- Restaurants |
- Nightlife |
- Shopping |
- Coffee & Tea |
- All
La Bodega Restaurante & Tapas Bar
Categories: Restaurants Spanish Restaurants Tapas Bars Spanish, Tapas Bars [Edit]
1277 Howe StVancouver, BC V6Z 1R3
Neighbourhood: Downtown
(604) 684-8814
- Hours:
Mon-Fri 4:30 pm - 12 am
Sat 5 pm - 12 am
Sun 5 pm - 11 pm
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Has TV:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
47 reviews for La Bodega Restaurante & Tapas Bar
Review Highlights
"Top notch, five star, grand champion sangria."
(in 30 reviews)
"Their garlic prawns are amazing."
(in 7 reviews)
"chorizo casero (cured spicy pork sausage), OMFG this was..."
(in 4 reviews)
Loading...
47 reviews in English
-
Review from Brittany W.
North Vancouver, BC
12/9/2011 5 photos
Traditionally set in a quaint Mediterranean ambience, La Bodega offers an authentic Spanish tapas experience - perfect for breaking bread and sharing Sangria with family and friends. It's a one-of-a-kind 'mom and pop' style spot nestled on Howe and Drake in the downtown core. Super reasonable with well-portioned tapas!
Last night, four of us dined to a delicious array of tapas, some were fantastic, others alright. We ordered 1.5 pitchers of Sangria and 8 dishes (based on my recommendation) and it was WAY too much food! We took home 3 boxes. Average was $40/ person including tax + gratituty - super reasonable for everything we had, plus the experience. Starting with my favs:
- Champinones Salteados: fresh mushrooms sauteed in garlic oil - Highly Recommend!
- Conejo Riojana: rabbit in tomato + wine sauce - succulent flavours, melt off the bone delicious! Recommend!
- Chorizo Casero: delicious when complimented with bread
- Braised boneless beef short ribs with Patatas Bravas - tender + good texture, but more flavour would have been nice
- Montataditos de cerdo: Grilled pork loin with Patatas Bravas - flavourful, moderately dry
As for the Sangria, when I last visited 2 years back, I would have told you they made The Best Sangria in the City ... but this time 'round, it was just good - not highly notable like the last time. I agree with Mark H on this one. As for service, servers were kind, but very inattentive. 3.5 out of 5.
What`s more:
- Recommend 6 tapas for 4 people (not including soups/salads)
- Signatures: Patatas Bravas, Garlic Prawns and Sangria
- Free parking around the back
- It's a 40-year old family run businessListed in: Family Friendly Restaurants
-
Review from Meana k.
1/15/2012
* 2.5 stars *
I read all the previous reviews about poor service and mediochre food, and set my expectations low for my meetup event that took place here. We were nearly 40 people and seated at two long tables upstairs. We had one server for all of us who was also taking care of other tables. I found it surprising there wasn't someone to assist her with things like filling up water glasses and bussing empty plates away. She was, however, pleasant and provided good service. We were a super friendly group, so maybe that helped, but unlike other reviewers, I can't say the service here was anything short of good. Especially considering we were such a large group.
I have been to so many Spanish tapas restaurants, and always appreciate the ones that offer some unique choices on their menus or do something a little special/different with the typical options. I was hoping for the same from La Bodega. After all, they had some interesting items on their menu including lengua (beef tongue), tripe, and anticucho (heart). I'll be trying some of these items in the future. They were unfortunately out of the lengua when I dined here, and since we were sharing dishes, we opted for some more "normal" foods that appealed to many palates.
We shared the following dishes:
Calamari -- Okay, but on the dry side. Interesting dipping sauce, just needed a little more zest/flavor. I have had so much better calamari at most places.
Patatas Bravas -- Really disappointing. So much better at most every other tapas place I've been to. The "zesty" sauce they supposedly are covered with drown out the potatoes which end up having a mushy texture -- completely unlike any patatas bravas I've ever had.
Gambas Al Ajillo -- Shrimp in garlic oil. Always one of my favorites. Here they were pretty good, but the dish could have used just a bit more flavoring in the garlic oil. It barely tasted of garlic, and seemed to need some salt and spice. Also, I would have loved for it to come with some bread to soak up the oil afterwards.
Pimiento Relleno -- Stuffed Peppers with rice, pork, and spices. I think they left out the spices. I was so looking forward to this, but it turned into a soft, stew-like mess once you cut into it. The rice and pork were just so saturated and bland. :(
Tapa de Paella -- Miniature paella plate with rice and chicken, mussels, clams, shrimp, sausage. This was good.
Champinones Salteados -- Mushrooms in garlic oil. These were great. We had a couple of these plates.
