. We went on a Wednesday afternoon, and we did not have a wait.
We had the red wine sangria, tostadas de pisto(delicious), champinones a la plancha (very well done mushrooms!), Gambia al ajillo (the shrimp was very flavorful) and quest de cabra( the best goat cheese tapas I have had).
Food aside, the service was not the best. The waiters always seemed in a rush, although they were not packed. But overall, it was a great experience.
The most special Tapas in Chicago. This place is perfect for special occasions, Â engagements, Â or night out.
The sangria was sooo good! Â All dishes were flavorful. Stand outs : clams, Â mussells, Â spicy potatoes, Â and the best part was
For my friends Bday the waiter brought her a dick-shaped dessert with two round scoops of ice cream at the base. I think it was a chocolate banana ...perverted but hilarious.
Certainly among one of the good tapas spots in downtown. Wait time is a killer, they don't take reservations for small groups so only way is too wait. The ladies at the desk are not friendly at all, when asked about the wait time they will say something which is not even close to what it really is. So make sure you always go and keep asking when your turn is next or you might find yourself waiting for hours.
Ambiance is okay, very loud environment so make sure it's not your first date.
Food I definitely rate it higher than Emillo's since the quantity, quality and price is great.
Don't forgot to order the red sangria a must have!!
Overall, not a bad place except the wait time.
I just finished writing my review of Emilio's tapas, the theme of which was how all tapas restaurants are extremely similar, and I totally blanked on Iberico. Â Though I do think that Cafe (I refuse to include that accent over the e, and it has nothing to do with the fact that I have no idea how) Iberico offers a slightly different experience than Emilio's or Ba-ba-reeba, I stand by my claim.
Iberico's menu seems to be a bit more authentic (not that I'd really know) and, if memory serves, at a slightly lower price. Â But as you may have surmised by the fact that I arrived at the same rating, I like the food less. Â Still, the difference in negligible and if I included Iberico in the fictitious taste test I set up in the last review between Emilio's and Ba-ba-reeba, I may be able to tell, but I certainly wouldn't bet on it. Â And I'll bet on damn near everything.
If you love Spanish tapas then you'll love this place, one of the best in Chicago.
Try out a variety of spanish dishes here, they are all good, especially the
- Paella Vegetariana (vegetarian)
- Paella Iberica (seafood)
- Gambas Al Ajillo (grilled shrimp) Â
- Pincho De Pollo (chicken)
Their Sangria is authentic and well made with real fruit and delicious wine.
The portions are perfect and prices are reasonable.
We are happy every time we go, and you'll be happy you tried it too.
I have been going to this fabulous place for the last 6 years. I could not stop talking this place up to everyone who visited Chicago. This place is a must, even if the wait is 2 hours! Always smarter to make reservations ahead of time.
The food is amazing and the service is always up to par. I have been able to try almost everything on the menu and didn't find a dish I didn't like. Sure I had my favorites, Patatas Bravas, but I always tried what they had on their daily special menu.
If finding parking in the area, because its downtown Chicago, they have valet for a reasonable price. If you park on the street and want to stay for a couple of hours, you might as well take advantage of valet (you might just pay the same price)
Every restaurant has their bad nights where their service is not the greatest. But with the quality and quantity of the food for their price, no other tapas restaurant can compare!! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
Saturday dinner. Had to wait an hour for a table for 5 (when we were told wait time was 40 mins when we got there), but the food made up for it! The sangria was good, the food portions were huge and tasted amazingly delicious.
I had the Pollo A La Andaluza and shared the chocolate and caramel flan. I didn't really like that we seemed to have been stuffed into a corner in the back of the restaurant, but otherwise it was definitely worth it.
While the attitude of the ladies at the desk ticked us off a bit, the waiting staff did a great job in making us feel welcome.
Enjoyed an absolutely fabulous meal here last night! Delicious! As far as authenticity, or any of that... you're in Chicago. I'm not really sure what you want.
The pulpo was perfectly cooked- it had that almost creamy consistency, but still had solid crispy grilled parts. Awesome. The jamon plate was pretty good, though at $9 a serving, I doubt that it's actually Jamon Iberico. But the cheese and the tomato bread more than made up for it.
A special of pork shoulder was one of our favorite items, it was succulent and flavorful and a huge portion! We could have done without the gambas. They were a little overcooked and not garlicky enough for my taste. But the paella iberica was delicious - the chorizo that they use is really tasty.
