Tapas Teatro — Restaurant in Baltimore

Best Spanish food in all MD. I said that. And Im from Spain. We used to eat dinner here maybe 12,13 years ago when in another life I was living in NYC and my husband was studying in Baltimore, it is super convenient for the bus/train station next door, if you are picking someone up, Tapas Teatro will make them feel good after the trip for sure! They have a quite extensive menu of tapas, authentic tapas, our small dishes are full of flavor, all different from one another and designed to either be shared or not. You just put them on the table and see who wants to try it, who wants to get more of it, and who wants to just eat it all and clean the plate with bread. Tapas Teatro offers many traditional flavors like patatas bravas (chunky soft fried potatoes with a spicy aioli -flavorful, warm spicy) or croquetas de jamón (a little pillow of creamy inside coated in breadcrumbs and fried crunchy), they have gambas al ajillo which you can find at any bar in Spain (a serving shrimp poached in this rich oil that has been simmering with garlic and some other good flavors), I loved their garbanzos con butifarra even though I had never heard of it, but I knew I loved chickpeas and butifarra is a white sausage with very mild spices it mostly has black pepper and wine. My boys loved the meatballs -albondigas- they were super flavorful and my husband did the cleaning of the plate with bread for that one. My little american family recognized all the flavors we were served and many dishes on the menu by name, which was fun. The drink menu is equally fantastic. The cocktails looked fun, but I had a Mahou, the de-facto beer in Spain, when you just order a beer, you get a Mahou, it is mild, refreshing, light in alcohol, goes with everything... my husband had a glass a wine, it was great to recorgnize so many different areas of wine and not just the famous Rioja that sometimes is overpriced in the US, not all wine from Rioja is super good and should be super expensive. He had a blend from La Mancha and it was very good. We topped it with a cheesecake to go and it was absolutely delicious too, if you don't save room for dessert (it happens as you order a gazillion tapas) just take...

If I was made of money, I would go here every week 😍 Great atmosphere, friendly service, and tasty food (a bit overpriced tho). Would recommend for date nights, special occasions, or celebrations.

Recommendations: vegetarian : pisto manchego non-vegetarian: pulpo gallego dessert: torte chocolate

Read further for a more detailed review!

• Pisto Manchego (Spanish ratatouille) A tomato-based dish with primarily zucchini and squash. It was simple but really good as in I can keep eating more bowls of this stuff. Great with bread too! 10/10, would get it again.

• Potato soup with Manchego cheese and bacon. It’s a simple creamy soup that will warm you up! 6/10 because 10 dollars for a potato soup is too much even if it’s tasty

• Ensalada Remolacha. The fried goat cheese ball on the top is really yummy but it is very small. There was some taro? like round pieces in the salad that tasted interesting. A refreshing salad, but would have preferred if the goat cheese ball was bigger and less of those taro? pieces. 6/10

• Pulpo Gallego. The portion size is a bit small but the taste is delicate and amazing. The grilled octopus pieces are very tender and flavorful. The small potatoes and olives with light oil and herbs paired well with the octopus. Lovely dish, 10/10, would get it again. I wish they offered a version with more octopus in it lol

• Papas Bravas (fried potatoes) tasty but too simple of a dish to be sold for $10. It is just potato wedges with sriracha mayo sauce. 5/10 for the overcharged price. would not get it.

• Albondigas (lamb meatballs) The meat was good but overall the dish was too salty. 5/10, would not get it again.

• Mejillones (mussels - got the white wine garlic sauce) I agree with the previous review that the sauce is missing something, it needs more tanginess. It just tasted like watered down white wine tbh. The mussels themselves were fresh and tasty though so that made up for it. 8/10

Special note: We went during Baltimore Restaurant Week, but you can find all of these dishes on the regular...

We went here for our 11 year anniversary yesterday. We were looking for something in the city (since we live in HoCo), that wouldn't break the bank, but feel special. This place was awesome! It was easy to park since there's a garage right across the street and the outdoor area is so bright and colorful! We ate inside by an open garage door entrance so get the indoor/outdoor combo. Everything we ate was delicious...we couldn't pick a favorite! We go the papas cambray, the brussels sprouts, jamon, gazpacho (my husband only ate this, but loved it!), paella, and sangria- everything was delicious! I think our favorites were the sprouts and the paella if we had to pick. :) The aioli on the potatoes also made them outstanding.

Our waiter was very attentive and trying super hard to help us have a good experience- it seemed like maybe the restaurant was a bit understaffed as he was also working the bar, however, he apologized for anything being late. Our table was also wobbly, which we honestly could care less about, but he felt the need to fix it...but forgot...and we didn't say anything about it, since we didn't care, but he kindly brought us some free cheesecake anyway. We weren't planning on dessert as we were very full, but honestly, it was AMAZING. I don't get to eat dessert at restaurants often since I'm gluten free, so my husband ate all the extra crust and I enjoyed being able to eat a little bit of something sweet.

Overall, we had a great experience. It was a fun place for a special date in the city and we will...