We also shared a pitcher of sangria. Quite tasty, but really weak on the alcohol as many other reviewers have noted. We didn't bother with a second pitcher and switched to wine/beer instead.
I would like to come back here and try the place again, but am in no rush. The thing about it is... if I order some of the more unique and authentic dishes, can I expect them to be great when the typical and standard fare was nothing special?
At about $40/person, I'd say it's a pretty good deal considering we had desserts and alcohol as well. And since service was good, I would give them a second chance knowing that there's plenty else on the menu I'd like to try. I will try to come on a weeknight -- perhaps when the place isn't so packed, the kitchen can produce better tasting food. -
Review from Lyn A.
9/29/2011
On a vacation trip to beautiful Vancouver BC, my husband and I, along with a cousin of our's had the opportunity to eat at this establishment per a recommendation from my cousin's friend. Kudo's to that friend! It was one of the "many" wonderful memories of great eats that this beautiful (modern) city offers. As previous reviewers have mentioned, do make sure you allow yourself time should you order the paella because it is worth the wait!! The Sangria was really good. It's a sneaky one, so first gulp, initial thought: oh, this is weak, then it starts to slowly creep up on you...beware. :)
Ceviche - good, ALBONDIGAS - real good!, GAMBAS AL AJILLO - awesome, PINCHO MORUNO - tasty!, lastly, the PAELLA DE LA CASA
which was just wonderful! The socarrat was well done, rice al-dente, the dish was just flavorful, and the assortment of seafood that created a visual masterpiece, I hated to ruin it by digging in...(but I got over it - LOL). Glad we went, and if the opportunity presents itself should we find ourselves back in this beautiful city....this eats is the first stop! -
Review from Jess L.
9/17/2011
I've been here a couple of times with friends. If you're planning to get the paella, make sure you have a bit of time to kill, it usually takes at least 20 minutes for the dish and you can also order a half size of it too. I was a bigger fan of the tapas then the paella though. Most of the tapas I've tried so far here have been pretty good: ceviche (cold dish of seafood with lemon and spices), chorizo casero (spicy pork sausage), and patatas bravas (potatoes in a spicy tomato sauce). Also, I think they use a lot of garlic/onion in their dishes so bring gum. Haha.
And of course, they have pitchers of sangria :) -
Review from Mark D.
6/20/2011
This review is a walk down memory lane. I thought of the many fine meals I've enjoyed there and realized I had not reviewed La Bodega,
I love La Bodega.
It was the regular spot for frequent dinners I had with one of my best friends in Vancouver. Over time, she and I pretty much worked out our exact order of the yummy tapas we preferred. Oh, and of course, there was always plenty of sangria to wash them down with.
This is what we ordered.
CALAMARES
deep fried squid, garlic dip
POLLO FRITO
fried chicken, garlic and sherry
MEJILLONES FRESCOS
fresh mussels in a wine peppery sauce
PATATAS BRAVAS
our famous potatoes, zesty dressing
CHAMPIÑONES SALTEADOS
fresh mushrooms sautéed in garlic oil
GAMBAS AL AJILLO
prawns in sizzling garlic oil
ALBONDIGAS
Spanish meatballs
My favorites are the prawns, potatoes, calamari and chicken.
The potatoes have a creamy dressing and are literally some of the best potatoes I've ever eaten.
The calamari was always perfectly cooked. The garlic dip was the perfect accompaniment.
The fried chicken (drumsticks) could have easily come from a Southern grandma's kitchen. I could easily make a meal out of nothing but the fried chicken and potatoes.
Ambiance - It is very old school. It is very much like being in someone's home. Very comfortable and very casual. It is certainly Spanish peasant inspired right down to the red and white checkered table clothes. For some reason, I always preferred the table near the back.
Service - The service is always exceedingly friendly. There is something authentic about the people that work there. The food always flowed out at a brisk pace.
I will always have very fond memories of the meals I shared with my friend here. I hope to do it again someday.
It is a warm environment with great food. -
Review from Aaron N.
Downtown, Vancouver, BC
8/22/2011
Honestly, very disappointing. I had read the reviews on yelp and urban spoon and was looking forward to eating here. Maybe we ordered the wrong things, but the quality just wasn't there.
We got prawns in garlic oil, red snapper, paella, clams in white wine sauce, and spanish meatballs.
Everything was underwhelming. Prawns were Costco prawns in garlic oil. Meatballs tasted like what you might get at Old Spaghetti factory. Snapper was bland. Clams were bland. Paella was ok but salty.
Overall, it was overpriced for the quality of the food.
Based on this one visit, I would not return. I just feel like they aren't using fresh ingredients and taking the care to season properly.
