Bar Española La Bodega — Restaurant in Osaka

Food: 3/5 Very inconsistent quality Service: 4/5 Servers are attentive when the establishment is not busy Value: 2/5 Given the low quality of the meal, it is not worth it IMHO. Atmosphere: 4/5 Counter seating, and table seating available

I have been to La Bodega a couple of times for lunch a few years ago.

Had high expectation after having heard some of the staff members speaking in Spanish a couple of times as I walked by.

Quick summary of my 2nd meal at La Bodega:

To start, a Carpaccio that was well balanced in flavor and texture, the plate was served a bit lukewarm instead of it been a cold dish so that raised some concerns since that dish would have probably tasted better if it was kept chilled prior to been served.

Then a plate of cold cuts/ preserved meats, some Serrano Ham, Chorizo, and Spanish Sausage. A plate of deep friend Anchovies. And a Bagna Cauda paired with an Anchovies based dipping sauce.

The cold cuts tasted great, the Anchovies had a crust that was thicker than what I am used to but tasted fine. The Anchovies based dipping sauce for the Bagna Cauda kept me wondering, why would anyone with some common sense pair an Anchovies based sauce when actual Anchovies are been served. It really made me wonder who came up with the menu.

Then came the main entree, the beef roast.

The beef roast and the sauce looked very appetizing, the grilled vegetables on the smaller side plate looked tempting as well.

As I attempted to cut a piece of the beef roast going perpendicular to the grain I noticed that it was very hard to cut, as soon as that happened I proceeded to give up on the meat and just focus on the vegetables.

As soon as I finished eating the vegetables I went and paid my bill.

I didn't mention anything to the server since whoever prepared the beef roast should have clearly known that the particular cut should not be served to a paying customer.

Since I am fluent in Spanish I thought about talking to the executive chef, but not knowing who prepared the roast I decided not to do so.

That was my 2nd negative experience at La Bodega so I pretty much gave up on the restaurant. I pass by the restaurant often when I dine at the other establishments on the same floor, not once have I had the desire of giving it...

Went here for lunch when we were exploring Grand Front. We had the set meal to share. Take note the price is for one person.

Food was good. The appetizer was a capacio. The sashimi was really fresh and came with some salad. The soup was next and it was packed with seafood- prawns, mussels, octopus. There was some pasta in the soup even some pieces of chicken. This soup was tasty. We had the seafood paella as the main course. Delicious. Had 2 big prawns, 1 small flower crab cut in half and mussels.

Overall good quality food and worth it.

If you’re taking the set then take note. They send it in courses. We didn’t expect to take so long for lunch as we were still walking around...

Expensive not worth your money. Cost us 65usd for half of a small lobster with no meat with small mussels, bits of squids. We also had 2 drinks that were 9usd each that you might had 3 gulps with. Service was ok and that was it. The best part was the olives which cost us about 9usd for 2 if us. We first at ask why 9usd they siad the olives then they had the manager come over and say it was service charge.... so somethings up... maybe its the language but please. Reckon you walk down the hallway and have sushi. We did earlier for only 45usd that was a full...