From the time you walk in to the time you leave the owner and staff make you feel genuinely welcome. Â Much like in Europe, you have the table for as long as you like, and will not be rushed, so please remember to ask for the check when you are finished.
The food is fantastic! Â We always go tapas style, although they have paella and entrees as well. Â Be sure to ask the waiter for recommendations and have a couple of the daily specials. Â The patatas bravas and shrimp are sensational!
I don't know where to begin. We made a reservation on open Table at 6:45pm, when we arrived they mentioned that they forgot to turn off Open Table reservations and they were packed and could not seat us at the time requested.
So we had to wait in the meantime the owner came up to us and mentioned that this is BYOB you have time to go down the street and get a nice bottle of Spanish Wine. So I did. Great suggestion and ended up getting a great bottle that went perfect with the meal!
Now it's over 30 minutes and we finally get sat, my expectations at this point are really low. The server came immediately and took our entire order. He had a great sense of humor and made the entire experience great! Hilarious!
The food started coming out of the kitchen and did not stop for 45 minutes of pure bliss and overwhelming taste sensation. WOW!
Spanish Meatballs, perfect!
Ceviche special, one of the best I've ever had
Cavatelli w/mussels, AMAZING
Angel Hair fried with Shrimp and Garlic, Again PERFECT
Beef Wellington, was good not great
Griddle Squid, I have to go back for more EXCELLENT
Paella Valenciana, very Authentic to Spain, Loved it!
I can't Believe that I bought my house in 2005 and just discovered this place right down the street!
Do not judge this place by the decor, not much to speak of and is in desperate need of a makeover.
My wife and I love coming here! Â Enrique usually takes care of us there and is a very very gracious host. Â He is great to have a good conversation with and makes the meal that much more enjoyable. Â Virgilio is an excellent chef and amazing at the art of tapas, the food is phenomenal.
The place is usually empty during the week.. and its not bad, we think at least. my wife and I like it that way.  It's quiet, very intimate and we don't need to deal with obnoxious neighbors  :D
The location is BYOB so we always bring a nice bottle of Malbec with and enjoy it with the delicious tapas. Â There are plenty of liquor stores around, so stop by there first before going in. Â Youll be disappointed if you were looking for booze there.
The regular menu hardly changes but they do have a specials menu that changes constantly. Â They always have something new and delicious. Â we mostly enjoy the seafood there. Â the grilled octopus and calamari. Â The flavors are amazing. Â I love the use of the oil and garlic. Â We also almost always get their kokas... they are these super thin crust flat breads, super thin with mushrooms, pine nuts and onions then it is covered in cheese and olive oil. Â It is fantastic. Â Crispy light and delicious.
There is always street parking, its on Milwaukee so plenty there. Â
Tell Enrique I say what's up!!
This place is incredible! The food is very good, & the owner is sweet . The features of the night have been good every time & they change daily . This is a great place that always has something for everyone, always great fish, pork, beef & veggie options . Plus its BYOB, and the portions are healthy .
Review Source:Meh, perfectly sums up the evening. Â No water refills. a vegetarian paella that was made with chicken stock and a hot tapas special that was cold. Â It took more than 3 hours ... 3 hours ... to get through the meal and most of that was because of the snail's pace to order and to get the check. Â The pulpo is the only thing that was memorable.
Review Source:I've been to this place multiple times and have always come out satisfied. The five times I've been there, the place wasn't all that crowded and we were welcomed by the owner of the place. He was very kind and seated us quickly. He opened up our wine (BYOB!) and poured our glasses before leaving to let us look at the menu. The food here is delicious! All of their desserts are also very good. They usually bring out four different types of desserts and we get to select which one we want.
Some of the things I usually get when I go:
Garlic Potato Salad
Sauteed Mushrooms
Baked Goat Cheese
Mussels
Friendly and attentive staff. Â The grilled calamari was so incredible. Â Melt in your mouth. Â It made me want to pass out. Â Soft shelled crab..another winner. Â It's BYOB so bring your own goodies to pair with their delicious food and there wasn't a corking fee. Â Leave room for dessert!