Service and the speed of the kitchen was good. Too bad the meal was meh. -
Review from Evilyn T.
2/8/2011 1 Check-in Here
We have our staff party here every year, and this year was no exception. We reserve a few tables in the back room and get rowdy drinking sangria. And the sangria here is amazing! It goes down so smoothly that after a few pitchers you have forgotten there's even booze in it! Lucky for me they kept refilling my bread basket so I was still able to eat and drink until I was about to explode.
Our staff party goes down kinda like this: the sangria is bottomless, and the tapas come out as per whatever the boss picks. There's not a whole lot of veggie stuff on the menu, and the few items they have are pretty meh. For example, the Tomate Y Cebolla is just a plate of tomatos, red onions and dressing. It's like a salad without the lettuce. It looks like something I would make if I was broke when I got home from the bar and only had a few things in the fridge. That being said, they have other things on the menu that can convert vegetarians, I know this, because I am one! Their garlic prawns are amazing! After you eat the juicy prawns, you are left with this empty dish of garlic and oil, and the only thing stopping you from licking it up is that basket of bread parked next to you that is crying to be drowned in that oil. It's true, I cheated!
After a late night at La Bodega, I dragged my ass home and woke up this morning, hangover free, but still craving more of their sangria....mmmm sangria.... -
Review from Anna L.
9/18/2011
I went to this restaurant with my lovely lab mates during our stay at the Fairmont for a scientific convention. It was a lovely evening walk and not too far from central downtown Vancouver. Favorites among our group of 8 were the Garlic Shrimp, Patatas Bravas, Seafood Paella, and Sangria. Unfortunately, because of the prices and small portions of the dishes, our bill came out to be ~$250CAD, a little more than what we're used to in California. Had I not known that food would be reimbursed for us during our stay in Canada, I probably would not have come. But the atmosphere was wonderful and we all had a lovely time as we refilled our pitcher of sangria at least two times (I started losing count by then as I am a very light drinker). Come and eat if you want good food, but make sure you have deep pockets (especially if you come from south of the border, where the USD is no longer strong).
TL;DR
Food was GOOD, but portions were SMALL and slightly more PRICEY than we wanted. -
Review from Bev H.
Vancouver, BC
3/13/2011
I went here a while back, and had not been here in over 20 years! It hasn't changed much at all- but that's a good thing in this case.
The decor is a little dated: small tables, checkered tablecloths, sort of 70's Spanish villa style, but comfy nonetheless. The menu is incredible~ something for every taste and appetite.The gaspacho chilled soup was excellent, as was the grilled calamari and chicken. We opted for the potatoes bravas and rice dishes, which we loved! Finished the meal with espresso coffee, and left very happy. You can order a little, or alot of tapas and the wine/drinks list was decent, though we didn't drink that night. Will be back, for wine and dessert next time~ and it was quite busy for a thursday night on the night we visited -
Review from Stephanie M.
Vancouver, BC
11/7/2010 1 Check-in Here
A very interesting tapas place in the heart of downtown. The outside is deceptive; it looks small but there is quite a bit of space inside. The decorations are rustic and made me think of an Italian or Spanish café (which of course was the idea). We sampled the sangria, which was OK but nothing special (my friend made much better sangria a few weeks ago), and some tapas: the meatballs, sautéed prawns, stuffed red pepper, sautéed garlic mushrooms and baby artichokes.
My favourite dish was the stuffed pepper; it was roasted with a mixture of rice, pork, onions, garlic and other veggies inside and came with potatoes on the side. I also enjoyed the prawns and artichokes. My least favourite dish was the meatballs but that's because I'm not a beef fan. Overall the experience was OK but not overly memorable. I would hope for better sangria at a tapas bar and it was fairly quiet on a Friday night. Good place to share some tapas and have a conversation but there are probably other similar alternatives downtown. -
Review from Lady G.
Okanagan Lake, BC
7/12/2011
I have been a customer here for about 25 years so it's with a heavy heart that I have to admit that my meal was just 'meh.'
-
Review from Anita T.
Toronto, ON
8/28/2010
Pleasantly Surprised...
If I had to choose 2 words to sum up my experience here - those would be it!
I meet up with a bunch of friends for dinner, and I walked in without much expectations... after all, I had checked out the menu online, and it didn't look like there was much to write home about...
And although I probably still wouldn't write home about it... I have to admit the following:
- Amazing sangria!
- Delicious Potatoes
- Fabulous white bean salad
I'd definitely come back for tapas... but maybe not for dinner!
On a side note: we had made reservations, and they placed our table in the middle of someone's wedding reception! Talk about awkward! We just wanted to finish eating and get out of there... we felt like wedding crashers! -
Review from WonJu C.