Overall, great meal. PRO TIP: If you are coming to (mostly) drink Sangria, snag a bar seat. They have smaller portions of the menu items so you can try more things and not gorge yourself.
Enjoy!
Very negative experience recently at Cafe Iberico. Â Quick background, I've been going to this restaurant for more than 10 years. It used to be one of favorite restaurants. Â However, the last few times I've been there, it just was not very good. Â My last visit was the worst and I will not be returning. Â None of the dishes were good. Â Several, in particular, a shrimp and avocado dish, were terrible. Â The potatoes in the potato salad were overcooked and mushy. Â It seemed like some dishs may have been pre-made and then sat too long before being served. Â We were seated upstairs, where there was no ambiance. There are signs of kabobs, etc. from a previous restaurant in the space that failed-odd. Â Service was ok. I also noticed that the prices have went up and the food simply does not justify the prices. Â Overall, this place, for whatever reason, has went down hill and is not longer a viable option for me. Both my husband and I felt ill all evening and the next day after dining here--not a fun way to spend the weekend, especially after paying $80 plus tip.
Review Source:We went around 7pm on a Friday night and were seated promptly. The noise level in that place was loud, but not terrible...it was packed full of people drinking delicious sangria. :-)
The seafood paella was awesome!!! Some other dishes we ordered that were delicious were the white sangria (go for the pitcher!), Ensalada Mixta, Veal Empanadas, and a beef dish with potatoes , carrots and gravy that was like pot roast. Delicious! We also ordered a shrimp entree with peppers but it was kind of small for an entree.
In addition to the food being delicious, the service was great too. Highly recommended!
I ate at Cafe Iberico last night for a date and it's still, ten years since my last visit, a very solid tapas option. Â Expect to wait if you arrive after 7pm on a weekend night. Â We arrived at 7:45 on a Saturday and had about a half an hour wait. Â The food is very tasty. Â The Gambas al Ajillo (Garlic shrimp) was exceptionally well prepared. Â The sangria is awesome too - not overly sweet like some places. Â
I don't recommend Cafe Iberico for a larger group, mainly because I find small plates to be challenging to share if the group is too big, but also because I think conversation would be challenging given the louder atmosphere. Â Four to me seems like the perfect party size. Â
If you're debating between Cafe Iberico and Cafe Babareeba, Iberico wins hand's down as Babareeba has declined drastically over the past several years.
I've been here twice for tapas now. Â While I have yet to check out babariba or whatever it's called, this seems like a good time to yelp one of "the" tapas bars of Chicago.
The short of it: SAY YES TO SEAFOOD AND SANGRIA.
The long of it: Great for groups of 2 to 12 and probably more than that. Â With twelve, we each had a little bite of each tapas, which made our dinner feel like an awesome cocktail party. Â With three, we each had a good little plate of each dish, which made dinner feel more like a tasting course. Â Either way is yummmy and fun!
Start with pitchers of sangria: each has about six glasses in it. Â The red is a light version of the traditional sangria, while the white tastes like an alcoholic Capri-Sun. Â I love Capri-Sun so I loved the white sangria.
While you're deciding on your tapas, they bring you plates of bread, which you dip in the awesomely peppery and fruity olive oil. Â But don't fill up on the bread, tempting as it may be. Â Two tapas per person seems about right, a bit less if you're ordering a paella (which you should order first because it takes 35 minutes to make to order. Â Also because it's delicious.)
Things we really liked:
MUSSELS in marinara sauce. Â This is a relatively huge portion of mussels in a great broth. Â You'll want to keep the pot for dipping your bread in later. Â Best dish I've had.
OCTOPUS with fries, grilled (fried?) Â A friend says he sees people come in and just order these with sangria. Â The octopus is slightly chewy, well seasoned, and the fries complement it well. Â Another good sized portion.
SQUID: I think this was a special. Â Great!
Other things we also liked:
PAELLA: seafood paella is bomb. Â It also feeds about 6 people comfortably. Â So much flavor in the juicy rice, and the little mussels and other seafood are great.
SHRIMP: garlic shrimp, a classic. Â Tasty but not very special.
GRILLED FISH: I have no idea what fish was ordered. Â This was similar to the shrimp.
