Overall, a solid experience.
The two of us had several tapas plates including, chicken, veggie, and beef. We also had the pialla (sp?), which was fantastic. Â
Service was pretty good, and the drinks (sangrias and margaritas) were pretty good too.
Only complaints were 1. that the waiter (or bartender) botched my margarita. Â I ordered it up no salt, and it came rocks salt. Â Who knows maybe they got it mixed up with another order. Â Â And 2. We were seated at least 15 minutes after our reservation.
Check for 2 with drinks was near $100 all said and done.
Came hungry, left full and satisfied - I'll be back.
My boyfriend and I had an excellent experience while dining at Tapas Valencia on Friday afternoon (2/22). We went during the Tapas happy hour. $2 and $3 plates are a great way to try everything (and we almost did). Great value, even better food. The bacon covered dates are phenomenal. The sangria was delicious but the martinis were amazing. The bartenders were very friendly and attentive. Since it was a bday meal for my bf they even surprised us with a free dessert. Great tapas and drinks, pretty place, great service. We will be back very soon! And keep the bacon wrapped dates coming!
Review Source:I don't know if my group and I were just given the royal treatment during our visit on a Wednesday night of restaurant week, but the general feeling all around is that everyone must visit this restaurant and that it NEEDS more credit than it has been given.
When we pulled up to Tapas Valencia, the surrounding area was an eye sore thanks to all the construction, but the inside of the restaurant is beautiful with lots of vivid colors and patterns. I checked their website and the photos aren't doing the scene justice at all. Â We were first greeted at the door by the owner. As we were directed to our table, every staff member we passed greeted us as well. I have never had a warmer welcome into a restaurant.
I don't know if this is their first time to participate in restaurant week, but in my opinion, every other restaurant is doing it wrong. Tapa's menu had 4 courses, but they took away the burden of deciding which item from the course you want because.....you get all of them. A little taste of everything (but not too little because I left satisfied). Literally every plate they brought us was delicious. Â They split everything up into even portions based on your party, but when one plate had the wrong portion and we pointed this out, they actually brought us another plate instead of just bringing one more person's portion.
The best part of the meal, though I didn't think it could get any better after the main course, was dessert. Again, we may have been getting special treatment for whatever reason, but instead of just bringing us the two choices that were on the menu, they brought us a plate with one of every dessert they offer. It was a plate full of heaven. I have never had an eating experience so good in my life as that plate of fudge, cake, pie, fruit, ice cream, etc. Â If you can only have one dessert though, we all agreed unanimously that the best thing on the plate was the almond pear cake (I don't see the exact name on the menu, but ask for that and you will not regret it). I could eat that cake forever and wash it down with the complimentary champagne that came with every dessert.
If I could recommend everything that was on the restaurant week menu, I would, but that would be a long list. I had a great experience dining here and if they were underwhelming in the past, they are definitely stepping up their game. Please go and try it out. I will definitely be going again soon.
One of my favorites. This is a great spot for large groups if you call ahead. I normally walk in and get a table within minutes. The food has always been good as well as the service. One time in particular I asked a question about one of the after dinner drinks and a manager decided to give an impromptu tasting and explained the differences. The complimentary olives are always a nice touch.
Review Source:I was here on that evening when the Packers were kicked out of the playoff tournament by the 49ers, so maybe there was a spring in the step of the general mood of the restaurant.
The host gladly seated us, though we walked in at a rather late hour for anyone. The decor, vibrant, in a word. And yet not garish. There's restraint in the selections of furnishings that adorn the space, and consistency in the modern glass and steel touches, and so bravo. Menus of the day were presented, a vast collection of small plated Spanish treats can be perused over.
