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The Tapa Bar
Category: Restaurants Tapas Bars Tapas Bars [Edit]
620 Trounce AlleyVictoria, BC V8W 1K3
(250) 383-0013
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Romantic, Trendy, Casual, Intimate
- Has TV:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
39 reviews for The Tapa Bar
Review Highlights
"...in coconut milk), Chile Con Queso fondue (sounds unclassy..."
(in 4 reviews)
"...have mentioned, the almond stuffed dates wrapped in bacon..."
(in 3 reviews)
"marinated artichokes were large and tasty."
(in 3 reviews)
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39 reviews in English
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Review from Jeffrey T.
12/19/2011
-great location in the middle of an alley in downtown victoria
- excellent pre-dinner martini's i personally had a pomegranite martini, which i am usually not a fan of the sweet and fruity drinks, but this was fantastic
-their house wine was very reasonably priced and very good
would def visit again -
Review from Malloreigh M.
Vancouver, BC
11/14/2011 1 Check-in Here
stopped here for a celebratory anniversary dinner after reading genevieve l's comment that it's vegan friendly. when we arrived at about 7:30, we were advised there was a wait for a table. we went to a pub nearby for a drink and they called us about ten minutes later - so nice to not have to hang around at the door of the restaurant.
our server was an expert and knew the menu really well. she told us what could and couldn't be made vegan, and what was worth ordering without the dairy. we ended up getting the olives, grilled kale, and marinated artichokes as our first course and then the eggplant and papas bravas as our second course.
the olives were good - came with bread - flavourful. marinated artichokes were large and tasty. the kale was off the hook delicious. we ordered another. the eggplant was a bit dry and undercooked, mostly flavourless. the papas bravas were alright but maybe a bit too much potato. overall, the food was a 3.5 - especially after i found out that the grilled kale recipe is a vij's classic! still, it was damn delicious.
we happened to visit on "wine wednesday". this is a brilliant idea, kids - $10 off bottles. instead of the 1/2 litre we planned on buying, the tapa bar made another bit of cash off of us as we polished off an entire bottle of kettle valley pinot noir. (a great wine, in case you were wondering.) (oh, and by the way, you CAN buy a bottle and bring it home. they'll re-cork it for you. but why not get wasted?)
i'm giving this place a 4 because of the great service and great time we had.
downpoints to the experience: an uncomfortably hovering busser, the lacklustre eggplant and potatoes, and the fact that at 10:00 we were the only people left in the restaurant as the staff did their closing cleaning duties and we finished our wine. but hey, that's victoria for you.Listed in: Victoria
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Review from Hayley H.
Victoria, BC
2/2/2012
As the rating says, meh, I've experienced better. I really don't understand why this place is busy, all of the time, maybe Victorians don't have any creativity when going out. Anyway, I went there during the day and the service was slow and when the food was served, it was cold, with no taste, almost as if it had been neglected for a while. I found it over priced for what tiny portion sizes it was and I have had better in this city for tapas.
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Review from Allen C.
Victoria, BC
1/31/2012
Good food just don't go during the day, slow and food quality is not as good.
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Review from R H.
11/26/2011
A fun place with just average food. No big tastes within the seven dishes we tried. The beef was fatty and full of gristle. The con quest fondue tasted like velveeta, no extra flavor here. On a positive side the service was great and this is a fun place.
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Review from Marty M.
This place is awesome: great food, good atmosphere and great service.
We ordered the bacon stuffed dates, portabello mushrooms, mahi mahi ceviche and the margherita pizza . It was just the right amount of food for 2, maybe 3 people.
This place is fun and loud, great for a date night as it would be very hard to have any awkward silence with all the noise going on.
If you do go, make reservations because it does get crowded after 8 pm. -
Review from Jessica L.
7/5/2011
I wish this place was better than it was. It has a really nice ambiance inside, albeit a little loud, but it was completely full and they had music playing. The food was just OK, and some of this dishes were not really what I would consider Tapas, more like full on meals. Also, they were out of the 2 dishes we were most excited about - the mussels and the sardines. That was a bummer.
The food started out really great and promising with the bacon wrapped dates and marinated olives. 2 things that are usually staples on any tapas menu and both really good here.