11/30/2010
I can't forget the taste of the PIMIENTO RELLENO from their tapas calientes. I'm now in the midst of attempting my 2nd try to replicate the taste as I write this, but it's hard when the only recipes seem to be about the puerto rican version..UGH! Back to the experience: the plate was very rich with the taste of spices and i love the texture of rice and pork with the rich soup the pepper came immersed with. Towards the end of the meal I found the dish to become a bit salty (but I'm not sure if this was from trying my friends' paellas). Nonetheless. I love love LOVE this particular dish.
My other friend had the paella which was good at first bite. Very salty the next. This wasn't the first paella I had that tasted this salty but apparently my friend had a better paella she could compare it to (so sad i've yet to find one..)
Had the spanish custard for dessert. Took me back to childhood. I particularly love the bitterness that goes so well with the sweet caramel syrup.
For those that are particular about service. It was okay and prompt. Not the best I've had but still friendly and no complaints.
Overall, I wanted to give it a 3.5 but I loved my dish so much that I give it a 4.
I'd like to go back for that stuffed pepper again.. unless I find one in the states. -
Review from Tony R.
3/24/2010
Went to La Bodega a few years ago and have tried to go back a couple times when I've been in Vancouver but this was the first time it was open.
We were seated in the back, which was nearly empty, I think I'd have preferred the more cozy front of house near the bar, but it turned out ok as conversation wasn't exactly restaurant friendly, hehe.
The food was all great, I thought the rabbit wasn't what it could be, but the fried chicken and spare ribs were both well made. I would skip the papas fritas next time since many of the meat dishes are served with potatoes. We also had the sangria, which was refreshing, but didn't feel like there was any alcohol at all. We got a couple pitchers between three of us before we started to feel a buzz.
The primary reason I have to dock two stars despite the yummy food, is the hidden cost of the Sangria. Every other menu item has a price, but the Sangria didn't. We couldn't imagine it would be bad, so we got a couple pitches and drank freely. When we got the bill though, it came out to $20 per pitcher. Waaay more than it was worth.
Overall, the food was good, but stay away from their waaay overpriced drinks. -
Review from Lisa Marie M.
Vancouver, BC
9/2/2010
This is the 3rd time i have been here
this time me and my bf split
-beef skewers
- potatoes in zesty dressing (could of been crispier and there did not appear to be any sauce with them)
- bread and butter
-prawns in garlic oil (not alot of flavor and the oil didn't sizzle)
-artichoke (yuck not my thing at all)
- one pitcher of sangria (not too flavorful and not alot of alcohol for 20$)
-chorizo casero (cured spicy pork sausage), OMFG this was amazing !!
Server was a bit rude to my bf but overall it was good -
Review from Crystal H.
Vancouver, BC
2/9/2009
I first discovered La Bodega 10 years ago - it was great then and its great now. It's the first time I experienced a proper Sangria (served by the pitcher) and I've been lucky to introduce it to many of my friends who all love it the same way I do. I've celebrated my own birthday there twice, enjoyed a few Christmas parties and started many nights out on the town here.
The menu is tapas style, with so much goodness on it, its hard to pick my favorites. Garlic prawns (make sure you save some bread for dipping in the garlic oil) and arros blanco (rice with black olives) are definite staples every time we go.
The service is always friendly. You can make reservations upstairs, but if you ask me the best atmosphere though is in the back of the main floor. I always feel like I'm tucked away in the south of Spain back there. -
Review from Caroline B.
7/20/2011
We love this place! We come here every-time were in Vancouver. The clams and quail are the best! Casual family dining and great food and service ;)
-
Review from Dan J.
Vancouver, BC
11/27/2010
I always thought a Bodega was a Latin-American corner store. According to Wikipedia, it's a Danish bar, a French wind instrument and a band from Glasgow. And why is this place sometimes known as Chateau Madrid? Anyhow... I like this place.
Have tried most of the menu at some point. I really enjoy the Patatas Bravas, Gespaccio, Bean Salad, Ensaladilla Bodega, Albondigas. The Ceviche is excellent. Nice Sangria too. I found the squid in ink disappointing and I've had better Pollo Frito. Their menu is quite antithetic for some reason. Some dishes are very good and some are pretty disappointing. I never feel ambivalent toward the dishes. Ultimately the good far outweighs the bad.
The place does need a makeover though. I think a Spanish Tapas bar should be more moody and intimate. The decor is dated and from a distance could pass for a pizza parlor on Commercial Drive. -
Review from Tamara L.
3/3/2009
A great restaurant, tucked away in a bitty corner of Vancouver.