A ramekin of marinated green Spanish olives opened the course. The flavor of the olives was somewhat mellowed and deepened by  the tomato, onion, and pepper marinade. The salad opener was a hit with my tastebuds, the Gabriela, peppery fresh arugula dressed with tart autumn accompaniments, the apple, the raisins, the vinaigrette. An apt clean, fresh opener. Next we sampled the crepe relleno, a soft crepe rolled with goat cheese, nuts, and apples with a red pepper sauce over the top of it. Red pepper sauce, but not spicy. The creaminess of the goat cheese enveloped the crisp apple, the crepe was warm and inviting. And then the pincho de pollo, a lovely spanish rendition of a chicken cutlet did well for a protein course.
And to finish, a postre, the flan of the day. Creamy and umptuous and custardy.
The service? As friendly as ever, especially the guy at the door. Even the older gentleman who spent most of the evening sullenly filling our water and taking our plates cracked a wide smile to wish us a good evening by the time we were leaving. The bill, less than I may have thought for this quality of an experience.
Excellent. Perhaps even craveworthy. And one of the nearer places to my place, so I may certainly be back.
I love this place! I have tried so many different tapas restaurants in chicago and I think this one is the best. The food always tastes great and their sangria is also great as well. They have a large menu and they have all of the classic tapas.
I have eaten here probably on five different occasions including my birthday this past year and NYE about 3 years ago. It was so cute, on my birthday they printed a special menu for me that said "Happy Birthday Hannah" on the top of it. At NYE they had live music.
My favorite restaurant....even though I've since moved out of town. They have excellent service (they even wipe the table before dessert, and I wish all the other places would do that!), friendly waitstaff and management, AMAZING food. Â I drool just thinking about it. Â You will not be disappointed. And the good thing is with tapas...if there's one dish you aren't crazy about...bound to be another one on the table that you love. Â Definitely recommend checking this place out.
Review Source:I came here when it first opened and then recently with a big group. It was a Saturday night and well most of us know Saturdays are busy (we had reservations though) but wow the service was slow and a bit off. The place is decently sized with a great big bar and well that night almost every table was taken.
Now I LOVE Tapas & Sangria. I just loved getting a little bit of everything. :-)
I had:
Setas Salvajes= Yum!
Pincho de Pollo=OK
Ensalada Pollo Marbella=Good!
Tortilla Espanola=Very Good
Patatas Bravas=Umm no thanks I have had better
One thing about this place is the sangria is Gooood! Now I was expecting a pretty big bill since I felt like we all ordered so much...but in the end it wasn't bad at all. At least not for what we felt like we ate.
Overall, the experience would have been better if service was better. We kept getting food we didn't order and then had to wait forever for some of our dishes.
Now I remember it being way better when we first went about 3 years ago...or maybe I just had too much Sangria that day. ;-)
I came here for a birthday and really liked the whole experience here. The food was inexpensive but the small plates were plentiful. Â I was with a group of about 10-12 people and we all were full by the end of the night. The wine my best friend and I enjoyed was Ergo Tempranillo by Martin Codax. Â The rest of the bunch enjoyed a couple of pitchers of red sangria. Â Our bill came out to about 40 per person minus the guest of honor. Â This was amazing because we truly received great value for what we paid for.
My only issue the whole night was self inflicted...I thought I'd dress up since it was a birthday celebration and wore heels. MISTAKE. The floors must have been recently waxed, because when I initially arrived, I almost slid across the floor to my seat. I was so terrified of a repeat performance that I waited until dinner was finished to go to the restroom. Next time I'll just wear flats.
I have been here a couple times most recently in October. It is almost always busy but the wait time never seems long. The atmosphere is very relaxed and welcoming. The wait staff is very attentive and helpful. I really enjoy the goat cheese and the scallop dishes. I recommend this for a first or second date, romantic but not too over the top. Great food & atmosphere!
Review Source:Dates wrapped in bacon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Who would've thought?
This was my first tapas experience and yelp did me good again! Â As a tourist, this wasn't exactly one of the 'tourist' destinations, but I'm so happy me and my friend decided to venture out and try something different.
Service was good, ambience was modern and chill, tapas were delicious! (large selection with all kinds of names I can't pronounce), and the dessert at the end put the cherry on top to the evening.