JAMON Iberico, served with Manchego and some tomato toasts. Â Delicious and simple.
Other people liked these but I thought they were just OK-good:
Baked goat cheese: the one at Piece is better. Â Served with little garlic butter toasts.
Garlic mushrooms: the ones at Sultan's are better. Â A little boat of mushrooms that just aren't garlicky enough.
Scallops: surprising to be down here, but the preparation didn't take advantage of the scallop. Â I like this dish, in fact I recommend this dish: it's a bed of rice with the fried scallops and a mayo-y spicy sauce on top. Â I just really love scallops, and I thought the sauce overpowered them.
Lamb chop: a little tough. Â It's like a pot roast in there, and the onions and potatoes and sauce are tasty. Â But meh.
This place is also very fast at bringing out your food, which makes it a fun and slightly overwhelming experience. Â Experiment with your orders and all will be well (especially if you say yes to seafood and sangria). Â Way easy to get to via the Chicago bus (#66, stop at Lasalle) or the brown line.
I've heard a lot about the place, and finally came here with a group of friends for dinner. All in all, it was good, but not great. This is probably a very strong three star rating.
We were seated right away, even on a Saturday, even without reservations. But I think later in the evening (we were there before a theater performance) and you'd want to make reservations. At the time we were eating, we were told that they weren't taking any.
Started with an ensalata mixta, which was good - I liked the asparagus and hearts of palm for a little variety. From there the olives (which were...olives, right? Not bad, but nothing special about them) and the jamon iberico, which was very good. I love jamon iberico ,and it was served with good manchego cheese on chewy bread.
Our patatas bravas were very good, crispy potatoes in outstanding spicy tomato sauce, and corquetas de pollo were good, although not especially flavorful. The pulpo a la plancha was interesting - grilled tasty octopus served with what were basically french fries. I like this, but then, I like the texture of octopus. If you don't, then you might want to avoid. A late addition to the meal was an order of the chorizo y morcilla, which I didn't have much of, but what little I had was tasty.
Finally, we had two paella, the iberica and vegetariana. Both were good, in decent portions. The iberica was my favorite, since I love the seafood/sausage/chicken combo, but the vegetable one was also good, with a pretty good mix of veggies that had stayed crisp and weren't cooked to death.
Noise level certainly gets high was the evening progresses, I will say that. But service was good, and pretty quick - but we ordered in stages to make sure we didn't end up with too much rapidly cooling food on the table. I would come back - there are definitely other things to try.
Cafe Iberico is a noisy tapas bar.
I didn't do the ordering so if you are looking for specific recommendations then you will not find it in this review.
The only dish I know for sure we had was the paella iberica which was fantastic. If you like saffron, rice and other goodies, then paella is a must order dish. It takes some time but it's worth it.
The small tapas plates were also good.
Only the noise level was the let down for me.
Came hungry, left way too full.
Started off with a roasted duck orange salad. It was good and blended well but there was too much dressing drenched in the salad.
Then went on to order chorizo, saffron salmon, ham/sausage paella. Everything was alright but nothing really stood out. The blood sausage was the only thing that was pretty good but they only gave 2 pieces! Portions were pretty big but prices matched the size. We ordered just the right amount for 3 people.
Overall not a bad tapas place, but I think I'd try somewhere else before coming back.
Looking for Spanish tapas? Go here.
Excellent food. Awesome sangria. Seasonal menu. Great for groups who like to share. Came here early January 2013. Ordered about 8 dishes. Those that popped out to me:
- Champinones a la Plancha (Grilled Mushrooms w/ garlic and olive oil)
- Almejas en Salsa Verde (Small clams sautéed with shallots, white wine and parsley)
- Meijillones a la Marinara (Steamed mussels with marinara sauce)
- Three pepper and garlic bread
- Grilled squid
Regrets: Didn't order a beef/pork/chicken dish. What were we thinking???
Great flavors. Great pricing.
I love this place!! Â I have been coming here for the past six years. Â Really good tapas at a reasonable price. Â Haven't found a dish that I didn't like. Â Their sangria and desserts are really good too.
Its great for big groups, parties, or a night out with your friends. Â The atmosphere is lively and energetic during the evenings, especially on the weekends. Â I have been here for lunch too and its pretty busy but you can definitely get seated right away.
Its definitely a place to try!