Review Source:We just came back from our dinner there. It is truly a hidden gem in Jefferson park area. True spanish tapas! We ordered the Manchego cheese platter; it was so well paired with apples. The spanish meatballs were so tasty and cooked to perfection! Then our squid tapas was just out of this world!! grilled just right. We ordered a Paella ( order in advance for cooking time ) It was so well prepared and had so much seafood compared to other paellas I had around town. Very tasty and the fish broth the rice was cooked in packed in tons of flavors. To top it off we ordered the Grilled seafood combo, it was simply fantastic!!!! O if you have more room, order the dessert we had the flan and mango tart that was just unbelievable, really. A must come back to place for sure! Be patient because the food is really worth it and the staff tries their best.
Review Source:Great menu specials, a family run business with exceptional service, Enrique who I believe is one of the owners is quite the character! We enjoyed ourselves greatly. Â Tried the "fish cheeks", pheasant crepes, flan, raspberry tart, caprese, fried angel hair pasta w/ shrimp among other things and found each dish unique and tasty. Â I don't think I've ever seen pheasant on a menu anywhere before and the crepes turned out to be my favorite!! Â Gotta love a good BYOB, especially one with such friendly people. We were the last couple there before closing time on a Friday night and Enrique asked if we had any song requests after having a discussion with him about rock bands we like. The hubby was in Rolling Stones heaven, and for that, we thank you!!! Can't wait to come back...
Review Source:Never really was a fan of tapas until I ate here! The food is outstanding, especially their fish. Anytime there is a whole fish on the special menu we order it and have never been disappointed. More times than not, we find ourselves ordering the specials due to the originality of the dish and how it is prepared. Just note that the unprinted specials are limited so if you are a late diner, you may be out of luck.
One thing I will say about those who think there is a lack of service or the service is slow...if you are in that much of a hurry for dinner, then hit a drive thru. Please, who wants to be rushed at dinner. There is nothing worse than a waiter hovering over your table as if they want you to hurry up so they can turn the table over. The whole point of tapas is to try a plate, relax, have a drink, order another plate, etc...enjoy the meal! The food is made to order, so why complain? It's not a race. Being a restaurant of Spanish/European influence, it is about the food, not how fast the food gets to your table. If you ever go to a restaurant and place an order and your meal comes out in 5 minutes, I would question how long it was sitting in the kitchen...
And remember, it is BYOB with no corking fee. We will even go as far and making a martini while we contemplate what to order, then off to our bottle of wine. Â Also, if you bring a bottle of wine and a bottle of brandy they will make you sangria.
Hard to say, this may be a 3.5. Â The food was very good but it was also very expensive for tapas. Â For two of us and our own bottle of wine, the bill came for about $110. Â Granted we ordered about 8 tapas and had dessert but dang, we were not stuffed to the gills. Â I remember a few dishes were very good where the other were average to good. Â No need to mention what they were as I forgot what they were and they change the menu constantly. Â The mango tart for dessert was outstanding, so go ahead and get it. Â As for the service, I can see the point of many who complained. Â The owner does fawn over people he knows, leaving many newcomers ignored. Â Our server was good with us but to the table next to us, he was very inattentive. Â I think it is because we were located at the end and they were sandwiched between tables and hard to get to.
Review Source:This is my first yelp review and I really hope that if you're on the fence about this place you stick around and read what I have to say.
Enrique is the owner of this place and yes, he is a little particular, but his menu, his knowledge of wine, and his enthusiam for his food completely overwhelm what other yelpers have to say about him and their negative reviews.
You walk in and you're most likely seated by the owner. He will tell you if you forgot drinks to go buy them across the street (bleh, just don't foget its a BYO), and happily seat you. Just remember to bring your own wine/beer/vodka they don't care just bring your own.
The food? amazing. Absolutely the best. I have never had anything bad there. The garlic potato salad is out of this world. Any of the mushroom concoctions are fab. The flatbreads will blow you away. We had a shrimp with polenta special that was absolutely delicious. The food here is incredible.
