Taberna Tapas — Restaurant in Durham

While the food was phenomenal It might've tasted better had my significant other and I not been treated so poorly. The only reason I'm giving this place two stars is because the host did everything in his power to make things right.

To start; I had made reservations for Friday the 31st. When we arrived we were seated promptly and ordered mocktails. They were fine and my S.O. offered me some of her fauxjito. That's when I had noticed a rubber band in her drink. It's not a big deal, mint comes bunched together and usually held together with rubber band. All we wanted was a fresh drink.

This is when we spoke to our second server, Jacob. I had mentioned to him we have an issue with our beverage (the rubber band.) But instead of taking care of the issue, he decides not to do anything about the issue and dismiss our grievance. Once our original server arrived, she said she'd take care of the issue and took out drink, as we had wanted. This is when things get a little worse. Jacob comes back to mention "our drink was made fresh, we would have noticed a rubber band in the drink." At this point I'm livid at the implication that we put something in our drink for... What?

When confronted, Jacob denies he is implying we put the rubber band in our drink. We feel ridiculed and humiliated at this point and are debating getting our food boxed up and leaving. That's when the host arrived and assures us there was no rubber band in our drink and Jacob saw us place the rubber band in our drink. At this point we're over the entire situation and decide to leave.

The next day, we received a call from the host trying to make things right and while he offers us a comped meal and gift cards, what I really want is an explanation from Jacob as to why he felt the need to accuse us of dirtying our own drink. What exactly would we get out of that? Why was it so difficult to get a new drink? And most importantly I'd like an apology from him. All of which I was denied when he was placed on the phone with me. Instead he doubles down and again accuses me and denies me an apology. I doubt I'll ever go back to tabernas but I commend the host for trying to make things right.

So yea, the place is nice and has a great ambiance but the man Jacob really ruined the place for me. So go there for good food but if someone named Jacob is your...

Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed our first visit to Taberna Tapas. We went for a special event which we had noted on our Open Table reservation. We were seated at a window table which was wonderful. My dining partner started with a glass of sangria. She said it was okay, but not as sweet as she would have liked. I tasted it and liked it. For a starter, we ordered calamari. It came out quickly and was hot and fried perfectly. The calamari was tender, the coating crisp and flavorful. It was served with a warm dish of a lovely tomato sauce that was light and fresh - not your standard canned marinara sauce. The portion was just right for the two of us. For our entree, we ordered the Tres Mares - paella with calamari, clams, and shrimp. The paella was disappointing. The rice was too moist and mushy, and lacked a distinctive flavor. To make matters worse, the rice on the bottom of the pan stuck to the pan and was hard and slightly burned. The portion size was reasonable for tapas, but was only enough for one person as an entree. For dessert, we ordered the chocolate mousse and the flan. The mousse was excellent - thick, with a smooth consistency, and a deep chocolate flavor. It was topped with whipped cream and a fruit drizzle which was a nice counterpoint to the chocolate. The flan was good, but not typical. It was served in a dish like you would typically have for creme brûlée. In fact, the flan was like a cross between a creme brûlée and a flan. The top was slightly crisp, like you would have with creme brûlée. The custard was not as rich as you would typically have with either a flan or a creme brûlée. Underneath the custard was a layer of a thin caramel sauce. The flan was good, just not great, and definitely different than a traditional flan. Service was excellent. Ambiance was nice. The interior was inviting, there was relaxing music playing, and the noise level was generally low enough to be able to carry on a...

Dined here last night and sat at the bar. Sheesh. Wife had a dirty martini which was probably the best aspect of the experience, except that the flustered bartender spilled at least 10 percent of it in his haste to set it down in front of us. My glass of wine came from a bottle that had obviously been open for a number of days. Lackluster start to a luxury-priced meal.

Ordered a number of dishes and waited. Bartender returned to tell us they were out of oysters, which we were most excited to have. Wife, in her hunger, asked if they were out of anything else before we continued our meal. Bartender thought for a second, and answered "nope - just the oysters". We waited another few minutes until the bartender returned again to say that they were out of beets (we had ordered beet salad). Sigh We didn't bother asking whether they were out of anything else.

Kale and mushrooms were barely warm and oily - clearly not cooked in a hot enough pan. Dried tomatoes in that same dish were completely unincorporated into the dish. The dining room was busy, but it was Saturday night! Get it together!

Squid tasted as though it was basted with oil which was then allowed to drip onto the char grill. No grill marks just openly-burning oil taste. The accompanying rice, which was described as being cooked with squid ink, lacked any discernible flavor. No hint of shellfish or oceanic minerality just black mush.

Tuna tartare was flavorful, but unfit stylistically. It looked like a tostada with avaocado and a balsamic reduction. It tasted like a tostada, too. The Atun Tartare was a tostada.

Waitstaff had no idea who ordered what. It was like a food auction in there. Host at the door couldn't be bothered to check if there were seats at the bar for us (there were). Watching them try to pour a beer from the tap that wasn't pure foam was a fiasco.

Yowzers. Gave 'em an extra star because wife liked her drink which bartenders rarely get right. But we'll...