This is a great tapas restaurant in the city which I used to frequent a lot back in college when we'd visit Chicago for the weekend.
Really everything they serve here is good, you can't go wroong, so I suggest you try a couple of staples and venture out and try some new dishes. Their menu is extensive, which usually I distrust, but here everything is tasty. As other Yelpers said, the patatas bravas are really good. Nice and creamy and spicy! The pincho de pollo, tortilla española, baked goat cheese, gambas al ajillo... the list goes on.
I think for the quality of the food the prices are right. Cafe Iberico is much better than say Cafe Ba Bareeba (it's a chain!) and Mercat a la Planxa, so disappointing. Both are more expensive too.
Definitely check this place out!
Went here a few weeks back on a weeknight. Â Not terribly busy but hopping for a weeknight. Â Sangria-tasty(although a little overpriced).
The mushroom tapas and octopus were absolutely fantastic,, and the service was great, too.
Affordable(sin alcohol), and the food actually tasted like the food I had in Spain when I studied abroad.
Definitely returning.
I came here on two separate occasions within three weeks.
One cold, windy Sunday evening, I decided to play tour guide and take my from-out-of-the country friend to dinner. We ordered half a pitcher of sangria with white wine, queso de cabra, pulpo a la plancha, and almejas en salsa verde. We loved every dish but I particularly enjoyed the baked goat cheese and clams. The baked goat cheese paired well with the basil sauced bread and complimentary bread. The clams were fresh and enticing. I loved the sauce so much that I even dipped my bread in it. With tip and tax, dinner came within $50.
My second occasion was for a friend's birthday on a Thursday evening. Our party of five ordered two pitchers of sangria with white wine, avocado and salad dressed with balsamic vinaigrette, pulpo a la plancha, ensalada rusa, croquetas de pollo, gambas al ajillo, raxo adobada, and vieras a la plancha.
Now in English terms...my favorites were the avocado and salad, octopus with fries, and chicken and ham croquettes. The avocado and octopus are on the softer end of the flavor invasion. The croquettes were melt-in-your-mouth type of good. But I don't think I would've known it was chicken and ham had I not look at the menu. I loved the ali-oli sauce that it came with! My least favorite dish was the raxo (marinated pork loin). The meat was very thinly sliced and pan-fried to cardboard texture. It lacked flavor and the toughness gave my jaws a good work out. Â Dinner for five with tip and tax came within $135.
Service was great: nothing was forgotten, dropped, and/or cancelled. Wait was nearly nonexistent (phew!). Parking was relatively easy. T'was a good choice for dinner.
Eeek I messed up on this one! Â I came here with a group on a whim after 25 Degrees (around the corner) was closed. So, that means I didn't have time to look up reviews etc., so I had no clue what to order!
I panicked and just ordered the most familiar thing on the menu... eggs, sausage and fries. Â It was good, but exactly what you would expect. Â I wish I had branched out a little bit. Â Two of the people at my table got the paella (yum), and another got a delicious tomato soup with goat cheese.
The inside decor is not too impressive, but the prices are cheap and this is a great place for a group outing or maybe even a first date!
Being from Miami, it's always interesting tasting Spanish and Latin foods outside of south Florida. However, this little gem in the heart of downtown Chicago delivered great taste, excellent service and nice variations on the traditional Spanish fare.
Being in the Loop, parking is not easy, but valet service is prompt and at $12, won't break the bank. I suggest getting here early, since it tends to get pretty packed as dinner time rolls on.
Inexpensive, great food, excellent Sangria. What more could you want in a tapas place?
Standout dishes are the mussels in tomato sauce, the duck, and the almighty bacon wrapped dates (trumps another Tapas place with a Cafe in it's name in Lincoln Park - nudge nudge).
This is an awesome first date place. The vibe is good, busy but not too loud. The Sangria will put you in the mood. Protip: for 24 bucks they will give a to-go gallon pitcher (in a really nice pitcher) of that tasty, tasty Sangria.
We came here pretty recently and thought the food was great. One thing I just canNOT NOT NOT get over is there was no toilet paper in the women's room. Not one square. No. You are an awesome, reasonably priced, popular restaurant and that's not okay.
Other than that, I loved the food. Particularly the rib entree. Delicious.
Thanks, Yelp, for a great suggestion. Â We were walking around, looking for a place to eat, when through the magic of the Yelp app, we ended up here.