The desert was absolutely wonderful. They change it daily, but we had a raspberry tarte (fantastic) and a sorbet trio that was so delicious that they let us pick our fave and take a scoop to go.
The best restaurant in the neighborhood hands down. It is super cheap. I am talking 60.00 for 4 tapas 2 desserts and a cappucino... + we brought wine, don't think there's a corkage fee but not 100 percent sure.
Totally fab. They have outdone themselves and the fact that they were mobbed on a saturday night at 6:30 PM is evidence that word of mouth works better than negative Yelp reviews!!!
Maybe i went on a wrong day, but I can't say I liked it that much.
I hate to be negative and usually I go places couple times before I would judge harsh. This place is not easy to get to unless you have a car or you are local to the area. SO making a special trip and hearing good things about it I was surprised how unorganized place is.
First we were not greeted or even paid attention to at the door, we actually waited for any personnel to notice us and get seated. The main guy/owner or manager or a host (I am not sure who he is specifically), or all together at once was the only person there for everything. He handled taking people to the table, getting your order, and get check settled. Â SO first thing - they need staff!!! He forgot about us completely, so we waited to order for a while. THe same happened after we finished the meal and it took good 30 minutes just to get check settled. Overall we spend over 2 hours there - when the actual meal took barely 40 mins!
Now, about food itself. It was OK, but not impressive. From all the dishes we tried - Flat breads were really good, and the meatballs had really nice flavor. The rest - potatoes/ sausage tapas, goat cheese, cold ham platter, and calamari were just OK.
So - I am sure the place will get only better with good service and attention to details. For now - I am not sure I feel like going there again, at least for now.
Oh, and spruce up the place itself - it looks a bit outdated, plants in pots not really helping the vibe.
One of my best friends and I went here for dinner and we enjoyed it and got to know Enrique (owner?)
Likes: BYOB - no fee, Up north, Parking, owner was attentive, Freshly made tarts by Enrique.
Dislikes: Enrique forgot our order of mussels and had to wait awhile. We also had to ask for our own wine twice as thethey don't provide an ice bucket on the table. Slow service was disappointing as it wasn't  a busy night.
Ordered: Â Mussels provencial, Patatas bravas, camarones al ajillo, calamari a la pancha, & combo fruit tart. Really loved the favors of the mussels and calamari was very fresh and soft (melted in my mouth). Â Camarones..I've had better at other tapas places and Patatas wasn't worth the $6. It was just fried potatoes on tomato sauce (like Italian dressing...very disappointed). Some dishes were also on the salty side. Â
The Tart was great! I don't love desserts because I don't have a sweet tooth but their tart was perfect for me. Â Seasonal Fruits hand picked and tart made daily. Enrique has a passion for his desserts.
Hint: relax, bring bottle(s) of wine and don't rush. It's a laid back place and the owner is the hostess and waiter.
We might be back and try other items on the menu because the owner was very attentive and helpful.
Good food... Â wish they had better service. Â Seems as though the owner only cares to be polite with the people he knows. Â They need help. Â The waiters are so overwhelmed that they purposely ignore their customers. Â
At one point, the owner (don't know his name or care) was bringing out food and one of the people in our party asked what it was. Â He didn't hear him so well, so he excused himself and asked again, at which point this guy screamed "CHEESE! Â IT'S CHEESE!". Â We were all kind of shocked and dumbfounded. Â I'm assuming the owner felt this, so he quickly put on a smile and acted as if it were a joke... wasn't funny. Â Luckily, this was towards the end of our meal. Â This experience kinda felt like a Seinfeld episode: "The soup nazi". Â No tapas for you! Â Great food, but scared to order the wrong way. Â LOL!
I guess in the end, I won't be returning, BUT... Â if anyone out there wants to go and get treated like dirt... I'll take a doggie bag.
I absolutely love this restaurant.
The two guys that operate it impressed me from the very beginning. Â My first time there I walked in, Enrique handed me a menu, and I asked, "What's good tonight?"
