Tapia's on Main — Restaurant in Middletown

I’m not claiming to write a complete review, but recently visited Tapia’s for a few reasons: 1) It’s a new location, 2) their regular promo of “½ price pizza and $4 drafts on Monday”, and 3) I just came back from a holiday in New York where I had wood fired pizza.

First, the space: As other reviewers have noted, Tapia’s building is the highly remodeled and former Ingall’s lumber & supply. Ingalls was a dear part of my childhood, and I’d wager that many a Middletowner will eat there just to see what’s become of it. The interior design maintains a bit of industrial character, opting for a visible ceiling in a palate of greys and tans with blue accents, and some wood. There’s a divider between the bar and the main eating area, which itself is about 45 by 45 feet of open space. The bar is a single length of about 25 feet, with televisions on either side. On one side is a cozy sitting area with an indoor/outdoor fireplace, and a large outdoor patio. On the other side of the bar is a transparent divider where diners can watch the brick oven in action.

After speaking to many people and going there myself, it seems to be a consensus that the large main eating area, combined with the industrial feel, can feel like too much space - overwhelming and disconcerting. It’s just too easy to see all of the other diners, and it’s hard to settle oneself in cozily. In the future I suspect that the restaurant will respond to these comments by installing booths and subdividing the main eating area.

The one plus side to the atmosphere is that it feels casual enough, I think this restaurant has managed to straddle the formal-casual divide.

Let’s talk about the oven and the pizza. It’s important to note for everyone that Tapia’s sticks to “brick oven” jargon, because they run an electric one. So what you’re getting here is all the benefits of high-heat masonry cooking, but the fire is replaced with an electric element underneath (the flue is for steam and cooking fumes, not the fire). I don’t mean this as a criticism, though it’s a hot topic of controversy (pun intended). As a former bread baker, I can say that it’s hard enough to manage a restaurant/ bakery, let alone with a live fire - so their decision is understandable. It’s not easy in taste tests to tell the difference between an electric and live fire oven. Yet some people will inevitably read “brick oven” and assume wood-fired.

I had wood fired pizza in New York at a high-end joint only a week earlier, paying $20 for the same ~11” size personal pizza, which I paid half price for ($7 on a $14 pizza) at Tapia’s. My impression is that Tapia’s has done well here. The variety of specialty pizzas seems to have been obsessively considered and taste tested. There were six varieties of pizza which I haven’t seen elsewhere, besides some others. Our party of 3 ordered two pizzas and I highly recommend the “Pesto” (pesto sauce, grilled chicken, caramelized onions, potatoes, cherry tomatoes), as well as the “Chios” (feta, kalamata olives, pepperoncini, red onion, oregano).

Another reviewer complained about the crust. In each of my pizzas, the balance between crust and toppings was perfect. The crust had been cooked hot enough to be thin, crisp and dark brown; the toppings were aplenty but not too much to make it soggy. The crust had a perfect thinness, it obviously been hand stretched and gently handled, with large irregular air pockets on the edges.

I was impressed by their beer variety and selection. When I asked our waitress what they had on tap, she fired off like 9 specialty beers which seem to have been well-curated. There’s an even selection of styles. I opted for the Abita Machiatto Milk Stout. As a Guinness fan, I can honestly say the Abita was one of the best beers I ever had.

Lastly, I have also had their gelato. It’s served in their subdivided, adjacent gelato bar building. I can attest to its incredible quality, though some have complained about the price.

I had no problems with the service, we were well...

I went to Tapia's yesterday for my birthday and it was anything but special.... I want to say it was a good experience for my birthday, but it just wasn't. We sat down, ordered drinks, and then the manager came over and check all of our IDs again because one of my friend's IDs looked suspicious to the waitress. It wasn't the fact that they believed his ID was fake (p.s. he is 33 years old), but he did not switch over to the "Real ID" yet, so they refused to serve him. I get that they are trying not to get in trouble, but we are a group of people all in our 30s... The thing that put a bad taste in my mouth about it was that we got carded, ordered our drink, the server didn't say a word to us about the one ID, and then we had the manager come over and interrogate us. We didn't even want to stay anymore. Honestly, our server after that seemed to be disinterested in our table and I think we saw her two more times to order food and then drop off the check. We decided to try the food at least because we did drive 25 minutes to get there. The food was good. That's where the stars are coming from. The food was very good. The drinks were good too, except mine. I ordered a spicy margarita and it just tasted like a regular margarita with jalapenos in it, but my husband's drink was good. I want to try this place again when it's nice out because the patio looks great and it has a good atmosphere, but I honestly am not sure if we would go back. My birthday dinner was pretty...

I have been a mutiple times and it was always "OK", except the first time upon its opening which was excellent. It had been 6 months, so we hoped things improved to recreate that original magic. This visit however they have really seemed to plateaue into consistent mediocrity. Not bad mind you but not inspired either. GOOD: The crab dip was excellent and still remains one of the best appetizers in my opinion. The entrees however were somewhat bland and my medium burger was very overdone and the fries lacked flavor. Service was very pleasant and professional, but not noteworthy and the drinks seemed watered down and did not reach the table as often as as would have hoped. In a nut shell after going 8-10 times over the last few years Tapia's is still just OK. You won't leave mad or very disappointed, but you won't leave longing to return either. We ate outdoors and I have to say .... that is the best thing about this restaurant. . In fairness we did not mention the overcooked burger so a resturant can only remedy issues it knows about, however I can't see returning for a while again which is diapointing because its one of those resturants your rooting for because you know it could be so...