The place was busy but we didn't have to wait long to be seated (and we had a large group). Â Small plates that we tried were just OK. Â However, Patella and Lamb were oh so very good. Â The service was very good, considering the dinner rush.
Food was good, hostesses were rude, service was average until the end.
After my group paid, the waiter came up to us and said that the tip "was not fair" because he had to tip the bartender too. We were too nice and gave him a little extra, but if I had been with my family or boyfriend I wouldn't have given him a penny more. If anything, a waiter can ask if anything was wrong with the service if they believe the tip to be unfair (which ours was NOT, by the way). But to tell us that "it's not fair" was so inappropriate and completely changed my mind about returning to this restaurant.
Will not return nor recommend.
Nice atmosphere. Friendly staff.
My favorites were the:
Sangria.. delicious!
Carne asada.. interesting spin.. reminded me of pot roast. It served with potatoes and the meat was very tender.
Bacon wrapped dates.. were the best I've ever had at a restaurant.
So-so:
Clams in a white wine sauce- the sauce tasted chicken brothy to me.
Boo:
Waiter recommended the Pulpo a La Plancha.. not tasty like I was hoping. It was a pile of greasiness. Â
Would I return? Probably.
After a bite of paella you'll feel a little like you're in Barcelona, and after a pitcher of sangria you'll be sure of it. Very impressed the quality and price of the food and it comes with a side of that prompt Americana service.
I recommend the sangria (don't pick between red and white - just order both), the croquetas de pollo and the patatas ali-oli (potatoes drenched in creamy bad-for-you goodness).
They have a large upstairs area for parties as well. Apparently this is THE place for your bachelorette party. I saw no less than five sparkly tiaras when I was there last. Enjoy!
I view tapas as the Spanish equivalent of dim sum. Â So why are they so much more expensive? Â A typical tapas dish is tiny and usually ~$5-10, wheres its Cantonese equivalent is usually $2-5.
As previous reviewers have mentioned, this place definitely stands out with its bang for your buck. Â The mussels and clams are both huge portions for just $8. Â They were fresh, fat, and flavorful. Â The paella was average, but for $13, you can't go wrong. Â Highly recommended if you're in the mood for tapas and don't want to shell out $20+.
Also, the music videos are hilariously entertaining.
I was never a big tapas fiend, I'm a greedy guy and I like to have my own plate, but this place has helped me start to appreciate Spanish food more. The atmosphere and size of the place makes it great for groups, and you probably won't need reservations.
Some of my faves:
Queso De Cabra - can't go wrong with goat cheese!
Pulpo a la Plancha - Octopus was delicious
Mejillones a la Marinera - Mmm mussels, and the sauce is good too
The Paella was alright, nothing to write home about. And it does take 45 mins, which actually goes much quicker than you think when you're scarfing down all your other dishes.
Oh and everyone gets the Sangria. It's not too strong but it's a good deal for a pitcher.
Cute place located in downtown Chicago.
Spanish food, didn't know what the difference was.
It was good..everything was delicious!
Started off with:
ENSALADA MIXTA-3 stars, average salad but it was a good start.
Spanish style mixed salad with asparagus, beets, hearts of palm, endive, dressed with our vinaigrette and wine dressing.
POLLO A LA BRASA-4 stars, meat just fell off the chicken bone. It was great!
Half roasted chicken with Spanish style mashed potatoes, garnished with vegetables.
LOMO DE BUEY A LA BRASA-4 stars, meat had the same concept as the chicken dish, fell right off and was tender.
Grilled beef tenderloin served with potatoes and vegetables
FILLOA DE HELADO Y CREMA-3 stars, ice cream was awesome but crepe was thick and should of been a little thinner.
Stuffed crepe with ice cream topped with whipped cream and strawberry sauce
FLAN DE CARAMELO-4 stars, I usually don't like Flan but this was awesome! I was sold on this!
Caramel custard.
Overall a great experience of spanish food! Will try again and portions are small, so you can order a few plates and just share!
Still my fav tapas spot in Chicago and maybe anywhere. Loud, crowded and rowdy, but solidly executed traditional tapas.
