Patios Tapas & Bar

We were excited to learn about a new Spanish restaurant only a few miles from our home. I'll start by saying that the tapas were quite authentic and reminded the mister and me of our trip to Spain a couple of years ago. The patatas bravas were perfectly cooked and the tomato sauce was creamy and tangy with just a hint of spice. The garlic mushrooms were garlicky and mushroomy. The octopus was well-cooked, not at all chewy, garnished with 3 different paprikas (something of a paprika tasting), but could have used a touch of salt. I enjoyed my bacon-wrapped scallop and the mister enjoyed his tomatoes in vinegar, though $8 might have been a bit high for a plate of sliced tomatoes.

I recommend the sangria, which was fruity without being overly sweet. We tried the white sangria as well, which tipped into the sweeter arena and wasn't as much of a favorite.

My main concern about the restaurant is regarding the marketing. Unfortunately they initially promoted Patios as 'Latin cuisine' which led to some confusion from customers who expected standard Tex-Mex. The owner's son (our able server, Jose) told us that they changed the menu a few months ago and dropped the 'Latin' from their restaurant name (in fact, there's a big 'Now Open'  banner over the empty space in the front sign - Patio's Now Open Cuisine). I think it was the right move - I just wish they'd billed themselves as a Spanish restaurant from day one. They also need to do some serious advertising, maybe a Groupon or other daily deal, and should work on getting themselves some social media attention, because their location is not ideal for their concept.

The chef is from Spain, and the owner is from Mexico but his family is from Spain. The owner also dabbles in molecular gastronomy and brought an olive spherule amuse bouche, a gin fizz with gin foam, and a 'molecular mimosa' to the table for us. He reports some of these will be on their menu soon.

Both for the sake of the owner & chef and for our own sake, I hope Patios gets the attention and business I believe it deserves - I'd really like a good tapas place, particularly one where the chef can develop some interesting and creative dishes, near the house. The mister and I will be spreading the word and we hope that others will do the same soon!

Close to home, fairly casual and interesting menu. Good salads, tacos and black beans. We'll be back. :-)

I checked this place out after hearing good things from friends but was left unimpressed.     The food was blah and service sucked.   I left thinking, should have gone to Rico's which I am thoroughly sick of.