I've been here a few times now and have thoroughly enjoyed each experience. While the restaurant is on State Street it's really kind of isolated and not in a main restaurant corridor. It is worth the trip and search though. It's a really spacious restaurant and has a good flair in terms of decor. The service I've had here has always been great, as well.
The first time was last year during Valentines where we did the San Valentin prix-fixe (including Mixtos de la casa, tapas frias populares, mixtos caliente, mar y montana... and delicious white chocolate pistachio mousse and french vanilla butter cream cake for dessert) and wine flight combinations.
In my more recent visits, I did the Taste of Spain prix-fixe (which is a really good value!). Some of my favorite items are the Tostadas de Centollo (king crab and avocado), Calamares a la Plancha (grilled squid), and Vieiras al Albariño (grilled scallops with couscous). There was only one thing I didn't like off that tasting menu and it was the breaded chicken breast (with each chew all I kept thinking was ew, Country Fried Steak lol). Favorite dessert by far is the Crema con Chocolate (custard)... YUM.
This is one of our favorite spots in our neighborhood. Probably the best Tapas I have ever tried, as well. We have been regulars since they opened and love the staff, the food, the atmosphere ... everything.
The manager is SUPER attentive and always visits your table, the hosts are always friendly and helpful. The $2/$3 Tapas deal is fantastic. Wine selection is wonderful. They also have the best olives on the planet. We've also gone to brunch several times and that has been a great experience as well!
My husband and I started coming here when it was just the two of us. We now have a one year old and that does not stop us from getting our Tapas fix. We've always been accomodated, even being offered steamed veggies/fruit for our little guy so he'd be able to dine with us.
It takes no art to make patatas bravas, but many of the more sophisticated tapas on the menu are pretty bland.
The salmon smelled strange and the meats were tasteless. The bacon-wrapped dates were the size of a cranberry (Costco sells entire boxes of enormous dates for a fraction of the price).
Also, the bill for our table of 6 came out to be around $400 (we didn't end up with any to-go boxes). Oh and the small pitchers of sangrias ($35) comes out of a bag.
Quite a dissapointment.
One of my favorite tapas places in Chicago! Â The service has generally been good and I have rarely not liked a dish. Â Below are some of my favorites:
Garlic Potato Salad - Delicious but as the name states lots of garlic - be prepared for garlic breath after dinner.
Pincho de Solomillo - Grilled beef with caramelized onions and sour cream horseradish, this dish is great!
Grilled Squid - Simple but great
Bananas and ice cream - great dessert
Food is exceptional and the service it great.
Dani is the best! she remembers everyone, what they have ordered previously and pours a great drink. Â Give the happy hour a try. Tapas is 2 or 3 dollars each and let Dani take care of you.
Although there are many fabulous selections  here are three of my favorites: potatoes with manchengo cheese, scallops and the baked goat cheese with toasted bread
The quality is much better than the competition on North LaSalle, we will not be going back there....
OMG! Â Wonderful service, wonderful food. Â Our server was Michael and I was the first to arrive and was seated right away. Â I loved the stuffed mushrooms, the puff pastry and the vegetable paella. Â Michael was wonderful, just the right amount of attention. Â I will definitely come again.
Review Source:I lived a block away from Tapas Valencia for about a year before finally trying out the happy hour special which offers a decent selection of cold and hot tapas for $2/$3 each. Most of the dishes I tried were good but one of the ceviches on the cold tapas menu was probably the best. The beer selection is limited. I tried two different Spanish beers and didn't like either one. Service is above average. The bar tender was nice and friendly, and the manager also stopped by a couple of times.
Review Source:Mothers day brunch here was Amazing. The food was deelish, well seasoned and a great variety for our entire party. some of us meat eaters, some vegetarians, they had something for everyone. Our favorites were definietely the stuffed mushrooms, paella, and fish, and shrim withp couscous. Our server was fantastic, we were a party of 16 yet she managed to attend to us quicky and efficiently.
muchas gracias.