Ensalata mixta (3.5) - fresh, recommend as a palate cleanser for the rest of the tapas
Salpicon De Marisco (3) - generous portions of seafood, on the vinegary side
Champiñones a la plancha (4) - mushrooms simply grilled, but delicious
Pincho De Solomillo (3) - the skewer tapas at Iberico are fine, but nothing exciting
Pulpo a la plancha (5) - seriously one of my fav dishes in Chicago. Still love it at Iberico.
Almejas En Salsa Verde (4) - yum! A delicious salsa verde base for the clams.
Gambas Al Ajillo (3) - have had better elsewhere. The shrimp is sometimes overly cooked, hit-or-miss
Red sangria (4) - solid.
Paella (3.5) - this was the sole disappointment, ironically enough. The Paella Iberica was recommended to us by our server, but was rather poorly made, didn't at all seem warranted to require the 45 minutes - tasted more like it was hastily souped together in 15. I recall liking the Paella De Codorniz (quail), but perhaps that has changed.
Staff is friendly and high energy. Good for groups.
We had a lovely meal here for a friend's bachelorette/pre-wedding night meal! The restaurant was spacious, the service friendly & fast, and the food good.
* JAMON IBERICO - 3.5 stars
<a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/caf%C3%A9-iberico-chicago-3?select=Cii5Rr1vtSoYiLn0qe1XTw#Cii5Rr1vtSoYiLn0qe1XTw">http://www.yelp.com/biz_…</a>
(Spanish style cured ham with manchego cheese and tomato bread)
The tomato spread was tangy and fresh, the bread's crust had a nice crunch but was quite soggy on top. The cheese & ham were placed separately, under the bread, which made this a little more difficult to share with such a big group.
* PATATAS BRAVAS - 3 stars
<a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/caf%C3%A9-iberico-chicago-3?select=Cii5Rr1vtSoYiLn0qe1XTw#uQ-MNiqwv_h1Tfu_xg6R_Q">http://www.yelp.com/biz_…</a>
(Spicy potatoes with special tomato sauce)
Pretty tasty, but for all the fanfare around this dish, I was a little underwhelmed. The flavors were strong and savory, not so much spicy. My biggest quip with this dish was that the potatoes were not at all crispy! More like soupy. Not what I think of texture-wise when I think of patatas bravas.
* Rice with bacon wrapped dates - 4 stars
<a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/caf%C3%A9-iberico-chicago-3?select=Cii5Rr1vtSoYiLn0qe1XTw#DRlWs41wt4QYnHAwVTBvxA">http://www.yelp.com/biz_…</a>
You can pretty much never go wrong when bacon+dates go together. The rice was tasty but a little undercooked and hard.
* CROQUETAS DE POLLO - 3 stars
<a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/caf%C3%A9-iberico-chicago-3?select=Cii5Rr1vtSoYiLn0qe1XTw#eEmF7gQMlmozZjTnTeOIPg">http://www.yelp.com/biz_…</a>
(Chicken and ham puffs served with ali-oli sauce.)
A little oily, and the outer breaded layer is a little thin - I like just a little more crunch. I found the filling to really not be much protein, even if it was fairly tasty.
* CHAMPIÑONES A LA PLANCHA - 3 stars
<a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/caf%C3%A9-iberico-chicago-3?select=Cii5Rr1vtSoYiLn0qe1XTw#GWQNDRYhHtcvToLOBUUIXw">http://www.yelp.com/biz_…</a>
(Grilled mushrooms with garlic and olive oil)
A solid dish, but I'm just not too big of a fan of pure mushroom - the flavor is so strong that it really is better as a side/addition to something else.
* GAMBAS AL AJILLO - 3.5 stars
<a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/caf%C3%A9-iberico-chicago-3?select=Cii5Rr1vtSoYiLn0qe1XTw#xFJU_7gpBBYvZfLoaZtSig">http://www.yelp.com/biz_…</a>
(Grilled shrimp with olive oil, garlic and wine)
Garlic-y! Tasty! Crunch! Fresh! P.S. Don't get this if you have any sort of adversity to garlic.
* QUESO DE CABRA - 4 stars
<a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/caf%C3%A9-iberico-chicago-3?select=Cii5Rr1vtSoYiLn0qe1XTw#71pPVCfVITU1Z_s2mzlGmw">http://www.yelp.com/biz_…</a>
(Baked goat cheese with fresh tomato basil sauce)
So simple, yet I really liked this one. The bread was lightly toasted and had just a hint of a pesto/garlic spread. The warm tomato sauce and cheese tasted great when you added it on top.