His reply was both immediate and unhesitating. Â He said, "This is my restaurant. Â If it wasn't good, I wouldn't have it on the menu in the first place."
I started going to their prior location on Peterson and followed them to the new one on Milwaukee. Â In these past three years I have never had a bad meal.
The artistry and creativity that is readily apparent in their menu items is only overshadowed by their love for the business and obvious continuing pursuit of excellence.
I recommend them highly.
All I can say is the Cafe Marbella, has great food, but they need more service help. Â I went with a group of friends this past weekend and the food wasoutstanding, but the service was just okay. Â I know that they did their best, but they need busboys in there to help them out. Â
I'm still a fan I will keep going back for their delicious bites,and the BYOB.
Tapas at an awesome price.
Absolutely worth it. BYOB and share many various tapas. Its a hidden place in Chicago's Northwest Side that wow, I have missed. Take some friends and enjoy a bit of Spain. Â
Calamaris A La Plancha - griddle squid in good size chunks, seasoned with garlic, parsley and fresh lemon juice made to perfection. This is the life to say the least.
Queso De Cabra Al Horno - baked goat cheese with tomato basil sauce drizzled, just gives you something that many can't fathom. It is a taste that really reminds one of Spain in a summer night. Paired with the right white, this really takes you there.
Tortilla Espanola - is basically a slice (enough for two)spanish typical potato and onion omelet. It comes out in a pie shape and is quite the taste.
I have to admit I was quite amazed at the various tapas we had and would go again today if I could. Coming from the Midway Area, I can say its well worth the trip.
And the fact that the chef comes out and speaks to clients is a plus. I absolutely loved this place.
Horrible service, Horrible attitudes, Horrible food! The server and owner never acknowledged us as patrons! Â i was so disappointed when i came here. After reading all these great reviews i thought, "finally a good restaurant in this neighborhood" boy was i wrong. --it didnt feel like a restaurant, more like a nursing home cafeteria --we stood in the front for more than 5 min before being seated. --15 min after seating us, the waiter finally came back to take our order. maybe another 45-60 min we got our 1st dish. and water isnt a priority here. --took FOREVER for our food and there was only 3 other tables there.
Review Source:A culinary treasure, in an area of town not normally known for them...
LOVE this place! Â Quiet and unassuming, my g/f and I had dinner here on Sunday, due to a foodie friend raving about this place on repeated occasions, and I have to admit, he was 100% correct. Â The 3 plates we had (lobster, pork, and lamb) were absolutely delicious, and the perfect amount of food for the two of us(we were full, but didn't feel like we needed a wheelbarrow to get out...)
Hint: Don't order off of the regular menu. Â Order off of the handwritten "Chef's Daily Specials" Â paper menu that comes with it. Â Trust me... ;o)
We brought a cheap bottle of burgundy and a cheap bottle of brandy in with us, and to accompany our wonderful dinner, Chef Enrique used them to make us a carafe of the BEST sangria we have ever tasted!
And the best part of all? Â After eating VERY well, having a nice relaxed time, and enjoying some delightfully buzz inducing beverages, the whole shabang cost us a total of $65.00! Â That's dinner(did I mention that we had Cold Water Maine Lobster) drinks AND a 20% tip. Â Absolutely unbeatable! Â We will definitely be back...
This place is sub-par all around.
First the service. Â We had to wait by the front door for a few, even though the wait staff noticed us right away (no acknowledgement). Â No one offered or brought water to the table. Â The servers were much more focused on cleaning off other tables (even though no one was waiting to be seated) than checking on us, bringing our food, drink or check. Â On the plus side, the food came out fairly quickly.
Atmosphere. Â We sat a few booths from the door, but whenever it opened we were hit with a cold gust of wind. Â The place is not cozy, with popcorn walls and drop-tile ceilings. Â Very 70s and not in a good way.
Drink. Â It's BYOB, so that's good. Â I do think a glass of water should be standard issue at any restaurant and not something you have to ask for several times.