Holy crap, I think the scallops with couscous may be the best thing I've ever put in my mouth. Â Seriously. Â Thumbs up on the grilled octopus special too. Â
Awesome customer service, manager came by twice and was so charming. Â Good waitress too. Â
Drinks were interesting, but a bit pricey. Â Anybody who has visited Mexico (or lived on the West Side) will appreciate the spicy chili salt rim mangotini drink and recognize its origins. Â Wish my mango garnish had been riper but the drink itself was full of booze and delish.
Decor was quite mmmm..... Â Miro / industrial. Â It worked. Â
Room can be loud when full, esp if you sit next to a Toddlers and Tiaras kid who likes to kick the plywood bench support, almost trips two waiters on her way back from the washroom and seems to have attended pole dancing lessons. Â Seems like perhaps 9 pm on a Saturday is a wee bit too late for taking your six-year old out for her dinner so I don't blame the kid for being antsy. Â
Note to the entire towns of Barrington and Schaumburg -- See, the reason why late family dining works in places like France or Italy is that everybody takes a nap on the weekends and isn't buzzing around from sports practice to kiddie manicures to language enrichment class to shopping with Helicopter Mom. Â You can't go-go-go all day long with a six year old and expect them to behave at a real restaurant. Â You may accuse me of being anti-child but really it's you, the parents, I can't stand. Â They are at your mercy. Â Please realize they are not adults. Â OK, thanks.
Great place to meet with friends and have some simple fresh food. Service could be slow at times but always friendly.
We had the crab tostadita and avocado spread, a great way to start, fresh not over seasoned. Crab was sweet and fresh like is supposed to be.
Dates and bacon were just good, i had better ones.
Jamon con tomate was descent.
Overall, food was fresh. Wines were fairly priced.
I'll come back
Being in the south loop, there aren't many places to eat that dont involve bar food. Â Having lived in Gold Coast and being so close to Iberico, I thought I would have to trek back there for my tapas fix. Â not so!
Tapas Valencia is a great restaurant with moderately priced tapas. Â They have an extensive menu to choose from and everytime I've gone (middle of the week, weekends, lunch) they have a good crowd. Â The weekends can get a little packed so make sure to make reservations. Â
Service is good and anytime I've had questions, the wait staff has been knowledgeable about answering my questions.
They have a nice variety of sangrias and my top must try dishes are the chicken croquettes, empanadas, bacon wrapped dates and the goat cheese with tomato sauce. Â delish!!
Loved this place!!!
The must try are the patatas bravas and skirt steak. The patatas have a little twist to it, they add manchego cheese and garlic. The skirt steak was full of flavor and very soft. I was not too thrilled with the pincho de pollo, I bit bland in my opinion.
Very happy to have tried this place. Can't wait to go back and try other items.
This restaurant is located on the ground floor inside one of the hi-rises on State Street. Â The restaurant itself is very (too?) spacious, with some walls covered with shiny mosaics, and other bits left as open concrete pillars and unfinished wood board. Â This gave the whole place a sort of 'trendy' vibe, but at the same time I'm not entirely sure what effect they were going for.
Between the two of us we ended up ordering four dishes, which along with the complementary olives and bread ended up being enough food. Â We got:
Crepe of goat's cheese, apples, pine nuts and spinach -- Not much spinach in here, it's a small, rolled up crepe with apple and cheese bits. Â Would not order again
Grilled shrimp with garlic lemon -- Five shrimp, really well flame grilled. There is a picture of this one in the gallery for this restaurant (a row of shrimp on a plate with a piece of lemon). Â I highly recommend this!
Mozzarella, tomato and salsa -- Three pieces of mozzarella with a tomato and a bit of salsa on top. Â The salsa was pretty nice, but I feel that this dish was pretty overpriced for what you got.