The second couple of dishes faltered a little bit. We got the chile con queso fondue and the calimari. Both were pretty good, but nothing special or that I haven't had before.
The third dishes were just not good. We got the portobello mushrooms and the cubanette. The mushrooms themselves were really tasty and juicy, but they were drenched in the way too sweet mango vinaigrette and sat on a bed of wilted iceberg lettuce. The cubanette overall was pretty tasty - the meat was flavorful and the beans and avocado were yummy, but the portion was huge and really difficult to eat, let alone share with others. This would have been a good entree for one person at a cuban or spanish restaurant, not a tapas place. It was all just a little sloppy.
The service was just OK too. It was super busy and the waitress showed up less and less throughout the night and we had to flag down a different server to clear the plates and get the bill after 15 minutes of just sitting there. -
Review from Michael B.
7/25/2011
FANTASTIC.. This is the best meal I've had here in victoria! We had the sangria, which was yummy. We had the mussels, ceviche, margarita pizza, the seafood pasta and the chicken cuba sandwhich.
It was ALL fantastic, especially those mussels..
Family of 4, and didnt feel uncomfortable bringing kids here!
Kinda loud -
Review from E. P.
4/20/2011
Delicious!
My husband and I were here for dinner this past weekend and were very happy with the food, service and atmosphere.
We ordered a salad, cheese dip, potatoes, pinto beans/rice and an open-faced sandwich with portobello mushroom. All were great and, between the two of us, turned out to be just the right amount of food.
Very cute place down a bricked alley. I'd definitely go again! -
Review from mike c.
9/12/2011
Mediocre at best.
Sort of spanish tapas.
This place is definitely more about the atmosphere than the food.
Ordered 6 different dishes and none of them were good and some were downright bad. Stale chips with the queso fundido. Undercooked eggplant that was barely edible.
If it was not for all of the tourist traffic, this place would have gone out of business long ago. They need to focus on food quality if they want repeat customers.
Mike C -
Review from Gordon P.
Updated - 9/13/2011 1 photo
Was just the 9/10/11 and this place was hop'n. TB is one loud, fun, great eats place. Never go to Victoria without stopping by.
1 Previous Review:
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9/7/2010
This place was wonderful! Great food and great fun, a must try.
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Review from Stephan W.
Langley, BC
6/26/2011
Love love love. Patio, gin, fresh focacia bread with lots of delectable sauces to dip it in. Mojitos, people watching, great servers. Try the pimms cocktail, it won't disappoint. Ditto for the gambas con coco and ceviche. This is a must visit while in Victoria and my standing "favorite Vic resto" since the 90's. Excels in patio weather.
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Review from Dayna S.
Vancouver, BC
8/9/2010
I chose this place because of the mix of dietary restrictions in my group. There were a couple of satisfactory options on the list for someone who is vegan and cannot eat wheat.
The rest of the group, who were from out of town, enjoyed the alleyway location and relaxed atmosphere as well as their fish-based dinner options. -
Review from Tom L.
6/28/2010
This was another restaurant that we tried during our weekend in Victoria. Great little foodie bar in an alley of the main street. And when I say 'alley' think nice quaint, a little hippy, and clean. So it's definitely not urine smelling, dirty, and full of prostitutes. :) Anyways we got there at the 6:30PM, which is the about right time. Cause about an hour later this started to overflow with people. I'm pretty sure the wait would have been an hour of more had we got there later.
So obviously with a tapa bar the dishes were small in portion (I may sound like I'm an old hand at this but I only learned about tapas in the last couple of months). The Tapa Bar had a fairly large selection of food to choose from. My girlfriend and I ordered the bacon wrapped dates stuffed with almonds with blue cheese on the side, the vegetarian cubanette, halibut tostada, calamari fritos, and cold marinated artichokes.
The dates, stuffed with almonds, were very good. I really really enjoyed this dish. The almond was an ingredient I haven't tried with this dish before, so I was curious how this would make it better. But unfortunately it really didn't add to an already great dish. The stuffed dates already have a lot of contrasting flavors that basically overwhem the mild tast of the almond. But it was good non-the-less.
The artichokes didn't stand out as being very distinctive, but they were good.
The vegatarian cubanette consisted of 2 pieces of toasted bread. On one piece there was a tomato onion salsa. On the other piece was a grilled portabello mushroom. It was a very light dish that wet the appetite.
