Botellon Spanish Tapas & Wine Bar — Restaurant in Brisbane City

We recently went here to celebrate a friends birthday and have a nice girl's night out. The cocktails were delicious, but a little pricey, which is to be expected I guess in this area, as options are limited in Graceville, but the tapas were quite expensive for the quality. Tapas were average, being quite small servings and very expensive for the serving size. Sadly I ended up with an upset stomache pretty much immediately, so it may have been the prawns or octopuss we ate perhaps? The tapas also all came out at all different times, even though we were sharing the 4 plates of tapas between the 4 of us. We booked for a 4pm sitting, but didn't know that we needed to be done by 6pm prior to arriving, as apparently we only had a 2hr sitting, which nobody appeared to have been told when the booking was made. My friend who made the booking, was told the kitchen didn't open until 5pm, but NOT that we had to be out by 6pm. We were so rushed after only being able to order our tapas after 5pm due to the kitchen being closed until then, and sadly couldn't order the paella as we were told it would take too long, (half an hour) due to our table booking only being until 6pm, which was actually when we discovered we only had a booking until 6pm. We were able to be briefly moved to another table at 6pm to finish off the bottle of wine we had only just ordered, but sadly the whole night was just so rushed and we were made feel like our money would have been better spent elsewhere. After spending $385 between the 4 of us in the 2hrs, we left hungry and went on elsewhere to continue our night. Although the young waitress was super sweet and apologetic,the food wasn't that great and the price didn't justify the food or service we got.

As a further addition to my previous review, in which I have changed my original 3 stars to 1 star due to the response of the owner to my review. We did NOT have 6 people for the entirety of our booking. 1 person from our party arrived before us and was dropped off by her mum and sister who were visiting from South Africa and were flying out the next day to return to S.A. They ordered a drink with our friend, (their sister and daughter) while waiting for us to arrive. (This being 3 guests in total ). When we arrived (making 6 for approx 15 mins) we informed the waitress that they were not staying, but just finishing their drinks and would be leaving ASAP. The waitress said it was not a problem. For 15 mins we pulled up 2 chairs from the table beside us and sat at the table while they finished their drinks. They promptly left and we then placed the chairs back at the other table before continuing with the 4 of us. The restaurant was very quiet at this time, so I would have thought a local restaurant/wine bar would have been happy to make an extra few dollars from a couple of patrons buying a cocktail each for 15 mins or so while it was quiet. Considering there was only 3 people out of a 4 person booking for a short time before we arrived, I find it odd that you commented that our bill was high due to there being 6 people, not 4. I suggest YOU check YOUR facts before replying to a review in what you state is a public forum. Reviews are simply that. Someone's honest opinion that they have the right to have. Just because a business doesn't like a review in a "public forum," doesn't entitle them to bully or admonish an individual for being honest, and for not saying their venue is perfect . I guess PR is also not a strong suit at Botellon. How a complaint or issue is handled, often says more about a business, than a...

As a Spanish native, I must express my disappointment with my experience at Botellon Spanish Tapas & Wine Bar. Unfortunately, the offerings here were far from authentic Spanish cuisine, and the price did not reflect the quality or authenticity I expected.

Firstly, the menu was missing several quintessential Spanish dishes such as tortilla de patatas, jamón ibérico, jamón serrano, fried calamari, boquerones, and gambas al pil pil. These dishes are staples of any true Spanish tapas bar. Instead, I found items like burrata, which is Italian, further misrepresenting what Spanish tapas truly are.

Several menu items do not align with traditional Spanish tapas, including:

Burrata with peach and hot honey: Burrata is an Italian cheese, not typically found in Spanish cuisine.

Duck liver pâté: While pâté is enjoyed in various cuisines, it is more closely associated with French cuisine.

Artichoke hummus with zucchini blossom and smoked almonds: Hummus is of Middle Eastern origin and not traditionally part of Spanish tapas.

Eggplant chips with queso ibérico and truffle honey: Truffle is not a common ingredient in traditional Spanish dishes.

Baked saganaki cheese with salsa agridulce: Saganaki is Greek, and the use of salsa agridulce (a sweet and sour sauce) is not a typical Spanish preparation.

Paella options: While paella is a traditional Spanish dish, the combination of ingredients like scallop and octopus in the "Mariscos" version is less traditional, as well as the inclusion of "Verde" with mushrooms, artichoke, and zucchini.

In Spain, tapas are typically inexpensive and served in taverns and bars to accompany drinks. Some places even offer tapas for free with a drink order, or at a very modest additional cost. This establishment seems to have adopted a different model, which, unfortunately, does not align with the traditional Spanish tapas experience.

Additionally, it is worth mentioning that tapas bars in Spain are generally informal places where people gather for drinks and small bites. The concept of a dedicated "tapas restaurant" is uncommon in Spain. This raises the question: is Botellon Spanish Tapas & Wine Bar a tapas bar or a restaurant? The current approach seems to create confusion about its identity.

Furthermore, the name "Botellón" is misleading. In Spain, a "botellón" refers to a social gathering where people meet outdoors, often in public spaces, to drink alcohol together. It is a casual event, usually involving inexpensive drinks and a relaxed atmosphere. The experience at Botellon Spanish Tapas & Wine Bar does not align with this concept, as it seems to aim for a more upscale and structured dining experience.

To the owner, who is a local from Chelmer and not Spanish, I urge you to reconsider the representation of your menu. It would be more accurate to label your offerings as modern Australian with Spanish influences rather than misleading patrons with the promise of genuine Spanish tapas.

While I understand that high reviews reflect some patrons' satisfaction, it saddens me to see the misrepresentation of my country's cuisine. Authentic Spanish food has a rich cultural history that deserves to be accurately presented and enjoyed.

On a positive note, I will leave 3 stars because the food was okay, but it did not meet the expectations for authentic Spanish cuisine.

I hope this feedback is taken as constructive criticism to improve...

Very good food . Unfortunately the service did not match .

We have a 5 month old so today my partner and I went for dinner much earlier than we normally would (17.10) , as you would expect the restaurant was quite quiet at that time but it soon picked up . We ordered tapas and the initial meals ( croquettes , toast and eggplant chips ) came within around ten minutes .

These were tasty but after this we waited for over an hour without more food arriving. Our drinks were empty and when we eventually got a waiters attention we asked how much longer our food would be (as we are trying to keep our son's bedtime fairly consistent) he said he would find out then disappeared and did not come back for some time . When he did he brought us water and said the food would be a long shortly . We then sat for another twenty minutes without anything arriving. Tables that had arrived 30-40 minutes after us were getting their food ( some of which were the same dishes we had ordered ) but ours did not come . They had clearly forgotten about our table .

Eventually another waitress brought one of the 5 small plates we were waiting on . It took me saying that if the food was going to be a while we would just pay for what we had eaten and go before all of the food came quickly. The waitress was to be fair apologetic and said she would speak to the manager ( never heard back re this , not sure if she did or not).

The food was good , I see why the reviews are largely very favourable but our experience was pretty poor and the fact that there was no apology from the manager ( even when we were paying) or attempt to correct what had been pretty shoddy service would stop...