Authentic Spanish tapas, good music, awesome atmosphere and very yummy house-made sangria. They get busy during dinner hours on friday and saturday nights, so you're best to make a reservation or go early. They reserve the entire upper floor for large parties, so this is a wonderful place for celebrations. The lower floor is for small groups and duos. They also have a great bar area for those who just wanted to come for a drink and bullshit with the bartender in spanish.
Love the atmosphere here.. Red and white checkered table cloths. Heavy wooden chairs and tables. Hanging plants and brick walls.. It's just wonderful. Feels like you're really in spain! Be aware that this is a TAPAS restaurant. AKA- tiny plates of food meant for *sharing* with everyone at the table.
All the food is hot and yummy... although I've taken one star off for the lack of well.. healtier options.. and also more time than not I get less-than-friendly service. I've been at least 10 times, and 7/10 of those visits I had a fairly unfriendly and unhappy female server. However, our food was still brought out promptly. I suppose she isn't just amazing with people. Who knows!
Regardless, I'd still highly recommend this place to anyone looking for a GREAT, affordable restaurant in Vancouver. it's best when you go with 3+ people.. with the notion being that you order many small plates of food and share them all. A good starting point is that you should order 2 dishes per person at the table.
They also do a wonderful 'cake of the day' for dessert. If you are lucky, you'll go on a way when they are featuring their 'Spanish Cream Puff Cake' (or something?? Can't remember its name..) It was basically the most delicious, mind blowing cake that I have ever had. -
Review from Mercedes G.
Vancouver, BC
9/9/2008
A friend of mine, who just happens to be Spanish and therefore wise to these decisions, suggested we try the lovely La Bodega Restaurant and Tapa - Bar for a girls night out dinner and drinks, how could I refuse?
I made reservations just to be on the safe side, but I really wanted to snag a patio table, which is first come first serve and luckily enough, we did! It was a beautiful evening setting with only a few tables on the outside patio to contend with.
The first order of the day was a pitcher of sangria, a specialty and essential addition to the La Bodega experience. This being my first time to the restaurant, I encouraged my friend to order at abandon, I'll eat anything once...generally speaking of course.... Not to worry, we stuck to tapas frias and tapas calientes otherwise known as hot and cold appies and we were not disappointed. I confessed that the only thing I'm not crazy about were mussels, well my friend said the only mussels she could eat were at La Bodega, so that put my fears to rest. She wasn't kidding! They were refreshing and paired perfectly with the cooling sangria, as did the sizzling, garlic-y prawns and truly fantastic ceviche.
The never-ending sangria packed a punch and we were soon ready for dessert, both deciding on a flan al caramelo, a sweet, sticky Spanish custard. I was sure I wouldn't get through it all, but alas, I did and it was a fabulous addition to our evening.
The couple next to us must have shared our view that the sangria seemed to be contained in a bottomless pitcher, when they left and dropped off their full bottle for us, rosy cheeked and just as content with their evenings dinner as we were! -
Review from Reena M.
3/9/2010 1 Check-in Here
I was pretty impressed with La Bodega! I loved the quaint, old world atmosphere walking in. It was such a homey place. We ordered way too much food for 2 people (or maybe I have a small appetite):
-squid in ink sauce
-quail
-papas bravas
-white bean salad
-gazpacho
They have some adventurous items on their menu like beef trip. Everything was quite tasty. I definitely want to come back with several people and try more things off their menu. And also, I liked this place a lot that I want to introduce other people to it!
But the best part was that the prices were really reasonable! With two glasses of wine and all food, our bill came out to $50 with tip. And we had a lot of food left over. -
Review from Rachel W.
Vancouver, BC
5/8/2009
La Bodega definitely is on my list of 'Favourite Vancouver Restaurants'. Not only is this place great for their delicious and popular tapas calientes and tapas frias (which are hot and cold tapas) but also for the ambience. When I'm at La Bodega I don't even feel like I'm in Vancouver. What a great place to spend an evening with a group of friends on a rainy Vancouver night. With the red and white checkered tableclothes, brick walls, soft lighting and Spanish decor; it feels as if you're tucked away in a charming Spanish villa. I love it!
My favourite tapas include the patatas bravas (their famous potatoes with a creamy zesty tomato based sauce), chorizo casero (cured spicy pork sausage), and the scrumptious prawns in sizzling garlic oil (as mentioned by another reviewer, get extra bread to dip into the garlic sauce after...mmm!). Order yourself a pitcher of sangria to accompany the flavours and enjoy!!Listed in: Good for Groups
-
Review from Mark H.
8/21/2010
Good Sangria. That's what I was after. Unfortunately I can't say that La Bodega's recipe is anything special.