The halbut tostada was a sauteed halibut with a light sprinkling of salt and seasoning. Mixed in with the halibut were some chunks of pineapple. The halibut was very good. I really appreciated the light seasoning, because it allowed the flavor of the halbut to stand on it's own, without trying to mask it. The fish was tender and didn't have that old fishy smell. The little bits of pineapple only enchanced the dish. I really liked the pineapple chunks because it wasn't super sweet.
The last dish we had were the calamari. It was a lightly coated with breading, salt, and pepper. The calamari was tender, however I noticed that overall it was alittle salty. I can't really say it happens all the time with this dish, since I've only had it once at this restaurant. But it wasn't salty to the point where I couldn't eat it.
I had a good experience at this restaurant. I definitely been to better tapas bars. I was really disappointed that The Tapa Bar didn't have jamón serrano, which essential for a tapa bar. I would honestly give it 3 1/2 stars, but that isn't an option in Yelp. Anyways if you are in town give it a try. -
Review from Kim C.
8/23/2010
We were there Friday night after 8 pm. The restaurant was completely packed (reservation available and recommended). We found a couple of spots at the bar and decided to have dinner there instead. It's actually more fun/ dynamic to be at the bar instead of at a table. We just arrived from Seattle a few hours prior straight after work so we were both a bit under-dressed for the scene.
Food was terrific throughout - we had Bistek al Ajillo, Chorizo Fondue, and rice and beans (just because I'm a big sucker for rice and beans). Chorizo Fondue was a delicious appetizer. The wine/ garlic sauce on the steak was fantastic, would certainly not recommend ordering the plain NY steak. It even came with bread so you could soak up the delicious sauce. The food was portioned perfectly for 2.
With a margarita, beer, and ceasar, including tax and tips our bill was about $60. Would definitely recommend for a visit! -
Review from Tina H.
7/23/2010
Went here because the finer places stopped taking new customers after 8 or 9. This place was open later. The patio is very cute with nice little lights. The inside looked pretty nice too. This isn't a fancy spot by any means, but if you're just going for affordable straight up food, then this isn't a bad choice.
The house salad (ensalada de la casa) was pretty good, as was the caesar salad. Nothing fancy, just straight up lettuce, dressing and other salad stuff.
Seems like a spot that locals go to as I saw people talking like old friends with the staff. Trounce Alley, a pedestrian walkway/alleyway, is reminiscent of Europe and New York in one. They play Spanish/Latin music.
The pizza was pretty bad. The smoked chicken on it tasted like bacon and the texture seemed a bit overly processed. Salt was the dominant 'spice,' oozing out of the cheese and chicken. The crust wasn't freshly made either and is a pre-packaged thin crust. By far one of the worst pizzas I've had. The duck leg on the other hand was pretty good, though it was dried out.
No cooked-to-perfection meats, no perfect amount of salt, no fancy salads or garnishes... Even the sangria was pretty awful--one of the worst I've had as well, even tough it was a tapas bar called Tapa Bar!
Overall, this place serves up a mediocre flavour (and slowly). The atmosphere is lovely and the price is right for the type of food you're getting. If I was back in Victoria for a vacation with friends, I'd come back here for drinks and tapas for sure as the prices are good. I'd recommend not ordering pizza nor sangria though... It's open late, which is definitely not the case for the fancier restaurants, but this place is a decent late-night default. -
Review from Gabriel C.
7/10/2011
Try the tapas for two.
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Review from Denis C.
6/15/2010
The food was awesome, when it made it to the table on time. The food is honestly very worthy of five stars for every dish that I had. But the service was more along the lins of 2 stars.
We started off with the Escabeche (spicy pickled vegetables & peppers), which was a great way start to dinner. You must try this dish. We also had Chile Relleno which was cooked perfectly. The Pacific Halibut Ceviche was good although I wanted more halibut.
we followed that with Chorizo Fondue which was excellent. The fondue had a very smokey taste. Our final tapa dish was the Pollo Madagascar. So tender, sooo goood.
