Jamoneria by ARC — Restaurant in Richmond

TLDR (Too long didn’t read); Service was very slow and servers were not very attentive, food portions are TINY and most dishes come out of a tin or jar. They serve jarred artichoke and pepper as a MAIN. Left restaurant hungry and unsatisfied. Not worth $60 /person. (Keep in mind that my party and I rarely ever complain at restaurants unless something’s very wrong. I rarely ever write poor reviews but this one really disappointed me.) I’ve been to Spain and enjoyed it very much there and wanted to celebrate my birthday with some Spanish food. So I decided to come to Jamoneria by ARC for my birthday for the dine out menu and expected decent food and service. We waited 20 minutes to get a server to get our orders in. We waited for another 15 minutes before we finally got our first course, which were two piece of anchovies on bread and olives from a jar. How long does it take to prepare things that don’t require any cooking? Then the second round of appetizers came 15 minutes later which were slices of jamon with crackers that were hard as rocks, and canned tuna with tomato and avocado that came on a piece of bread. The jamon was decent but the canned tuna was underwhelming, seemed like something I could whip up at home with low effort. At this point, I just wanted to get my food ASAP, eat it, and get out since the food was coming out so slowly. The third round of appetizers came quicker this time, it was Galician octopus and bluefin tuna on toast. These were probably my favourite dishes on the menu, the octopus was tender and the bluefin was melt in your mouth. Keep in mind that these portions were small, but I thought nothing of it since they were appetizers and thought the mains were going to be bigger; I was wrong. The mains were probably the most disappointing part of the meal, I ordered the peppers and artichokes to give it a try, meanwhile the rest of my party ordered the tuna tataki and the secreto Iberico. When my dish came, I honestly thought they were joking when they served me 7 slices of jarred pepper and 5 pieces of artichokes as a MAIN DISH. I am not exaggerating. No one should be served this as a main and no one would be satisfied if they were also paying $60 for a set meal that served them jarred vegetables as the main course. I could understand if it was an appetizer, but come on! No one will truly feel full or satisfied after eating that. I tried the other mains, the tataki was decent and the Iberico was inconsistent with the pieces, some were bigger than others and some were significantly fattier than other. There needs to be portion and quality control. After we were done with our mains, the server came and asked us how the food was and I told them that I thought the portions were too small with my party also agreeing. When I brought up the pepper and artichoke dish, I told the server along the lines of it was kind of insane how they served jarred peppers and artichokes and nothing else on the plate. They dismissed it and didn’t seemed that bothered that we were unsatisfied with the majority of our meal. They said something along the lines of that’s just how it is. That left me and my party a sour taste in our mouths. It was like our concerns were ignored, and I have a feeling that they did not tell the chef or who ever was in charge in the kitchen the feedback that was given. Then finally, we had dessert, it was a cheesecake and it was pretty good, but the portion could’ve been bigger. Overall, I can only wish that you guys do better as a restaurant and maybe get a proper chef, or if you can’t, then just stick with selling the imported products. I’ve had a very disappointing experience, this happened in January and I still think about it! That is how disappointing it was for my party and I. ...

This restaurant is an absolute hidden gem! I happened upon it by accident, googling for a Spanish restaurant and finding out there was one right in my neighbourhood! The host and server, Antonio, was fantastic! Upon learning it was our first time to the restaurant, he offered to provide a detailed overview of the menu. With great pleasure and pride, he shared the details of the dishes, highlighting features of each and pointing out which were his favorites and a must try. He checked in with us along the way, making sure we understood and knew what some of the Spanish words means and what the ingredients were. We decided to try a number of his recommendations and wow, they did not disappoint (Gildas and the Tosta Sobrasada). Having been to Spain and looking forward to a meal that was reminiscent of the pintxos and tapas, jamon iberico, and incredible flavours, this meal was on point (the Chorizo de Leon was a highlight). I can't wait to return for another incredible meal as I must try their Pulpo a la Gallega (my Spanish favorite) and the Tarta de Queso de Mis Padres. I also have my sights set on returning for a Sunday brunch to enjoy Tortilla Espanola. The ambiance was just as good as the meal. They've brought the outside courtyards from Spain inside, which sets a delightful decor. Splashes of colour and Spanish music playing adds to the atmosphere. When the warmer weather comes and patrons can sit outside, under the tent, savoring the food and drink, it will be a game changer for the summer. Antonio also added to the experience by sharing with us where he and his family are from in Spain and event regaled my father in his tales of our travels. Antonio was great with my daughter and let her practice her Spanish with him. I love that the restaurant is above the storefront that hosts a plentiful selection of conservas. Even if you don't come for a meal, you can swing by and pick up delicious food for dinner, a party or just a...

we have been thinking of visiting Spain for sometime, especially to try those authentic Mediterranean dishes. Finding this place was an excitement as we would hope to get a taste of them before the trip to Spain, and we wanted it to be for a special time -- father's day.

We were seated in front of the store where a smell of garbage got in and out from time to time. I looked around but can not spot the source of it. It felt weird to have a fine dinning with such environment.

Food was unreasonably pricy. Having those beautiful photos on mind, our expectation was obviously quite a distance from the reality. Tiny servings were like teasing, somewhat unreal. The dishes took forever to serve, and along the dinner, it only got longer and longer. We ended up removing the last two items due to the lengthy waiting -- over 20+ minutes. All what we were waiting for was just bread and a desert. Seeing the waitress went in and out many times serving dishes to the next table who ordered way later, it felt strange. The dishes were VERY expensive ... well, these are not dinner, maybe some small dose of samples of some Spanish food to be precise. Left hungry and disappointed, we'd not recommend this to any of our friends. We also over heard others from both other tables complaining about the tiny dishes, those are actually listed as main course. It's not an easy thing to understand how those tiny toy-sized dishes are considered main course. Or were those who gave 5 stars served with...