Tasting Room

We had been here before but I don't think we'll be going back.

Our first appy was marinated manchego and it wasn't much more than cheese cubes with oil and barely anything else. Well maybe a 1/4 walnut and a 1/4 of a slice of garlic.  When we asked the waiter ' isn't there supposed to be rosemary in this?" he said they couldn't over spice things as this wouldn't please ALL the patrons.  Actually I wish that was all he said because he went on and on and on about it!
We also ordered the potatoes bravos and really like them.                                           The chili calamari would have been very good if it was actually spicy.  The waiter had said earlier if we liked spicy he would bring us sarachi sauce with it.  Well he did not and he never came back.  The hostess walked by and we asked for him but she offered to help and went to get the sarachi. She returned saying they didn't carry it, would we like some hot pepper flakes.  While she went to get that, our waiter came by asking how the calamri was.  We said we were waiting on the sarachi.  He said "Oh yes, I saw the hostess getting that" and left.
Our grouper which we shared was delish and perfectly prepared.
Their wine list is quite nice; we had a great bottle of Brunello.
Toward the end of our evening an older couple seated in front of us struck up a conversation and we invited them to our table for coffee and dessert. We ordered a brownie & key lime pie.  I got my brownie (nothing out of the ordinary here) and my boyfriend got creme brulee.  When he said he ordered the key lime pie the waiter looked at him and ANNOUNCED that what he heard was creme brulee!  My boyfriend, not wanting to upset him anymore said that it was fine, he liked creme brulee and the waiter happily left.    
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  When we asked for the check the waiter returned with it stating "if anything is missing from the check it wasn't his fault" smiled and left. Well we went over the bill and nothing was missing.  After his statement we thought maybe he took off the cheese cubes or maybe the creme brulee we didn't order.
After receiving a $200+ bill (a little over half was wine) I have to say it was not worth it.  Only half the food was good, not great. If your wine is going to be great then the food should be too. Along with the SERVICE!! This waiter was a moron!
After reading all the reviews I believe they have a consistency problem with the food and the waiters!!

In town for one night and I was not sure what kind of food I was in the mood for.  Tapas seemed like a good choice since we could share a few dishes since I was in a picky mood that night.  

I just came into town from a visit in Asheville NC where I had tapas which were unbelievable so my expectations was a little high.  Hope the Tasting Room will be as good since all the reviews all seemed very good.

We arrived at the restaurant and saw their adorable courtyard area.  Even though they had great table reserved for us inside, I decided to sit outside and enjoy the fresh air and romantic ambiance.

Everything on the menu "sounded really good" and they offer plenty of variety.  We ended up ordering:

CHAMPIÑONES al JEREZ (sauteed mushrooms with garlic herbs and sherry)
CHORIZO al VINO (chorizo sausage with red wine and onions)
BABY OCTOPUS
MEJILLONES (mussels covered with french fries)

Remember I said it "sounded really good" but after eating I had mixed feelings about the place.  The food just did not taste great.  Nothing exciting.  I didn't even order dessert and everyone knows I try not to miss out on dessert.

It wasn't that it was sooo bad, it was just a big let down though.

The Tasting Room is a MUST!!!! We like tapas/wine bars in Miami where we are from and we didn't have big expectations of a small town spot.  But, the Tasting Room is our favorite anywhere so far. OMG!!!! Yummy, yummy, yummy!!! The wine list is extensive and although the menu isn't huge everything was DIVINE!!!! We had fiery shrimp, lamb meatballs, calamari, chicken livers, beet salad and black bean soup. Everything exploded with our wine. In addition to the food and wine, there was live music that wasn't overwhelming, room to dance, excellent service and ambiance.