For the not-so-good. While I'm sure our server had the best intentions in mind, she forgot my wine until the first dish got there, and it took 30 minutes to get our creme brule. While we waited for our dessert, we figured that she forgot to put it in and when it was brought to her attention, it was made by one of the chefs and then sat and sat and sat for another 10 minutes. In the end, dessert was comped. Maybe one of those rare nights for so-so service, but it changed for us what started off as an awesome dinner service to a slow painful end (just give me the check). -
Review from Brad W.
Victoria, BC
3/28/2009
The Tapa Bar is a great restaurant for lunch or supper. It is up Trounce Alley, accessible from Broad and Government Streets, between Yates and View Streets.
The menu is entirely tapas, organised into vegetable, seafood, pork, chicken, beef, pizza, and pasta sections. Favourites of mine are the Pollo Armanda, Papas Bravas, Mussels de cha cha cha, and any of their pizzas.
The Papa bravas is roasted potato quarters with a slightly spicy tomato sauce. I generally order this every time I go because it is a good accompaniment to any of the other tapas.
The Pollo Armanda is chicken breast braised in lemon and white wine, with artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes, and capers. So far this is my favourite thing on the menu and it comes in two sizes so with the potatoes it makes a nice meal.
Mussels de cha cha cha is a spicy choice, not too spicy for me but definitely would be for some. These are good with a large group just to throw into the mix of tapas so everyone can get a few, and it gives you something to do with their excellent made from scratch bread.
All of the pizza choices are good but my favourites are the Veggie pizza and the Chorizo and Mushroom pizza. They are full size thin crust pizzas.
Unfortunately I don't remember what I had for dessert! We ordered two selections, both were good but one was great; too bad I can't tell you what it was.Listed in: Top Restaurants
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Review from Angela H.
5/27/2009
For starters, I love that this restaurant is tucked away in an alley -- it lends it a hip, hole-in-the-wall vibe and it's a good place to go to avoid all the tourist traffic on Government. Points for atmosphere, too -- warm colors, candles and low lighting give the place an intimate feel even though the dining space itself is quite spacious. The many paintings on the walls also make for good conversation pieces.
My partner and I went on a Sunday and were pleasantly surprised by the sangria special. $13 ain't bad for a pitcher! That said, I've had much better sangria elsewhere-- this version tasted flat and lacked a fruit "punch" to balance out the wine (they give you a choice between red and white; we went for the red).
For dinner, we ordered an array of veggie tapas, starting with the chile con queso fondue dish. For all the tortilla chips they pile on your plate, they only give you a tiny cup of the cheese dip. I complain mainly because the dip is *delicious* in that spinach-artichoke-dip-sort-of-way and I would have liked to have sampled more of it. Unfortunately not only were the tortilla chips were slightly stale, but they also didn't seem like the gourmet choice -- maybe a nice artisan bread would have been the way to go with this dish?
Next up were the grilled carrots with a mustard glaze and the grilled eggplant with goat cheese. The grilled carrots were heavenly; we wanted to bottle the perfectly sweet and tangy mustard glaze and take it home.The eggplant was less impressive but still good -- it came in thick slices with a tasty tomato sauce ladled over it and a little goat cheese spooned onto each slice.
We were still a little hungry, so we ordered one more dish -- the grilled portabella mushroom with a champagne-mango vinaigrette. The mushroom was quartered and served over a bed of romaine lettuce dressed with the vinaigrette. We both agreed that the mushroom itself was very good -- portabellas hold the smoky flavor of the grill really well and if it weren't for the texture you might swear you were eating a steak. We couldn't come to a consensus on the vinaigrette though -- my partner thought that its lightness and fruity flavor didn't pair well with the portabella, whereas I thought that those qualities made for a good, palette-teasing contrast.
We topped everything off with a fairly standard (or should I say, reliably delicious) mixed-berry cobbler dessert served with ice cream.
It may not seem like we ordered much, but trust me, we were full for the rest of the evening. Our server was very friendly and timely with the food, check, drinks, etc. and she even gave my partner a taster of Pimms when he inquired casually what it tasted like. Overall, I'd say we had a great dining experience. The tapas didn't bowl us over with their originality, but they were tasty and we left happy. -
Review from Trevor M.
Burnaby, BC
10/4/2009
Casual, tasty, and friendly.
Just what we were looking for after a day of playing tourist. As other reviewers have mentioned, the almond stuffed dates wrapped in bacon are particularly yummy. I would encourage all restaurateurs to wrap things in bacon. Bacon simply makes things better.
