La Taberna — Restaurant in Maidstone

WEARING THE RIGHT SHOES.

A tiny bit difficult to find using Google maps. (Hint turn left in the alleyway BEFORE you reach number 51)

A HUGE door. The sort that should slowly creak open and a extremely thin octogenarian would say "good evening" (with a Spanish lisp of course). BUT...... Its well oiled and the portal opens to some very welcoming staff. You could ALMOST take a date there - it looks that "up" itself with the high backed formality of the table layouts and the church-like hush that a lot of air seems to inspire. My first impression:- a little bit formal and thoughts of "should I have worn better shoes?" - soon dispelled by a cursory glance at the decor. An eclectic mix. Or is that epileptic mix? Of things Spanish and things that British think of as Spanish. Sadly no waxwork figure of Andrew Sachs.

This is not TAPAS BAR style. This is (theoretically) designed to suit the British sit-down-and-undo-some-buttons style.

And a very good theory it is too.

Being that I am about as anorexic as a warehouse; we ordered for 3. (There were 2 of us). The mixed selection of their croquettes - excellent. In the "tapas style" of eating - a restaurateur who offers "mixes" or "preconfigured selections" as well as being able to order repeats of favourites ......... Is a smart restaurateur. The "a la carte" has long been in favour. The "table d'hote" much less so. Yet, it is only a question of a bit of printing. Sigh.

Patatas bravas - a very standard offering - and reasonably pleasant. A glass of dry white helps with this. The sate chicken was tender but,had not been marinated long enough to attract any of the marinade except food colouring. The prawns faired better. But, prawns are not a "bland by nature" item.

Fresh anchovies in a little vinegar with a very pleasant cold dry sherry - very nice.

Coffee pudding. Sort of designed along the lines of a tiramisu. But, the brown, coffee soaked stuff at the bottom is not lady's fingers biccies but a sumptuous, soaking cakelike doobrie. Slightly lighter than bread pudding consistency. Not too sweet. The sweetness comes from the top Chantilly dollop. The coffee part is unsweetened coffee poured over a very absorbent sponge. That's the best way to describe it.

Staff either native speakers of Spanish or learning and doing very well. Happy, welcoming, good attention, informed. Good representatives of ethos. (No...

The Atmosphere and the service were flawless ! A beautiful place, very welcoming and charming !

Unfortunately, the food wasnt good. I lived myself in Spain for a while so I'm aware of what it is supposed to taste like and what good Tapas are. This wasn't it ! I doubt the cook is Spanish or have even tried Spanish tapas once in his life...

Nothing looked like fresh products, looked more like Tesco Tapas...

Doubt the croquetas were artisanal, patatas bravas were juste normal potatoes with a sauce, the tuna salad was a scam, champiñones al vino were definitely canned... How hard is it to buy fresh products ? meatballs "mama's recipe" ? Well the mama recipe is to take industrial porc mince (nothing iberic as promised) and to shape it into a ball. That's it for the mama's recipe, no spices, not even a onion, herbs, nothing. So, tasteless.

The verdict, not being a cook, you can definitely do better yourself at home, quickly and easily, and even cheaper buying fresh products.... So why would anyone choose to go in a restaurant then ????

A shame....

We were attracted by the good ranking of the place on Google and felt deceive, that's why I had to warn people about the experience to come.

If you never ate tapas in your life and go there, in the lovely place and eat unusual dishes, you might find it nice and that would explain the good ranking... But just know that it is not nice.not fresh, definitely not Tapas...

The best Spanish restaurant we’ve ever been to in the UK!!

We’re originally from Spain, have lived in London for eight years and now a year in Kent — and we can honestly say this is the best Spanish restaurant we’ve tried here. We had been so disappointed with other places until now… but this one truly brought us home. The quality is exactly what you’d find in Spain — they cook just like our parents or grandparents used to, and for a moment, we genuinely forgot we were in the UK.

Don’t be fooled — this is the best place. 100% homemade, 100% Spanish. We’re so happy it’s only 20 minutes away from where we live! The atmosphere, the music — everything transports you straight to Spain. The service was incredible too: we were spoken to in Spanish from the start, everyone was so friendly, and it was such a joy to chat with them.

Absolutely recommend it. You won’t find anything like this anywhere else. The best team, the loveliest people, and the best food. Muchas gracias chicas, hemos tenido un día feliz gracias a la experiencia en vuestros restaurante. Nos ha conmovido mucho vuestra historia de superación, no me extraña que tengan tanto éxito siendo una familia tan unida y cocinando tan bien!...