So far, that doesn't sound like enough food for two people, the thing that really saved this meal was:
Vegetable paella -- A one-person portion ($9.95) consists of a large bowl (think small dinner-plate sized) full of paella, covered with zucchini, artichoke, mushroom and peas. Â Really good! One caution, though, the paella is freshly cooked so takes about 45 minutes to arrive, expect it to be the last thing to appear. Â Somehow this costs only a dollar or two more than the three pieces of mozzarella cheese!
That's it for the food. Â Not bad, not overwhelmingly good. Â If the paella hadn't been such good value I'd definitely have been disappointed with what we got.
Drinks: Â Not much of a beer menu, which I guess can be expected from a tapas restaurant. Â Huge wine list. Â Glasses of wine are very expensive ($8+ per glass), which seems to be a pretty common thing in the US, but go on a Wednesday and the bottles are half price. Â Sadly we didn't want to bust open a whole bottle so ended up spending too much money on two glasses of (quite good) wine.
My sister and I love coming here for sangria and tapas. It's so close to us so we just walk there when we feel like eating the garlic-packed potato salad (YUM!) and grilled calamari (double YUM!).
Besides the 2 dishes I mentioned above, we usually order a cheese and meat plate, mussels, skirt steak with blue cheese, and maybe a salad. Depends on our mood and how  hungry we are. Bread basket is always kept full, water is filled, and if you run out of the complimentary olives, just ask for more. (I love those olives.....)
For dessert I always ask for the flan of the day and if it's coconut, I get that. Mmm...coconut.....
Ahem. If that's not available then I get something chocolatey, like the vanilla custard with chocolate or the bittersweet chocolate terrine with raspberries.
I like having a tasty tapas place within walking distance to us so we don't have to trek all the way to the north side and fight for a parking space.
This place is a strong decent. My husband loves it and recommends it frequently when we have no idea where to eat. We both love the Sangria here. It is some of the best Sangria I've ever had and it will get you tipsy. The food is tasty and they have something for everyone. The ambiance is really neat here. I love that it's dark and somewhat mod.
The only caution is that your bill racks up really fast here. It's not hard to go over the $200 mark for 3 people if alcohol is involved. Come here on payday or after all your bills are paid for the month, get tipsy on Sangria, and try a variety of nice tapas.
Solid choice for dining if you are in the south loop area (i.e. @ a Convention at McCormick Place - can walk here)
Service was spot on  - maitre' d was very friendly.
They offer a $34/pp tapas tasting menu  has all their favs.
the wines are all spanish and very reasonably priced.
Start with the comp. bread and olives and choose a few hot or cold tapas. Â I enjoyed the goat cheese , Â pepper steak (spicy) and bacon wrapped dates..
The food here is amazing. We were full after ordering only four things, so we intend to come back here to try other tapas. Our server Jessica was also very nice, we hope to see her agin next time.
The short ribs, grilled squid, and seafood combo were very well executed. We also got the seafood paella (you can order a single serving, which is large enough for 2), it was good, but I could do without the green peas in it.
This place is pretty large, located at the ground floor of a large condo building. There's a bar area if you're just looking for a quick visit. It wasn't too packed when we came here on a Saturday night. Parking isn't terribly difficult, and they have valet service.
This place would've gotten four stars from me if the pitcher of sangria isn't that expensive ($27 for a small pitcher), and for some reason, there were also a couple of flies buzzing around our table.
I liked this place. Â The only problem is I thought it was a bit overpriced.
This is in a good location (easy parking, 3 blocks from the Roosevelt Red, Orange, and Green line stop). The space is cute, the staff is unbelievably friendly. Â (Our server was so sweet, and made some great recommendations, the bus boys were all very friendly, one even ran to open the doors for us).They were playing great music, and the food was good. Â So all in all it was a nice atmosphere.
There were 2 of us and we had:
Spanish omelet- good
Goat cheese- Â good
Scallops with couscous- amazing
Almond encrusted White fish- okay (I thought it was okay, my dinning partner loved it)
A dessert that I don't know what it was- okay
I also had pomegranate sangria and peach sangria, both of which were good. Â The peach was quite sweet.