The 'mussels cha cha cha' also disappeared in quick order. They were served with a fantastic bread with a crunchy rosemary and rock salt crust that begged to soak up the chili and seafood goodness in the bowl. When our waitress noticed the broth to bread ratio was out of whack, she told us "I'll bring more bread - you can't waste the sauce. That's a no-no."
We enjoyed the atmosphere, service and the food so much, we returned Sunday night as well. Just as good second time around. -
Review from Conifers J.
7/6/2009
My word, I love being a tourist!! Esp in tourist towns with little alleyways and lots of shops with pretty handbags, chocolates in redundant numbers. So the entire VIctoria Clipper ride from Seattle, our near neighbors outlined in excruciating detail all the places to go, where to eat, what to see. Then we wandered around, visited most of the highly recommended spots (in less than 1 hour), and then found the Tapa Bar, conspicuously not on the list. Oddly, we thought we saw them there too, but in our sangria induced bubble, we couldn't confirm it before they got away.
Naturally, he was lured in by prospects of fruit fermenting in red wine and I was distracted by the handbags across the street. Anyway, it is delightful and easy at TB, perfect for us lethargic, slow moving visitors from afar. Thankfully one can order dishes in any combination and in any quantity. We ended up with the house salad "Ensalada de la Casa" with a perky black butter lemon caper dressing, excellent for summer! the Gambas Chipotle ... we both LOVED this item, in part bec/ the prawns were so fresh and crispy and sweet but the chipotle was actually spicy and smoky. Yum. Wish the sauce was served sparingly on the side bec/ as good as it gets, even I want to want to come back for SOMETHING. Gotta keep them hungry, right? Anyway, we finished up with the NY steak and this too was massively garlicky but ok.
We couldn't get away before the BF spotted melting chocolate cake and lo, we had chocolate melting lava cake. Now, even though "melting" is in the name, it doesn't mean the item should have already melted, nor exploded, nor imploded before it reaches the customer. We got ours served at the same time as our neighbors (on a date!) and lo, our little cake had suffered some terrible accident on the way out. Or, that's what I told myself, since the waitress found nothing particular about the lumpy mess of chocolate swimming in raspberry sauce, next to a perfectly happy scoop of raspberry sherbert. Look left, look right, look left, look right... what's wrong with this picture?? We had a good laugh and got away in time to catch the fireworks celebrating Canada Day, 1 July from our room at the Empress. Go Canada!
(TB is casual, relaxed with great yellow walls and possibly original art. Great date spot, great for drinks and light fare and for just being out.) -
Review from Brenda G.
8/27/2008
While strolling the neighborhood near my hotel looking for a place to perch, I came upon The Tapa Bar. This spot is located in a little alley off of Bond Street (cute shops). The peeps at the outside tables were having a nice time eating tapas (small plates of food) and drinking wine, lemonade and the like so I ventured inside to check out the bar. I found an empty stool and took it. As I waited for the bartender, I looked around at the design of the place and I liked what I saw. The full bar was pretty small, about 12 stools lined up to a nice wood counter. The walls were brick and decorated with black, castle like sconces. The round tables were adorned with lit, votive candles that pleasantly illuminated the restaurant.
I was approached by the lovely Shelly who greeted me with a smile. I asked for a menu and ordered the fondu and a drink. The tapas range in price from $3-14 and I noticed a few people sharing a couple of plates of yummy bites. I chatted with a couple of people at the bar and enjoyed the place so much that I went back the next night. If I ever make it back up to Victoria, I hope to see The Tapa Bar again. -
Review from Chris G.
6/9/2009
Very Very Good.
Tucked away where you have to really look for it, but the food was spectacular. It was our first time here, so we asked the waiter what he recommended; and were pleased with the results.
They have a great tapas platter for two which was almost enough for three. Almond stuffed dates wrapped in bacon = divine, and the coconut curry prawns were so good that we specifically ordered more bread so that we could just soak up all the juice.
Our waiter was excellent, knew all of the details on the menu items, including which ones had regular dairy and which had goat cheese in them (one of us was lactose intolerant) and was very attentive and pleasant. -
Review from Rod P.
