Cafe Americana — Restaurant in Arlington

We had a wonderful meal at Cafe Americana this evening! It was our first time to visit, after reading and hearing many great reviews...and the reviews were not wrong. Everything, from the interior decor, to the service, to the drinks, to the food was warm, original, and delicious! We started with craft cocktails and warm bread with whipped ricotta and pineapple chili chutney. The bread was big pieces of rustic, grilled soughdough that had a nice smokey char. Paired with the creamy, fruity, and slightly spicy ricotta...heaven! We would have been happy with just that, but there were SO many other delicious items awaiting us on the menu - which reads like a tapas restaurant, but can be combined in any way that makes you happy. We chose the Peruvian chicken skewers, the Spanish meatballs, the house salad, and could not resist the wild mushroom paella. The chicken was three cutlets full of layered flavors and sitting on a bed of arugula and various sauces...surprisingly even better than our server had described it. The meatballs were an instant hit-a mix of beef and lamb sitting in a bath of dark, rich Shakshuka sauce, drizzled with a creamy mint yogurt sauce. So tasty, we couldn't resist dipping our charred sourdough into the leftover sauce. The house salad was large enough to share with arugula, almonds, and strawberries in a light, refreshing cucumber vinegarette. The paella had a crispy, charred bottom layer and delicious seasoning throughout. The only thing it lacked was perhaps a few more wild mushrooms as there were just a few scattered on top. But it was still delicious! We topped the meal with their coconut cake which was a huge chunk made up of thin layers of white cake and cream cheese, covered in toasted coconut, with burnt meringue on top and accompanied by a dark rum pineapple sauce. It was light, but totally decadent. Our meal came with a side of excellent service, including our server, the bar staff, and others who assisted with our dining experience. Or was a delightful and thoroughly enjoyable evening and it's such a joy to have a restaurant of this caliber in the downtown Arlington area. We can't...

This is a hard one to write. When my husband and I first started coming here, it was by far the best food and best service we have ever received. I BEGGED my husband to take us here anytime we went out. That changed with our last visit, with a tasting menu. Reservation was at 8:30pm, didn’t sit until after 9pm. Ordered drink at the bar while we waited and the bartender said we had to pay for our drinks then and they couldn’t go on the bill at the table. I gave her my card. She said she will be right back with it. An hour later after I asked 3 different people, I finally got my card back. The bartenders were getting drunk behind the bar. We waited FOREVER in between courses. We came hungry and remained hungry for a while. Every time the person took my husband’s plate he took his silverware. By the last course we were sharing silverware. I watched as the manager (who had been serving us) stood at the register for 30 minutes while we waited for our next course. I finally went to her and asked for the check and said we didn’t want the rest of the food (that we prepaid for). Every table around was sending back food and complaining but we didn’t say a word up until this point. I wasn’t rude or complaining just asking for the check for our drinks. She literally went off on me to the point the chef had to tell her to stop and told me I didn’t have to pay for my drinks and that we were free to leave.

It’s unfortunate that such a good restaurant that we loved has fallen so bad on the service portion. They really need a good service manager to ensure that things are running smoothly and someone that doesn’t go off on people when they ask for the check when they are standing around. We won’t be back again and unfortunately every single table around us said the same thing. $210 prepaid meal and we were there for over 3 hours and...

My husband and I were blown away by how amazing this place was. We were researching food to eat in the area and came across their menu. When my husband heard paella, we were racing to get here. The atmosphere is classy but in a very relaxed and inviting way. You can honestly choose to dress up or dress casually for this restaurant, which is awesome. Jordan was our waiter, and he was phenomenal at attending to all of our dining needs and provided us with some very good food recommendations. It was hard to choose what we wanted only because there were so many delicious options. We chose the guacamole with tajin, cotija cheese, and a side of plantain chips (with the perfect amount of raw salt on top). This was to die for! Then we ordered our other tapas dishes: Yucca Bravas, Portuguese octopus, and the chicken paella. Everything was cooked to perfection, and as our waiter had stated to us, we could really tell that the owners put their heart and soul into the food. It really shows in the delicious combination of flavors and the presentation. I ordered the Besame Mucho Mocktail, which consisted of hibiscus and ginger. Very refreshing and tasty drink if you don't drink alcohol. Of course, we had to order dessert. We chose the espresso chocolate cake, and this was sinfully good. It's a nice dark chocolate, which had a bitterness that was balanced out by the smooth and sweet chocolate mousse. We shared one portion of this, and it hit the spot after our entire meal. I recommended my parents to visit this location as we have found a new favorite place to have a bite to eat!

We were also informed by Jordan that they offer a unique brunch menu. And they also have salsa nights, so this would make for a nice date idea. We'll definitely have to check that out...