Food. Â Mediocre all the way around. Â The best dish we had was the calamari. Â Definitely cooked perfectly, but a bit too much sauce. Â The "too much sauce" was an ongoing problem with all of the dishes. Â The meatballs were overcooked and did not taste fresh. Â The figs wrapped in bacon were not wrapped but stuffed (as pointed out by another reviewer). Â The sauce was too sweet and the texture was not right.
The two stars is for the food. Â Combined with the disappointing service and atmosphere it's probably closer to a 1.5 star review overall.
Swung by on a Sat w/no reservation and scored a table. We started with some OK olives and the garlic soup. Then we had a snapper in a cream sauce that was the highlight of the night. Moved on to the shrimp which were tasty. Also tried a ribeye that came out way too well done so we had to send back which wasn't an issue as it came back cooked properly.
It's BYO which is a plus. Deserts were great as was the espresso/milk drink(it wasn't a cappucinno). Truth be told I'm not  a huge tapas fan but would definitely go back.
We ate here on New Years Eve before their special NYE sitting. Â We coupled hot spinach salad, mussels, and bacon wrapped figs stuffed with goat chese with the parillada.
The bacon wrapped figs were in a brandy creme sauce that was deliscious. Â The parillada is a combination plate of thinly sliced pork, chicken, and beef over potatoes. Â The meat was a little dry but was still good.
$3 Corking fee, minimal decor, nice Spanish music in the background, and very pleasant service.
We will definitely go back.
The 2 gentlemen serving us were very nice... but when you run a restaurant, it's not about nice - it's about the food #1.
Ordered iced tea to drink. I can't believe I'm even saying this, but it was INSTANT! Yuck! Really?
Tapa #1: (cold) Aguacate Relleno (avocado stuffed with fish & shrimp & brandy mayo) Â - Â this would have been good if there wasn't 2 cups of mayo dripping off the seafood. What a shame... 1/3 of the dressing would have been plenty.
Tapa #2: (cold) Trio of Tortilla (egg quiche type of dish) Â - Â it's supposed to be cold, that's why it's in the cold section but they felt the need to "nuke" it in the microwave before serving... why? Â It was average.
Tapa #3: (hot) Bacon Wrapped Figs - usually it's bacon wrapped dates at most tapas places... and they have it right. The figs are not better. Also, there was NO wrapping of any bacon (see image). It was more like - cut open figs with a 1/2 inch of extra thin bacon laid inside with an excessive amount of sauce.
Tapa #4: (hot) sure hope you're still reading cause this one's a good one: Pheasant Special of the day with grapes. THERE WERE SHOTGUN PELLETS INSIDE THE MEAT. No, I'm not joking and I have a picture to prove it! The chef laughed and even showed the table next to us. If it were my place I wouldn't be showing other customers that... but to each his own. Good thing I didn't chip a tooth.
Sorry to say this is the worst tapas I have ever had. Sorry for the people trying to make this business work, but it's up to you to serve good food.
Don't know why people are saying it's "inexpensive" - not true. Totally in line with ALL other tapas places.
Yayyyy....more interesting restaurants coming to my side of town...a.k.a. the Northwest-side Culinary Desert!!
Tapas and BYOB makes me very, very happy, especially with no corkage fee!
We came here for my oldest daughter's birthday...and from start to finish we were treated like rockstars!
Enrique, our server/the owner, made excellent suggestions.
Some of the winners:
*Fennel-Clementine Salad
*Scallops with Spinach & Lentils...my all-time favorite.
*Spanish Ham with goat cheese & olives
*Bacon wrapped figs...need I say more.
*Spanish Meatballs...but a little too much like Swedish Meatballs.
*Huge pan of delicious seafood-filled Paella
and for dessert...
Flourless Chocolate Cake and a very yummy Banana Cream Pie.
Stuffed with yumminess and filled with wine, very happy were we!!
We will definitely be back.
Fair prices, easy street parking, but they do need to spiffy up the decor a little...too old-Italian-restaurant-blah.
