Importante Bodega Bar — Restaurant in Richmond

First of all, I am french. Being a neighbor of Spain, i know what true tapas are and it is exactly what we have in Importante. I went there with friends and we ordered a couple of different dishes and wines. Portions are not huge but they are meant to be shared. It’s why it’s fun. We had spanish tortilla (potatoes omelette), pintxos Pan tumaca (bread with tomato and olive oil), Serrano ham and a plate of spanish cheeses (Oh boy! Their blue cheese Cabrales has some character! Delicious but not recommended for sensitive palates!) One of my favorites are the patatas bravas (fried potatoes). Crispy outside, soft inside with the aioli sauce (garlic mayo) or their spicy home made sauce, it is simple but it makes the job! And here comes the hidden gem of the menu! The Jamon Iberico Pata Negra! Maybe some people didn’t take it because of the high price ($35) but the truth is that we have here a Product of Exception! This ham is coming from spanish black pigs raised with chestnut or acorn. Ham is cured for up to 48 months. The process gives a rich nutty flavor with lingering taste in your mouth! And the pata negra means it is the black label, so the highest grade of the Jamon Iberico (spanish ham). It is basically what caviar is to fish eggs or A5 Waggyu is to beef… It is « la crème de la crème ». Export from Spain is limited and they are hard to find. My very humble advice. Go with your family and friends! The dinner will go beyond food. With an adequate red spanish wine, you will get « Wow!! » or «Oh my God! » or « it stays in my mouth!! ». Then it becomes an experience, a memory you are sharing. For me, it will...

We will definitely be back to try the yummy food and drinks we didnt have room left to try! We wanted one of everything. Haha. We reserved roof top dining but the host/server so sweetly explained that it just wasn't convenient for them at the moment. And being in the restaurant industry I thought to myself...I wouldn't want to serve a 2 top on the 3rd floor of a restaurant either. It was just before the dinner rush and honestly I was just excited to be there. I hadn't had authentic tapas in about 20 years!

Our server was wonderful. Guided us through the best tapas to order. And also kindly made sure we didnt over order food which I appreciated because I would have had he let me! When I asked for a pretty drink suggestion he brought me this super delicious drink with a Prosseco bottle. My next visit Im excited to try the smoked old fashioned that comes in a box!

We had a delicious charcuterie board, shrimp in a butter sauce, flambe chorizo, empanadas, potatoes with aioli...all wonderful. We even had to stop ourselves from ordering another round of empanadas. Lol.

And happy hour drinks came with a complimentary snack from the chef which was a nice Spanish touch! Also an example of how simple things done right are amazing! It was just bread with some sort of smear and smoked gouda on top served warm. We got a piece everytime we ordered a drink and our server asked us to just let him know if we dont want the complimentary snack at any point. Needless to say...that never happened. Lol. We ate every piece they sent our way!

Thank you for kicking off our date night in such an...

First time at this place, for Valentine’s Day. So take what I say with a little pinch of salt, as I am sure the staff were stressed on their first Valentine’s Day and there was probably lots going on behind closed doors. Firstly, the hostess told us we had a reservation for an hour earlier, and that she called us. Neither of which was true. But they fit us into one of the three or four open tables, luckily. Our server was probably the most interesting person I’ve ever had serve me in Richmond. We learned he was an alcoholic, loves using the ‘f’ word in casual conversation, and that half the staff didn’t speak any English so he is often accused of making mistakes. Then onto the food, every course was cold, and tasted and looked like it had been under the not very warm heating lamps for hours. Dry. Wilted salad. Comically wilted. The main dish was paella but it was cold, which I asked to be warmed up, but it came back basically the same. Even slightly warmed, I have microwaved better rice dishes than this. I don’t leave reviews for restaurants, but this was honestly the most bizarre meal I’ve had in Richmond. I felt like I was on a TV show, expecting Gordon Ramsey to walk in and...