* VIEIRAS A LA PLANCHA - 3.5 stars
<a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/caf%C3%A9-iberico-chicago-3?select=Cii5Rr1vtSoYiLn0qe1XTw#C1TP_-ip_xCVG2Jlli2SPw">http://www.yelp.com/biz_…</a>
(Grilled sea scallops with saffron sauce)
One of the more unique dishes of the night! The scallops were seared lightly, though in my humble opinion could be a tiny bit more on the rare side. The rice was cooked thoroughly (in contrast to the bacon wrapped dates) and soggy, which I actually enjoyed in this saffron sauce!
* PLATANO AL CARAMELO - 3 stars
<a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/caf%C3%A9-iberico-chicago-3?select=Cii5Rr1vtSoYiLn0qe1XTw#2odQrZqrFZcwDx4m4CY1Ug">http://www.yelp.com/biz_…</a>
(Sautéed banana with caramel sauce served with vanilla ice cream)
Haha - you have to see the picture. Like I said.. bachelorette party. I thought it was hilarious that they would do this for us (or is it standard? I wasn't sure). Not the most unique desserts, but I always like cold+hot components together. The caramelized banana was almost too sweet, even for my major sweet tooth. But this was just fun to eat overall!
This place has so much wrong with it that it's hard to know where to start.
-bad service,
-dirty, slippery wet floors
-average at best food, quite bland
-sangria made with orange soda pop served out of trash cans surrounded by fruit flies
-disorganized
Some of the things it has going for it is a good wine list, but everything comes from a cellar which reaches over 90 degrees in the summer, so you're just paying for baked wine. Also, the pulpo is good, but prices have skyrocketed, so not worth it. And it would helped if they tried seasoning their food- more paprika, pepper, salt and try using more saffron in the dishes!
I'm not sure why so many people like this place, but they need to try better Spanish food: I'd do Emilio's, Gitana or Mercat for REAL traditional tapas and Tavernita & Mercadito for small plates. So many good restaurants in this city, why waste your time?
Cafe Iberico was planned as our first meal of the day before a long, heated day of sightseeing. We came just minutes after the restaurant was scheduled to open and was pleasantly surprised to see how empty it was. No wait? Fine by me!
Seafood Bruschetta -- We ordered an appetizer which seemed to be a special, not a regular on the menu. Each lightly toasted crouton had a certain item (seafood or cheese) with a red bell pepper on time and melted cheese. Everything was jiving. I was fortunate enough to get the crouton that had the salmon. Salmon is hard to cook. Definitely wasn't dry. On the fishy side but the melted cheese helped!
Pollo a la Brasa -- A half-roasted chicken with red mashed potatoes. The mashed potatoes was covered in a delicious gravy-like sauce. Very creamy and thick. A great side! We had to fight for the last of it. The chicken was roasted to perfection. Very tender and easy to cut and serve. You also get two pieces of asparagus and a tomato cut in half. Make sure you dip the asparagus in the gravy sauce!
Paella Marinera -- Iberico has two types of Paella. Option 1: Strictly seafood Option 2: Seafood with meat. A traditional dish made with a distinctly deep pan. Iberico's paella consisted of Spanish rice, shrimp, fish, clams, squid and peas all slowly cooked in a wonderful saffron broth. They give you tons of seafood. Absolutely wonderful! I highly recommend it. This was easily shared amongst 4 starving ladies. WORD TO THE WARNING: ALLOW 30-40 MINUTES. It's slow-cooked people so it's going to take time. It's totally worth the wait!
Make sure you order their sangria to end the meal! It's very strong. ;)
The 5 best restaurants in the 2015 Denver Restaurant Week
3,607 Views | Category: Denver
The complete list of 2015 Denver Restaurant Week businesses
1,970 Views | Category: Denver
The tourists' guide to Portillos: 5 must have dishes
3,306 Views | Category: Chicago
Pho = Pronounced "fuh" not "foe" for pho-king sake
2,904 Views | Category: Denver
Indulgery selected to exhibit at Collision Conference
2,983 Views | Category: Press Releases
Not Logged In
BUSINESSES
Local Businesses
Near Me
My Favorites
SOCIAL
Blog & News
MY ACCOUNT
Login
Register
Contact Us
Add Your Business