Victoria, BC
9/29/2010
It was our anniversary and out of all the restaurants downtown we decided to go back to the Tapa Bar.
Everytime we have been there the food has been fantastic and service pretty good, as was the cases this time round.
The detraction for me was cluelessness of the person at the door.
We had made the reservation about a month ago and clearly stated that it was our anniversary and we would prefer a table not in the middle of traffic or stuffed in the back corner.
We arrived a couple minutes early and were happy to wait for the right table. Instead the door person insisted that we take one of two tables. The first was in the bar area and surrounded by people at the bar. The second was indeed stuffed in the back corner.
We said that we would prefer to wait and she relented.
After sitting at a table that fit our needs better we enjoyed a long dinner and fantastic conversation.
We were happy with the bill and after we left decided that it was amazingly loud.
We doubt that we will be back under the same circumstances or in the next 6 months. -
Review from Paul R.
Calgary, AB
11/27/2009
Yays!
-Sangrias are pretty good,
-wines,
-comfortable atmosphere
Nays!
-THE FOOD WAS HORRIBLE- the chicken was burnt, who shares soft foods on an awkward hard to break corn-cracker of some sort? (but the fish was good, just not enough tho), some random dishes that were poorly prepared, or undercooked, presentation was decent.
-The service was okay... they did their job, nothing special, nothing pretty to look at.
An option to start or end the evening off with a couple drinks; if its a really awkward date you're on, you can get both get pretty tipsy quickly on the sangrias! -
Review from Courtney S.
4/21/2009
Just had dinner here last night- and it was fabulous overall.
Based on prior reviews, we tried the almod stuffed dates- which were indeed amazing. We also tried the Chile Con Queso Fondue, and it was good but not to-die-for. We also had the halibut tilapia (good), the Pork Cubanette (too messy!), the Heart of Palm Salad (YUM!!).
Our kids devoured 1 cheese pizza (the waitress was so kind to offer up mozzarella instead of parmesan- which gained her big brownie points as my kids are PICKY!!). They insisted on a second pizza (shocking as they usually don't eat much either)- and my husband and I consented, figuring we'd be eating most of it. Nope- they ate every last bite of the second pizza too!
The molten chocolate cake with raspberry sorbet and coulis was amazing. I ordered a glass of their red sangria, and it just didn't do that much for me.
Overall, a really great meal & service. Very impressive operation for such a small space. The kitchen is tiny but they crank out the food. -
Review from Rachel S.
5/26/2009
My friend and I just happened upon this adorable little place while visiting Victoria and initially decided to stop in for Sangria Sunday -- which is a pitcher of Sangria for the price of 2 glasses. They were good, but nothing to write home about. We decided to go back for dinner later. Everything on the menu sounded delicious, and the food on the other diners' plates looked really tasty too. Out of the few items we ordered, their heart of palms salad stood out above the rest. It was dressed with a chili aioli that was perfectly spiced and exotic -- mixed with the subtle sweetness of the heart of palm, it was perfect.
Skip the pollo armanda -- everything about it was just so-so.
The other thing you absolutely have to try here is their chocolate brulee. If you're a fan of creme brulee and you love chocolate -- there is nothing better in the world. The texture is light and fluffy, but the flavor was rich and just unbelievable. My new favorite dessert -- that is if I can find it on a menu again!
The atmosphere is casual/stylish and cozy without being pretentious by any means, so that was nice. And despite the fact that the rest of the downtown area was pretty dead, this place remained pretty busy throughout the night. -
Review from Elizabeth P.
2/7/2011
We stopped in for a pre-dinner happy hour this past weekend and ended up changing our plans to stay for dinner because the food and drinks were so good! The mojito was the best my husband had at a restaurant, and he's picky about how he likes his mojitos made. I had the white sangria and it was also very good. We had several of the tapas and each one was better than the next. Our favorites were the Mahi Mahi ceviche and the grilled kale, but we also loved the marinated artichokes and the pollo armanda. Basically we loved everything we ordered.
The service at the bar was fantastic, the bartender was friendly and she made great drinks. Once we moved to a table the service was a bit slow at the start, but once our order was taken things came out fast and our server was attentive. It was everything I wanted in a vacation dinner, and we'll for sure be back next time we're in Victoria. -
Review from Sean O.
