Elements Tapas — Restaurant in Medford

Elements Tapas has been our place for special occasions for years. We love the atmosphere, attention to detail, and unique dishes. Papas del Toro is my favorite dish. The crisp potatoes, tender oxtail, perfectly pungent truffle oil, white cheddar cheese, frisée, and perfectly poached eggs go together so nicely. It's the ultimate shareable comfort food. I've ordered it many, many times because it is just so deliciously unique.

My last visit for my birthday with my two friends was absolutely horrendous. The place smelled like rotten bums. The restaurant was dead. The kitchen staff emerged a few times, and the filthy sight of them combined with the smell, should have been our sign to leave. We had already ordered drinks, and bites, however, so we stayed. After all, I had never had a bad experience.

When the food came out, it didn't appear to be bad. We ordered the Patatas Braves, Manchego and Bacon Dip, and the Papas Del Toro w/poached eggs ($32). My friends and I all served ourselves some of each tapa and visited while we sampled the food. During that time, there was a person in the restaurant that needed an ambulance, and the server became pretty engrossed in that. Not a huge deal, but important to note that we weren't really checked on.

When he finally came back to ask how things were, he sold us another round of drinks, and left before I could tell him about the sub par food. At that point, two of us had spit out meat from the Papas Del Toro, because it was too chewy and we'd found bone splinters in it. That has never happened in years of ordering the dish. The poached eggs were also grossly undercooked (egg snot rockets) and the potatoes were not crisp - they were soggy. There were three tiny, pathetic little slimy pieces of frisèe - hardly detectable with all the excess grease that sogged out the potatoes. It was not good at all and cost $32! However, the three of us had all sampled it, tried to enjoy it, so about half of it was eaten.

When he was finally able to talk to us, I let the server know that the Papas Del Toro was not at all at the level that we would expect. The meat was almost inedible, the potatoes were soggy, and it was just not good. He offered no solution, because "so much had been eaten," not acknowledging the chewed up and spit out pieces of meat on two of our plates. With another patron being loaded up in an ambulance, it was not a time to argue. The server was flustered at that point. So, we paid up and left.

As much as I loved Elements Tapas and that delicious dish, I won't be back. The place smelled disgusting. The kitchen staff looked like absolute dirt balls, and the food quality was verifiably terrible. The server didn't have to comp the whole cost of the dish. He could have done just about anything to make good, but he offered nothing.

Another decent restaurant in Medford...

Holy cow. I am an Argentine/Spaniard. I know what tapas are, and you can't lie to me about these foods because I was raised on them. I was expecting another over-priced yuppie hangout mascaraing as a pseudo-European venue with mediocre food.

WRONG! One of the things I do after I eat someplace is to weight the amount of my bill against the quality of the food and the service. I try not to give 5-stars unless a place really deserves it and this venue exceeded my expectations.

It all began with a really warm welcome from a person named Dustin, who seated us and waited on us for the entire meal. He was dapper, polite, well spoken and really knew his stuff. He seemed to always be there making sure we were enjoying ourselves.

We tried to order one of everything but that is impossible. Too many things there, but what we did order was fresh, flavorful, delicious and just the right amounts.

We started out with the calamari. The thing is that when it is not cooked enough, it is chewy. When cooked too much, it is crunchy. The ideal is right in the middle. That is how this was. Delicious and tender.

I recommend any of their flatbread dishes. Especially the Seville and Tudella. Also. their pork empanadas are to die for. For dessert try the flan. It is the best I have ever had in my life.

If you like to drink, I highly recommend the Cucumber Basil Gimlet. That is what we had. It is a refreshing blend of cucumber, basil, pepper and vodka. They can also make it with gin, but trust me. The vodka is much better.

So, at the end of it all my wallet was a lot thinner and my belly was a lot bigger. But unlike many other places I have tried, I did not have buyer's regret. I am coming back.

If you are ever in Medford, you owe it to yourself to try this place out. If you are European, this will feel like home. Bring a date or some one you want to impress. They will think you...

Wouldn’t recommend the most disappointing food experience I had in Medford and overpriced! The pictures originally is not what you will receive the menu is different as well.

As a partially Spanish having lived in Spain this IS NOT SPANISH TAPAS but over priced food that tasted awful. I would suggest your better off at in and out.

Ordered: 2 beet salads about $15-18 each. It was a wet salad with cucumber and grapefruit THERE WAS NO ROASTED BEED SALAD- It was chopped chunks of beets on arugula - no raisins no cauliflower not as the menu here states. Hardly any cheese the salad was watery and the worst beet “salad” I had. When I asked the waiter he said the menu and chef keep changing.

Ordered the waiter’s reccomendation STEAK CANALES: cold meat on arugula mayo and toasted bread…the chimmichuri on top tasted like SALAD DRESSING from a bottle. $18 HAD TO RETURN IT WAS SO AWFUL.

Mushrooms: not worth the price but were ok to get down.

Ambiance: I felt like I was in a dark cave not a fine dining experience, felt that it was a bar cold, cheap looking and unwelcoming.

Waste of money and this was for Mother’s Day unfortunately I subjected my mother to this place based off of old reviews and old ownership or old chef. Not sure who would ever come here.

I wish I could get my money back

Pro: a nice waiter and only reason I gave 1 star l, truth is it deserves none. Instead a business should take pride in their food, appearance, etc but this place seemed to lack love, passion, quality, or pride in serving a...