It was busy the day I went. They seemed a little understaffed for the amount of customers. The did an OK job of keeping up with the number of tables. I thought the people were nice and as attentive as I would expect for it being so busy.
Now for the food:
The food was very good. I started off with some sort of garlic soup. It was great. You could definitely taste the garlic, but I like garlic, so it wasn't overwhelming.
We shared three different tapas. One was a pork based item. I wish I could remember the name. It was very good. The pork was nice and tender and the flavors were great.
We also had a garlic potato salad and that was also very tasty. Garlic seems to be a theme here.
The third one was excellent. It had a bread base with peppers, olive oil, garlic, and some sort of cheese. Wow the bread had a nice crunch to it. The items on top were very fresh tasting.
We finished the meal off with desert. They had a pretty good selection and all the deserts we had were really good.
I would like to return again at a slower time, so I could sit and take my time and try some of the other items on the menu. I am sure I will not be disappointed.
So, Yes I will be returning.
BTW. It is B.Y.O.B.
Great food and attentive service. We brought our own wine - a white wine and the owner chilled it in a bucket of ice for us as soon as we arrived.
My friend and I are both vegetarians and we had no problems finding plenty of food to eat. We had garlic potatoes, spinach with raisens and onions, some kind of a cabbage salad, and goat cheese in tomato sauce. We finished it off with yummy, but very light dessert. My friend got the cream tart with blueberries and I got the strawberry chocolate torte with whipped cream.
One of the best things about this restaurant - you can have a conversation without yelling. Their is background music, but it isn't too loud.
The other thing - this place reminded me of the first restaurant I went to when I vacationed in Spain. It was so laid back. We stayed almost an hour after closing and chatted with the owner. There was no rush for us to leave and we could have stayed longer if we wanted. I have a particular dislike for the over crowded, pretentious restaurants that rush everyone out in order to usher in the next set of people or so they can close exactly on the dot. Food should be enjoyed and people should be allowed to linger over a meal that they have paid for.
I should also mention the owner even gave us some free samples of other dishes while we were there. I will definitely go back to this place.
This is my favorite tapas place in Chicago. Everything we ate was delicious, though I think my favorites might be the dishes that involve tomatoes and cheese (goat, mozzarella, it's all good).
Every time I've been, the place has been empty, which is good in terms of getting table, but I worry that this place won't last, so everyone, go give this place your business!
...Okay, the first time I went, it wasn't empty the WHOLE time. About halfway through, a party of about 15 people came in with a Mariachi band in tow (seriously) that played very loudly through the rest of our meal and, apparently, the whole of theirs. That was pretty funny.
This place must be taking notice of those previous Yelp reviews, because I had a fantastic meal here on a Saturday night.
For starters, parking is a breeze, and it's along the Peterson and Kimball bus routes. I've passed by this place frequently and finally got the chance to try it while a friend and I were looking for a place to eat (Tre Kronor was packed and Uncommon Ground Edgewater had a menu best described as "scary").
The owner was super-friendly and the place inside reminded me of many restaurants I ate in while living in Italy and visiting Spain.
My friend ordered the squid, which was amazingly good. She even stated it was cleaned very well and was so fresh she could "taste the ocean."
I had a special that day of rice, beef, onions and tomatoes (can't remember the name) cooked in white wine, which was delicious.
My next choice was "Escalopes De Cerdo," sauteed pork severed in a sherry sauce. Incredible!
I also noticed two tables surrounded us with clientele speaking in Castilian Spanish, which is a big plus for this place as it does authentic tapas very well.
BYOB, ya'll. Â No corkage fees.
Apparently, everyone knew about this'cuz all the people in here had multiple bottles of wine. Â
Enthusiastic, beaming host. Â You KNOW he takes pride in his food and the service. Â I saw him help some customers choose between two bottles of wine.
Service was friendly, although it took a little prompting to get refills on water. Â There was only one waitress, too, so she was busy rushing around to other tables. Â But, the peeps clearing the tables were excellent!
