Food Pretty Good but A Very Strange Dining Experience
Before I begin, know the food was good. No complaints with the taste or preparation of any of the dishes we ordered other than maybe wishing there was more heat to the chorizo dishes, but that's just a preference issue. Our party ordered three varieties of paella, 4 tapas plates, an italian entree and a salad. The logistics surrounding the meal however, had our party scratching our heads from the moment we sat down through to the packing of our leftovers.
Our party of six, medium-built adults had called days ahead and made a reservation. We let them know on the phone we would be ordering paella (understanding this often requires notice), we would not be in a hurry and would be happy streaming tapas/drinks as that was prepared.
Our issues:
None of the tables seemed appropriate for parties larger than 4 despite tapas/paella typically being a social-gathering food. Six adults in our booth had the aisle-seated diners uncomfortably hanging onto the edge of their bench with one of our guests only being half-situated in front of the table as his bench was offset from aligning with the table due to an outcropping in the wall. This might be understandable if we were last-minute walk-ins or if the restaurant was packed but this was not the case.
Most members of our party are used to tapas being small, bite-sized items each patron would typically order 3 or 4 of. However, browsing the menu, the pricing seemed to indicate this might not be the case so we tried to inquire of our server what was appropriate... and so began the awkward interactions with our server who reacted to every interaction as though we had presented her with a complex math equation that was our problem to solve. We decided to start with 4 for the table and work from there. Three of the four arrived, and were sufficiently-sized (think typical appetizer plate) for all of us. Since we were not billed for the 4th, we ignored its absence.
As the tapas began arriving to our table, between all of our plates and drinks, it was clear there would be some difficulty fitting everything but instead of even attempting to find space, the server simply handed the plates directly to us to sort out. Obviously, this isn't a huge issue but was a few minutes of awkward interruption as the party juggled plates around. More worrisome however, we still had 3 large paella pans plus other entrees on their way that wouldn't fit on the table even without our drinks/plates. Every step of the way it felt like the uncomfortably small table was somehow our fault/problem.
-The server seemed hesitant to make an appearance, likely sensing the awkward/impossible situation herself even though we made cheery accomodation at every turn and never mentioned it directly. Drink refills were only required once or twice but were somehow as awkward/confusing as the tapas order and some guests were missed.
-Other issues were ridiculously minor but added to the experience, always feeling like an awkward mismatch of space/geometry... example being our meal capping off with a single carryout bag for three obvious couples, and even one container not fitting into that bag without being positioned on its side.
All in all, the food tasted good, I'm happy the area has something new and different from other places but I probably won't return unless it was with a small party. Also, the Tapas section of the menu seems like it should be renamed "Appetizers". Unless they are very hungry, a single person probably should not order more...
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