After getting stuffed from Chinese, we ventured to find the best Sangria in town. A quick search on Yelp pointed me here. Situated in an unlikely spot, the atmosphere was rustic with Spanish flare.
The Sangria's fruitiness quality was there, but definitely lacked in the booze factor. I basically drank 3/4 of the pitcher and got zero buzz.
We ordered the Flan al Caramelo for dessert which was pretty good, but nothing unique.
As I consider myself a 'fair' diner, their tapas looked appealing so I'll give the food a try next time and see if they can deliver. -
Review from Tom Y.
9/19/2009
Looking for a place a little bit away from the downtown crowd brought me here, it seems small when you first walk in but suddenly realize it is very deep. The bar at the front totally had that old country feel to it, we were seated immediately and let the sangaria ordering commence because it tasted very sweet, you almost can't taste the alcohol in it. The decor was totally Spanish rustic, bring a date or your g/f here, it would make you seem cool.
The prawns is a must order not only was it inexpensive but it was great, but don't forget to get some bread because you want to lap up the garlicy olive oil, the chevice was pretty good as well but it didn't taste very fresh to me, other folks thought it was fine. But the bread and the olive oil from the prawns is money forget the butter. -
Review from Megan S.
1/14/2009 1 photo
You should be the cool person to recommend this place to your friends. I love it when a friend introduces me to an amazing place. La Bodega is the most recent of many for me.
We met on a late Saturday afternoon to snack and drink. The tapas can easily provide a snack or meal. The garlic prawns are we had, and should not be missed. As other have mentioned, the sangria is a must-have.
The atmosphere is casual and fun. It's very laid back and pleasant. -
Review from Luisa S.
Vancouver, BC
9/16/2008
This Vancouver institution has wafted in and out of my life. With two friends being part owners (at least their fathers are) and two other friends having worked here on and off through university, La Bodega was (and still is) our go-to place for late-night catch-ups, celebratory dinners and pre-dinner cocktails.
The focus is Spanish tapas. My favourite has always been the garlic prawns and their house potatoes. Having ruled out meat and seafood years ago, the former is now, sadly, a long forgotten fairy-tale. That said, the sangria remains a favourite. Beyond the potatoes and a tomato salad, there really isn't much for vegetarians but there's always the liquid lunch option. -
Review from Damian J.
Surrey, BC
9/9/2010 1 Check-in Here
Great food, great sangria** and even better service! I take one star away for the deco.
We ordered many things off the menu all came quickly and were extremely tasty. We were a large group of approximately 10 and we had one person ordering for re table.
** Great Sangria may have effected the accuracy of this review. -
Review from Michael R.
4/16/2010
One word, bland. Our waitress acted bored and completely disinterested until it came time to bring the check and then she was quite friendly, imagine that.
We had the rabbit, steak skewers, sauteed mushrooms and everything was quite bland and flavorless. The manchego cheese was good but all they did was slice it. The one saving dish was the patatas bravas and they were quite good! Honestly, I won't be going back. -
Review from Rachael T.
Toronto, ON
8/22/2009
I really want to give this place more stars.... I was so excited reading everyone's reviews and since my friend was visiting from Toronto, I wanted to show her a good dinner.
Between four people, we shared the following
- beef skewers
- potatoes in zesty dressing
- bread and butter
- shrimp in garlic oil
- plate of cold appetizers
- tapas size paella,
- one pitcher of sangria
the potatoes with sauce was great... it was creamy and flavourful, the cold appetizer plate had an assortment of items to choose from - potato salad, seafood, meats etc...
I was a little bit disappointed in the shrimp.. the garlic oil wasn't sizzling and it really wasn't anything special. The beef skewers was nicely spiced, although a little try.... and lastly.. i was SOOO looking forward to the paella..... but it was so overly salty that it was actually disturbing and upsetting to the stomach. I wish I could say something better about it .. okay .. there was lots of seafood and meat topping.. but the rice was.... blah.
Sangria was delicious and service was extremely courteous. I would love to give this place another try... but we'll have to see... hot day and sangria maybe. -
Review from Maya M.
North Vancouver, BC
7/14/2010
If you are on a low-carb diet, you could still eat at La Bodega but honestly the thought of not using those endless loaves of bread they bring out to sop up the delicious sauces for each tapas is sacreligious!
Before I forget, La Bodega has the best sangria I have ever had. Yum! And reasonably priced too as is everything else on the menu.
Highly recommended: anything on the tapas menu. Seriously it is all amazing.
Service is fantastic as well.
I have been going here for close to ten years now and hope it stays open for the next ten! -
Review from MiChin L.
8/10/2009
I felt kinda mislead by the whole experience which is why I can't give La Bodega more stars.