Easy parking on Peterson. Â No need to circle the block 85 times.
Really enjoyed the pork tenderloin, potatoes and chorizo and the squid. Â The avacado salad (with light vinegarette dressing) Â and meatballs were tasty as well. Â Tapas ranged from about $5-$9, but portion sizes are slightly larger than what I've experienced in the past. Â
And, the flan and the espresso sponge cake were yummy. Â They had an assortment of fruit tarts (mango and papaya) that looked good, too!
This is a great place for the 'hood. Â Peterson (and West Ridge) is defintely lacking in food other than Korean, Indian, and the plethora of chain restaurants that surround the area. So, I'm glad this place has a nice home here. Â No pretentiousness, like the other tapas places in the city. Â Instead, it has a down home, cozy atmosphere. Â A bunch of regulars were trickling in as we were leaving and it's nice to see the host greet them warmly. Â GIve it some love, people!
A group of us (7 in total) dined at Cafe Marbella on New Years Eve, and our last meal of 2008 was wonderful. The interior has an eclectic display of photos, artworks, and flags on the walls (including a Basque region flag). The seating by the front window is sort of like box seats for tapas, if you are into that sort of thing. My dentist's office is on the same block, but I am glad to report that I did not need to visit him after our meal.
We ordered a selection of tapas, including potato chunks with a zingy red sauce, a veggie flatbread that was sort of like a pizza tapas, chicken strips cooked in wine, lamb slices with potato, mushrooms, figs wrapped in bacon, and shrimp with garlic. I think I like the fig/bacon combo the best, though the sweet and savory duo did not suit everyone's tastes at our table. The potatoes and the flatbread were very good. The lamb was a bit too chewy, but otherwise the food was very tasty. This is a BYOB place, so we had money left for dessert. These sweet selections were proudly trotted out to our table by the friendly staff. The cream roll with chunks of peach was almost subtle in its lightness. The tab was more than reasonable, averaging under $20 a head (a bargain for New Years Eve - was the bill correct??), so perhaps the trick is to stay with the smaller dishes and not the entrees.
Wow, seems that for once it was a good decision NOT to browse the Yelp reviews before trying a new place! Â I might never have given Marbella a chance had I read all the 2-and-less star reviews.
My tapas experiences have been mostly at more upscale & pricey places where the service and execution are slick & speedy. Â The service and atmosphere at Marbella are definitely more "storefront" than upscale - they have a modest staff, a rather spartan (& sometimes drafty) dining room, and the wait time for individual dishes can vary wildly depending (I guess) on the preparation required. Â
In spite of all that, the food was not bad - we sampled mushroom, shrimp, chicken, and lamb dishes, and all were succulent & flavorful. Â The only dish that fell flat was the figs wrapped in bacon - for the most part all the bacon had come loose from the figs, and several folks commented that the figs did not seem fresh.
They did a good job in enticing us to stay for dessert - the servers trotted out a collection of tasty cakes & tarts, and everyone in our group indulged a bit. Â Our group also liked that it was BYOB.
Cafe Iberico this is not, but overall not bad if you are up on the north side and are looking for pretty good tapas in a low-key atmosphere.
They tried, but failed.
I tried this restaurant with my family because it was the only BYOB Tapas restaurant close by. Â The initial greeting was nice, but the pumping music added to a general lack of ambiance. Â Everything was just slightly off. The food was slightly over-spiced and/or over-cooked or late, our server was nowhere to be found after we placed our order, we decided against desert as it took too long to display them for us, and then getting the check took far too long.
