Las Tapas St Kilda — Restaurant in Melbourne

Very rarely do I post negative feedback about a restaurant, but I felt compelled that I had to in this case as this is, by far, a terrible outlier in terms of service and average in terms of food quality.

We arrived on time for our booking and it had taken a while to get our seat, despite being a very small establishment. That I didn't really mind.

From the time we sat down to the time we were able to order a drink was about ~20 minutes.

It had taken another ~15 minutes before we even had a drink (considering how small this establishment is, it didn't make any sense). We then ordered food when our drinks arrived and this is where the service really went south.

It has taken 1.5 hrs from the time we order to the time we received our appetiser (a bowl of olives...), then the tapas came out very scattered over the next 1 hour. By the time we received the last 2 dishes, we sent them back, as the bravas were soggy and tasted like wet cardboard. We were no longer hungry and just wanted to leave.

The waiter refused to let us pay (despite asking for the bill multiple times) until all the food we ordered was on our table (this was quite an uncomfortable experience). We didn't eat the last two dishes and thought about just walking out as they refused to let us pay.

The thing that annoyed me the most and one of the key reason I felt I needed to go out of my way to write this feedback is the following: A couple walked in 30 minutes after us, ordered very similar food, received all their food before us, had eaten, paid and left.

Sadly, I can't see this business being around for much longer unless they really improve their service as negative reviews will start...

Unfortunately we did not get to experience the food. I booked a table for Sunday to celebrate a milestone birthday for a friend and received a cancellation of my booking at 11.12am (via msg) for a 1pm reservation on the same day! Lucky I was near my phone at the time to notice, so I called the restaurant and spoke with Javier, the owner. He claimed the chef was unwell and therefore there wasn’t anyone available to cook lunch. He also went on to tell me a how annoyed he was with the chef, and how he was in a “bad mood”. I am baffled at how you run an establishment in this manner, where is your contingency? I understand things happen, however to not consider phoning your patrons in this situation and merely sending a cancellation by message so close to the reservation time is quite pathetic!

At the last minute I was forced to find an alternative venue and coordinate this very late change with friends, which was quite stressful considering this was for a birthday lunch.

I can honestly say, THANK YOU, this actually worked out for the best! I found an amazing restaurant who accommodated us at the last minute. We thoroughly enjoyed terrific service and wonderful food, and we will definitely return to enjoy their hospitality.

No matter how good your food may be at Las Tapas, I won’t ever bother to come and try it after this experience. Genuine customer service in any circumstance, speaks volumes, and sadly Las Tapas was a major let down in...

Las Tapas is a small, cosy restaurant on Chapel St which could be easily missed, but if you love tapas make sure to try this gem!

I was suprised at how many people they could fit into the restaurant given the size, it's a bit cramped. However, I don't mind this as it kind of made the experience feel a little more authentically Spanish. The waiting team are very friendly and made us feel comfortable. I'd suggest that they make a paper menu though as it's super difficult looking up to the walls, my partner got a sore neck so we had to take photos of it to decide what to order.

We decided on the calamari, greens, chorizo and jamon croquettes. We loved every single dish we tried, if I had to choose a favourite it would probably be the croquettes. The calamari was also perfectly fried and seasoned. There was variety in the greens (beans, courgettes, brocolli) and provided some refreshment from the other tapas. The chorizo was the tastiest I've ever had also.

They also have an excellent wine selection. I don't remember which red wine I went with as it was the waiter's recommendation - however they know their wine so you can trust their advice!

This is my new favourite restaurant in the Balaclava area - highly...