When I booked this place for a dinner party of 15, I was told that we'd have the entire upstairs to ourselves. We show up and see that the upstairs is not even remotely private...it's just another level of the restaurant with tables set up for about 4 large parties. No biggie but why lie about it? Strike one.
We ordered up 6 pitchers of sangria. Everyone had at least 3 glasses and not one person got a buzz. Taste was good but I think they really skimped on the hard stuff and wine. Strike two.
Our server told us that the plates were small and would allow 2-3 people to "taste" the dish. So we ordered a bunch of stuff and it turned out to be a food frenzy of horrifying proportions. Plate after plate after plate came out in a rushed pace that made us feel like we had to eat really fast in order to keep up. We couldn't enjoy each dish on its own and everything started to taste and look the same. I'm pretty sure this isn't how food is served up in Spain. Strike three.
In fairness, our server helped us out by doing some damage control and not ordering everything we asked for, after we saw that the plates were not small at all. There was no way we would be able to get through everything and she knew it. However, she still insisted that we try 3 or 4 more "excellent" things which we hesitantly agreed to do. When they came out, there were 4 plates OF EACH of those certain things. And they weren't all that excellent. Insanity!
Word to the wise: Don't get the "world famous" potatoes if you order any of the meat dishes. They all come with them. Were we told this? Of course not. So in addition to the potatoes with all the meat dishes, we had like, 5 additional plates (not small) of potatotes, 3 of which were left untouched. Mucho suck.
The kicker: The paella finally came out and it was beautiful. Too bad most of us couldn't force down any more food and less than a third of it was eaten. I really wish we could have enjoyed this meal, which may have been accomplished if the stuff came out slower and we knew that the plates were actually big for tapas.
The only great thing about this meal was the bill. Despite it feeling like we'd just eaten every piece of seafood in Vancouver, it was not as much as we expected. Perhaps our server took pity on us because we all looked like we needed a bucket. I'm sure that none of us will be eating tapas for a very, very long time. -
Review from Thelma Lee G.
9/6/2009
This cute place is very authentic in style: menus, servers, decor, food. Stay on the main floor. We started out at the bar but there was someone who was a bit too aggressively friendly so we moved to a table (the fellow ended up buying us more sangria as an apology later on...he seemed pretty sweet, just overbearing). We ordered the sangria and agree with others that it is pretty much perfect. Just delicious....only thing is I forgot they put spirits in it. It's not just wine..hello!
The ensalada bodega is absolutely delicious. It is potato salad with tuna and shrimp and I think peas. Just wonderful. The arroz blanco was actually kind of boring...not a lot of flavor. We did like the mejillones picantes (mussels in a mildly spicy red sauce). The little drummettes of pollo frito were very good (I did break down and try one or two....drat; I guess I was assuming they don't torture chickens in factories up here the way they do in the US). The gambas al ajillo were very basic. The shrimp were small, kind of hard, and perhaps not very fresh. The sauce was good, but when is garlic oil not tasty?
I got the recipe for the sangria. They just hand it out if you ask them. -
Review from Kimberley a.
Vancouver, BC
8/3/2009
I love this place! Great service. The food was fantastic. The artichokes were amazing, the mushrooms delicious and the sangria was super.
Can't wait to go back. -
Review from Rebecca C.
Vancouver, BC
1/26/2011
My feelings are a bit mixed because although the food is alright and the sangria was delightful - I wasn't terribly impressed. Our server took forever to come to our table, although once we had her attention she was incredibly friendly and knowledgeable about the menu, the wait to get drinks and then give our order was an irritation. The food was mediocre for the most part - the potatoes were delicious and the daily soup (squash) was great but everything else was merely tolerable. I suppose that I genuinely wanted to like this place and the fact that I didn't care for it enough to revisit it is kind of a bummer.
-
Review from Joe L.
Vancouver, BC
5/11/2010 1 Check-in Here
We went there for Mother's Day dinner last week. I was my first time visiting the restaurant and I love it!
I had been looking for a tapas restaurant serving authentic and everyday-type Spanish tapas since visiting Argentina and Chile years ago. There are many high end fusion tapas restaurants in California and BC catering to North American palates but the down home ones are hard to find. I'm so glad that my brother introduced us to La Bodega.
We made a mistake of having a late dinner. We were hungry and we ordered up a storm: red snapper, rabbit, tripe, beef tongue, clams, paella, potatoes, pork loin, chicken liver and fried chicken among an extensive menu.
Our favourites are by far the red snapper, beef tongue, chicken liver and the paella. The snapper, particularly the sauce of the dish, was exceptional. We soaked up the last drop with bread. The tongue was tender. The chicken liver was rich in its creamy chipotle broth. The seafood paella was tasty even though it was not cooked in the little serving dish.