I went to Cafe Marbella on Sunday with my friend Typhoid Mary. Â It's okay. Â She's not infectious any more. Â Â She's never had tapas, and I thought it would be interesting to introduce her to these delicious dishes and stay fairly close to the 'hood. Â
We got the restaurant right at opening and wondered if they were open. Â No one was there. Â Admittedly, it was Father's Day, but holidays like that are like a license for good restaurants to print money, so I began to get a little worried. Â
The owner greeted us at the door and seemed genuinely excited to see us and sat us quickly. Â We were right in the window which wasn't too bad, because we were away from the stereo speaker which were blasting Shakira at us the entire meal. Â Now I love me some Shakira, and I don't mind "reading her hips" if you catch my drift, but the volume was too loud to enjoy. Â
The owner left us with the specials of the day. Â Most were either $7.95 or $8.95. Â This matters later in the tale. Â
The owner returned to our table to take our order, and as friendly and genial as he was, I was mesmerized by something that I will only refer to as "The 2008 Father's Day Nostril Material Incident".
We ordered the Manchego cheese plate, the roasted goat cheese and the Serrano ham a special for the day. Â The Manchego cheese and the Serrano ham came pretty quickly and were pretty tasty. Â The Manchego cheese was cut in points surrounding a garnish of shredded iceberg lettuce, raisins, and orange and apple slices. Â I felt the presentation was weak, and I hate shredded lettuce as a garnish. Â It smacks of laziness. Â Â
When the roasted goat cheese arrived it was warm and tasty, served with lightly toasted baguette rounds drizzled with olive oil. Â
When the check came, I was beginning to realize that Cafe Marbella is just okay. Â The food wasn't bad, but it wasn't anything that I can't get somewhere else with better dcor and probably prepared better as well. Â The real shocker came when I looked at the bill and discovered that the Serrano ham special was $17.95! Â And while it truly is my fault for not asking how much it was when the owner suggested it, I did feel a little cheated. Â
All-in-all, I feel that Cafe Marbella is an okay place that's trying to make it by an upscale attempt in a mid-level neighborhood. Â My recommendation is save the money you would spend here and go to Cafe Iberico downtown.
I did not get sick. The best part of my meal was the alcohol I brought (yes BYOB).
Service was friendly and well intended, but execution lacked.
Food was very hit and miss, mostly missing and sometimes plain wrong.
The ambiance looked like it was a storage place that was cleaned out enough to make room for some tables with the lesser smelly items hung on the ceiling and walls.
Yes this review is brutal, but so was wasting my time and money in a place that should be serving food rather than abusing it.
Well, I was all about savin' this place...but they gots some work to do.
I saw this restaurant featured in Time Out Chicago in the "save this place" section. Tapas, BYOB, random locale...sounded good.
And, I really think it could be...just not quite there just yet.
Presumably the owner was the only server...needless to say he was a bit overtaxed with several tables. He was a bit curt in nature, though I did not take it as rude. I had to ask for water several times and he seemd a bit put off that we "ALL" wanted water. Isn't that pretty standard when dining out?
The menu is quite extensive, and while many of the items were excellent in description and theory, they fell short in execution. Mainly the bacon figs, oh so figgy in lukewarm sauce. The shrimp was pretty measly, and I heard general grumblings about the paella. Unfortunate.
On the plus side: The flatbread with green peppers, garlic soup (luckily I was going home alone, geez I think I ate an entire head of garlic) and my chicken entree with manshego cheese I ordered was very good. However, I wasn't sure about the egg noodle/alfredo side. Do they make that in Spain? odd.
Honestly, I'd *maybe go back to try another entree or two, but the tapas was just not up to snuff just yet. Perhaps some tweaking is in order...then again, it was BYO, and I was a bit buzzed so upon leaving I decided 3 stars ;)
I went with a bunch of fellow yelpers and I must say I was disappointed. Â The garlic soup was really good--4 stars--you must have it if you go. Â The catalan flatbread was also good, and the garlic shrimp was okay. Â It went downhill from there. Â I didn't like the mussels (in cream sauce), the figs in bacon tasted off and were not good (when this gang doesn't eat the bacon, you know something is wrong), and the paella tasted like something in it had gone bad. Â The server (owner?) was nice and tried to be accomodating of us (for example, he brought cheese with the oil and bread upon someone's request). Â The chef also came out to check on everything. Â The food did come out at weird times (for example, the shrimp came out with the soup, and then nothing came out for a while). Â
Not worth the trip for me, so many better tapas places in the city.
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