Overall I was quite impressed.
I do think that all of the dishes were good for sharing with 2 people. Â We would not have gotten very much of each thing if there were more than 2 of us. Â Sharing as a large group seems like it would be quite difficult. Â (As would eating with someone with a large appetite).
$24.95 for unlimited buffet of yummy tapas. Sunday brunch.
With a complimentary glass of Cava, Mimosa-style if you wish.
I say - watch out French toasts, omelets and waffles - the game is ON.
It is SO on.....
The break-down:
- Â a smallish menu where you can actually order omelets if you WANT. But really you would be silly to do so....not to say totally idiotic.
- a crappy American station where you can fix your burgers if you WANT. See above comment X 10.
- a carving station
- tons of tapas, piping hot but not over-cooked, dried up and rubbery. Think high quality and name your faves:
paella? check
bacon wrapped dates? oh yeah....
mussels, seafood cocktail, smoked salmon, squid? you bet
grilled veggies, fresh fruits for the heath freaks? of course
PLUS stuffed mushrooms, beef tenderloin wraps, grilled eggplant stuffed with goat cheese, Spanish tortilla, grilled shrimps, pastas, patatas bravas (or not), soups AND a Bloody Mary bar with blue cheese olives.
Just to name a few.
I mean - the entire menu is there, waiting for you. Save room for dessert if you can.
I couldn't.
On the practical side:
parking on State is VERBOTEN on Bears game days but the side streets should make the trick.
The place is huge and empty. Great for groups.
You are welcome, Yelper friends.
To celebrate a friend's placing in the 98th percentile on the DAT, we hit up Tapas Valencia the other night. A mix of Cafe Babareeba and Cafe Iberico, I was really pleased to find that the best of both had been incorporated at this new South Loop spot.
The highlights of the meal? First, a pitcher of red sangria to split between the two of us - at about two glasses per person, this was a perfectly proportioned and prepared solution to our imbibing situation.
Second, we ordered two of the classics: Queso De Cabra and Patatas Bravas, both of which far exceeded expectations. Baked goat cheese is hard to mess up, but the potatoes had a subtly delicious kick to them and the perfect amount of manchego sprinkled on top. Um, I'd definitely hit that again.
Third, we also had a duck confit with mushrooms and apples, lobster bisque and a zarzuela, or stew of clams, shrimp and scallops. The duck was so incredibly tender and succulent it pretty much fell off the bone as soon as I touched my knife to it. My mouth is watering just thinking of it. The soup was relatively mediocre for lobster bisque (they salt with a heavy hand), but lobster bisque is always delicious. And the zarzuela was amazing; the sauce was so orgasmic, I wanted to sop up the excess with a piece of bread.
After all of that, you'd think we wouldn't have had room for dessert, but we ordered a Bizcocho Borracho (Spanish-style tiramisu) for kicks. Next time I'm trying the cheesecake...
In all fairness, the portions are smaller than Cafe Iberico's, and they charge per person in paella, so if you're going for sheer quantity in tapas, head two miles north. But if you're looking for clean bathrooms, sultry lighting, funky decor, and fantastically authentic seasonings in your tapas, Tapas Valencia is one to add to your little black book of go-to restaurants.
I love weddings. While there is plenty to not like about these supposed once-in-a-lifetime affairs, when the people, food, tunes and booze are done right, it's a party where I get to look fancy and toast to love. Dig.
I was introduced to Meson Sabika, Tapas V's big sister in Naperville, at my bestest friend's wedding last summer. My girl, like me, made food the top priority at her soiree and we were blown away by the goodness that exited the columned elegance of Sabeeks.
And so it was with pleasure that I corralled some of my favorites for tapas, vino and paella at this new restaurant in the South Loop. Lord have mercy, was it good. And the service was great too. I spoke with the manager, Jane, and was effusive with praise, her smile getting bigger and bigger just as the crowds began to swell to a tidal wave. We were a party of seven and waited to make reservations until mid-day Saturday. We like early dinners so not a problem, but call in advance! When we left, it was like a nightclub in the entry way. Lots of black and lots of pretty.