Prices are inexpensive and a return visit is imminent. -
Review from Nicole P.
7/21/2009
This was the first Vancouver restaurant I went to on my recent vacation there - what a great place to start! Though I'm no tapas expert, I found the food to be full of home cooked goodness. We shared the patatas bravas, the grilled pork loin, hot mushrooms, prawns and the cold tapas sampler plate. I especially liked the cold sampler - just a bite or two of about 10 different dishes - nice way to really try a little bit of everything.
But the best of all was the sangria. Top notch, five star, grand champion sangria. Fantastic.
Service was excellent. Our server checked on us frequently, but not too much. She offered great suggestions and was very welcoming.
All in all - a great meal that was priced right too. -
Review from Mina B.
5/9/2010
we went here last summer...
we tried most vegeterian tapas (actually we might have tried them all) awesome food. the mushrooms were my favourite.
the sangria was delicious.
the service was good.
the place was clean.
i would definitely come back! -
Review from Lynn H.
Vancouver, BC
11/1/2010
I've decided on a new naming scheme for restaurants, let's see if it catches on. The basic idea is that restaurants should be accurately named to indicate how delicious the food is and the overal quality of the experience. In order to create variety, the name should be in the language for the country that the food is derived from. Accordingly, I am officially starting a petition to re-name La Bodega "no también malo" (yes. I used BabelFish translator... so forgive my astonishingly bad spanish grammar). Roughly this translates to: "not too bad".
I feel this really sums up my experience at the restaurant. The place is semi dingy and in a down-beat part of downtown. I understand that trendy neighbourhoods are supposed to be a bit grotty but this does not have a soho charm, at night it's just a bit creepy. The restauraunt itself is strangely decorated and I don't think the "Spanish" posters of flamenco dancers are supposed to be ironic. I suppose I could be wrong.
The food was "no tambien malo", luke-warm, relatively colourless, and only approximating the flavours I was expecting from such a popular tapas joint. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't terrible... I just think I could have done the same at home with a spanish cookbook. I didn't have the sangria but that's because I am opposed to purchasing overpriced alcoholic beverages that I could easily mix together at home. I make a darn fine sangria and anyone who wishes to taste it can message me for one of the many recipes I use... mmmm... okay i'm back... I sampled pork tenderloin (sadly overcooked), mussles (cooked to mush), potatoes (pretty good), and rabbit (easter bunny was the highight of the meal). Each of the dishes was fine to split between 3 people (most came in servings of 3) and 4 dishes + bread between 3 people was a good ammount of food. This came out to about 18 dollars a person including tip.
The bottom line: our waitress was not the sharpest crayon in the box. She was confused when I asked to break the bill into tables of 4 (even though this was not very difficult as we were ordering in those configurations), she took an abnormal ammount of time dealing with the checks at the end (She took each one seperately and it took about 15 minutes per check), and she had to be constantly asked to bring water to one of the members of our party. Some people are just not meant to be waitors (I include myself in this group, I certainly couldn't do a better job) but it reflects poorly on the restaurant and leaves me with a 3 start review and a 3 word conclusion:
"no también malo" -
Review from Shekinah S.
1/9/2010
3.5 Stars
La Bodega has mostly positive reviews on Yelp so we gave it a try for a light dinner. Overall, I thought everything was good, but not great.
We walked in and it wasn't very busy, though patrons arrived in a steady flow throughout the course of our dinner. The decor is charming, you feel like you're in a rustic wine cellar. Good date spot; unless your date doesn't like animal heads on the walls. Service was good, but again, nothing exceptional. My BF and I shared three tapas: paella ($10.50), garlic prawns (6 for $6.95), and the famous papas bravas ($5.25). The paella was pretty good, though the portion seemed small for the price. I don't know how to properly judge paella but I wasn't blown away. The garlic prawns don't stand out in my mind in any way. The potatoes were simple yet tasty and served with a zesty sauce. I'm realizing that my lack of clear memories about La Bodega means it didn't make much of an impression on me. If I lived in Vancouver, I'd come back to try other dishes. But being a foreigner, I don't think I'd make a point of coming here again.
Things that added to the cost of the meal: a 10% liquor tax (what?!?) and the parking meter (I thought Seattle was bad but Vancouver really nickel and dimes ya, you have to pay until 10pm, on Sundays, and on holidays!?). -
Review from Inga K.
4/12/2009
Love La Bodega - and through clever and diabolical spying, I have secured their sangria recipe... alas... I have never made it because it is just so much nicer to drink it at La Bodega
