Taberna Ole — Restaurant in Florida

We decided to come here for Valentine’s Day based on a recommendation of a neighbor. Made the reservation and then today ( day of) I get a text 4 hours before that there is a “special menu” i was kind of excited thinking it’s a nice way to experience a new place and at 65$ a person we thought reasonable. We get there right at our reservation time 5 pm sit and the first course gazpacho was ok in a small glass two sips worth. Next course… two olives with anchovies one shrimp ( the size of your little finger ) menu said colossal ) and two slivers of octopus one warm raw oyster for each of us the olive oil the shrimp was in was very delicious the octopus which is one of my favorite things to order was mushy so not a fan but the size of the offering was almost laughable tiny dishes with tiny food ( tink what you put soy sauce in at a sushi restaurant and it’s to share ) ok fish dish agin small portion but the crazy thing it came with a sliver less the one arm of a piece of broccoli my husband got a whole arm and the table next to us got a piece of broccoli. I thought the server should have maybe notice d Fish was tasty and I got something on my own .. then the duck another one of my favorite things to order so very familiar with taste and consistency.. my husband’s was way under so not able to chew it 5 very small slices you could say two real bites .. I gave him mine after one slice so he ate my other 4 since his ended up in the napkin. Now we are actually laughing onto dessert which was a small heart to share yeah .. so about us we are worlds travelers eat in some of the finest restaurants but enjoy local treasures and small dive places with greats food as well and eat out on average 3 nights a week . So I do know enough to know this was ridiculous after tip $185 and still hungry.. not worth it and sad . The service was ok tables that came after us ate entrees before us she tried to serve dessert before we got served the meat course and had to ask for more water which was empty for a while .. plenty of wait staff and not full it was pretty early and out the door in 45 min so guess that’s good and bad felt rushed and truly had hoped for a treasured find tucked away in...

Expensive and disappointing on Valentine’s Day. We were not notified of a special menu until that evening. Pre set included raw oysters and octopus. We were a party of 4. Preset was $65 per person, wine not included. One small dessert per couple. When we said that we don’t eat oysters or octopus, politely, there was no solution offered. We then asked if instead we could each get 3 shrimp, given that the appetizer had 3 proteins including shrimp. We were met with confusion. Two 3-shrimp orders were brought out. Then when we asked for the other two people, two more shrimp orders were brought out, but seemingly intentionally with only 2 shrimp each. Shrimp advertised as colossal on menu, were medium sized at best. Tasty though. We were told that we could only have the table for 1.5 hours, yet the place was empty and other parties who came, read the special menu, seemed to leave without staying. Apparently no one got the memo. Menu included one small fish dish with only a sprig of broccoli on each plate, followed by a small duck breast with a shmear of apple sauce and some alfalfa sprigs. No carb, nothing else. Four small bits of bread and the shared small dessert. The plates kept coming rapidly, I imagine to hurry us along. With four glasses of wine the bill was over $350 dollars.

We came for the usual wonderful service and tapas, inviting another couple as our guests. There were no other options for food. Perhaps the restaurant is under new ownership, but it certainly was not the experience we have come to expect at this venue. I hope that management reconsiders these...

The most authentic dining experience from Spain you will find in the area. I lived in Madrid for 6 years where I met my husband who was born there. We moved to Florida 4 years ago and while we’ve tried a few “Spanish” restaurants in Tampa, Miami, or St Pete nothing was truly traditionally Spain. Until we came here. On the day of Santiago, the day we met 7 years ago and the day we moved stateside 4 years ago, we found our new favorite restaurant.

We started with a cold draft of Estrella Galicia beer (our favorite) and dined with a delicious Ribera del duero wine. We started with buñuelos de bacalao (cod fritters), croquetas de Jamón ibérico, and boquerones en vinagre. All perfection. For dinner we had the pulpo (octopus) a la brasa and the secreto ibérico. It was exactly like in Spain. Each bite was heaven. We had to finish with the tarta de Santiago on the day of Santiago and it was a perfect ending to our meal. So authentic. Even the bread and olive oil was the best in quality. Everything you can tell is made in house up to the sauces.

We honestly can’t express how happy we are to have found this restaurant. Tamara was an amazing waitress who has lived 17 years in Spain and really knew what she was talking about. The chef really knows what he’s doing, too. The live music was phenomenal. We woke up this morning immediately thinking of our amazing experience.

Whoever wrote comments saying this food isn’t authentic clearly hasn’t eaten in good restaurants in Spain - this restaurant is Spain - from the food, to the music, to the atmosphere - and we can’t wait...