But the food, oh the food. . . we went medieval on that menu. Just tamed it. Cracked a whip on it's little plates. We had cured salmon with dill sour cream, a beautiful plate that was sprinkled with salty capers and fluffy bits of egg. The crostini's crisp and the cool cream were in perfect harmony.
Moving on to my personal favorite, datiles con tocino (dates wrapped in bacon, bitches), the sweetness of the date burst in your mouth, a bit of uncomfortable warmth and then the meaty, salty little body just relaxing on your tongue. We ordered two (or was it three?) of these gems.
There was also grilled squid with lemon olive oil, grilled chorizo and morilla sausage, baked goat cheese with garlic bread, crabmeat fritters with creamed leeks, stuffed squid with ink sauce, garlic potato salad and beef tenderloin wraps with bleu cheese.
We ended the meal with paella de mariscos, and while the seafood was ample and the presentation incorporated every single sunrise color, it lacked punch. More spice, please! Make us stand at attention for your heat, Mr. Paella sir! Hence the four stars, though I would really make it four and a half.
I am absolutely tickled that I have this wonderful, bright, effervescent eatery in my 'hood. Thank you for coming to the South Loop. We'll be back for seconds, thirds, fourths. . .
Take THAT Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba! Tapas Valencia has finally filled the niche so badly needed in Chicago: good (no, great!), well-portioned tapas served in a fun, funky atmosphere.
Truthfully, as I've expressed many a time...tapas does not do it for me. Small food, large prices, lackluster quality. Tapas Valencia however, does it right...and does it well. As a new kid on the South Loop block (open a month), they are kickin' it into high gear...
Parking: Valet for $5, or there is street parking to be found for those with a bit of patience. But hey, for $5...why not? Another bonus: complimentary coat check. Very cool, indeed...though I do not wish to be wearing a winter coat anymore, c'est la vie.
Ambience: Think tapas funky style, bright colors mixed with the lofty interior of a converted South Loop warehouse. High ceilings, large cement pillars and sleek floors, roomy tables, a large sweeping bar in the front, and enough intimacy to share a meal and be able to chit chat. The place is brand spankin' new...and it shows.
Service: Not a kink in site. Smooth, fabulous recommendations (not so easy with their HUGE menu, I'd think), quick and friendly.
Drinks: a few glasses of Cristalino cava....only $7 per glass, started things out on the right foot. Cold, crisp...it's what every girl date should begin with ;)
Now, the fun part...the FOOD!
Complimentary stuffed green olives and toast points with soft butter (mmmm, thankful for these, or the champagne would've hit me like a ton of bricks). Cream of broccoli soup (lovely, and for only $3.50 a steal).
Cold Tapas: Rock shrimp over crusty bread (cold tapas special, HUGE and tasty). Serrano ham and cheese over muffelatta (also HUGE, also hit the spot). Each of these plates came with 3 large portions...a great start.
Hot Tapas: Beef empanada (heft portion, perfectly flaky, gooey beef and cheese on the inside, mmmmm), Crepe Rellano (pine nuts in there! whoa! ooooey gooey sinful crepe). Crab fritters (little balls of crab with heaping side of garlic aioli...mmmm).
Dessert (was this my favorite? of course!): the creme brulee with bittersweet chocolate. My gal pal and I wolfed that sucker down in about 2 minutes, and were all the better for it. Wishing we had time for coffee, but dashing off to a show....we discussed the merits of hiding chocolate within creme brulee, and decided that might be the only way it should ever be prepared, ever.
Fabulous from start to finish, it is literally the only tapas place in Chicago I would recommend to friends/family, etc. Everything I had was nothing short of excellent, which I rarely can say at Cafe Ba-Ba-what's-their-name. Â
Perfect for a LARGE group or party, as their dining room is very large and roomy...or a little date night :) Just what the South Loop needed...
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