Victoria, BC
1/24/2011
Good food but not all the dishes are made for sharing. We ordered stuff that said it was a Tapas and ended up being a full sized sandwich, etc....
That being said it was very tasty and good fast service, they could just divide up their menu better to show which are for sharing and which are more a single entree. -
Review from Amanda M.
Victoria, BC
12/5/2009
I would have to say that Tapa Bar is one of my favorite places to go when I am with a group of friends. If it is a night where you prefer having a main dish (or two) to your own you can, or you can share several different ones. And likely, many dishes that you would never have tried otherwise. I recommend the Pork Almond Dates.
I admit that sometimes a dish may not be perfect, but the atmosphere and the breadth of the menu makes up for it. Inside is lightly lit and the exposed brick and wood make for a calm and warm environment. If it is a nice evening, there is an outside patio. Given the patio's small size it can still fit quite a few. I once sat outside with a table of 8. As for attire, I have showed up in a suit and I have showed up in jeans and I also went once wearing a ball cap. It really is a place that allows you to just be while in a classier environment.
Although I would not recommend it for a night where drinks and sports watching are the plan (no TV), its location is optimal and one of the better choices for downtown. -
Review from Jenny B.
8/10/2009
This place was great!! I can't wait to go back to this place and try everything on the menu. We found Tapa in a tourist brochure on the Victoria Clipper and I was a little wary at first, but after stopping by and smelling a declicious chorizo pea soup, I was hooked! The highlight of our meal was the chocolate brulee, and I am by no means a chocolate fan. In all we had the chipotle pollo, chorizo fondue, garlic prawns, and the vegetarian chile rellanos, yum!
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Review from Genevieve L.
Victoria, BC
12/31/2010 1 Check-in Here
vegan friendly.
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Review from Rassamee H.
9/15/2008
Wowzers, this place is incredible. It was so hard to choose b/t so many tantalizing choices. We settled on several...Gambas de Coco (shrimp in coconut milk), Chile Con Queso fondue (sounds unclassy but really wasn't), Almond Stuffed Dates wrapped in Bacon (we ordered a second batch it was that good), Four Bean Salad with Salted Cod, and Fried Fanny Bay Oysters. Each plate was perfectly prepared and scrumptious!!! Plus they have great cocktails. Can't wait to go back.
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Review from christine c.
Victoria, BC
9/30/2009
If I could break down my rating my experiences here have always been at least 4 stars. Their food unfortunately falls short of this, deserving only 3.5 stars. Drinks however swing them back up to 5 stars. And there are also different dining scenarios to take into account. This is a fun place to go for someone's birthday... just not mine. As mentioned the drinks are where its at. My favourites are the different berry mojitoes and they have some imaginative martinis as well.
I do particularly like their carrot tapa, but nothing else really stands out. It is quite yummy food, but not quite memorable and when my favourite restaurant in Victoria is also a tapa bar that blows them out of the water, there are few reasons for me to go back here.
However... one of my favourite moments last winter was sitting by the window, after a heavy snowfall (for Victoria), and warming up with a bowl of their creamy garlic soup. The tranquility of Trounce Alley covered in a blanket of white, while enjoying my lunch for one, made me feel very 'Sex and the City.'
My only draw to this restaurant would be their very enjoyable drinks and drink specials and their garlic soup on a cold or rainy day. -
Review from Eddie R.
3/28/2011
One word - GO!
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Review from amy G.
10/30/2009
i haven't been here in at least 5 years but i still remember the stuffed dates and send people here when they are visiting Victoria!
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Review from Laurie L.
7/31/2010
We arrived early along with about 10 other tables. We were afraid it would take forever but it didn't. The menu was great. We were very happy with our choices. I highly recommend the date stuffed with cream cheese with blue cheese and balsamic reduction. Fun experience. Amazing drink menu too!
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Review from David W.
5/26/2009
Great food - bacon wrapped dates with blue cheese? Granted you can't ruin anything that's wrapped in bacon! Reservations are recommended, or you can hop into the bar if you are a step ahead of the crowd. We did the chicken pizza, some awesome bread with dips and the bacon dates. Sangrias by the pitcher, great food, semi-funky location in an alley, but definitely worth it as one of the better places to go in Victoria!
