Nómade Tapas and Records — Restaurant in San Diego

New and trendy tapas place located in University Heights. I’d say give them some grace with service as they’re probably still trying to work out some kinks.

Parking: Street parking only. Got lucky with a spot right across the street at 6pm but be prepared to give some time to look for a spot.

Environment/Service: -Bar seating available, 2 high tables that can seat 4 people, and many low 2-person tables that can be pushed together for a larger party. We saw a party of about 8 there. Loooved the vibe and the music they were playing inside. -Our party of 4 came with no reservation at 6pm and thankfully, we got seated right away. However, after us, there was a little bit of a wait outside the door so plan accordingly. -It seemed that there were only 2 servers working. It took a little bit to get our orders in and took longer to flag someone down to pay at the end.

Drinks: -Their drink menu consists of wine and wine cocktails. You can also purchase a full bottle (all displayed towards the back of the restaurant kind of like at a liquor store) and they don’t charge a corkage fee if you choose to open inside. PINK MATTER ($14): I asked our server Mark what cocktail would be on the sweeter side and this drink did not disappoint!

Food: Our table ordered family style and it was the best way to try everything out. CRUDO (market price): catch of the day. It was Habachi style; served in a mango “soup” and topped with cilantro, jalapeños, and onions. This was very delicious.

KATSU SANDO ($22): 4 little sandwiches of fried chicken and bread, served with katsu sauce. I liked the crunch of the chicken and the coleslaw together. I would say that the flavors are best when dipped in the katsu sauce.

STEAK FRITES. ($32): ordered medium, served with chimichurri and a side of fries— super crispy. The steak was good but not mind blowing.

PATATAS BRAVAS ($9): this was our group’s favorite item on the menu that we ordered for a second time. Served in 3 square pieces of layered potatoes.

SHRIMP SKEWER ($14): 3 pieces of fried shrimp with the heads detached. This was very good.

Overall: Cool new tapas place that I would come back to again! Would love to try the Clam Broth that I saw a lot on...

Summary: food is very good (but not a value); service needs to improve or I won’t return or recommend; atmosphere is warm and mid-century vibey

Highlights: strong selection of amari / aperitivi , a handful of excellent wines, tasty tapas (croquetas de chorizo are craveable)

Okay: Wine selection has…just enough by the glass. No happy hour, and all glasses priced at $14 and up, though. Might have stayed longer if they kept something a little lower-range on the list.

Lowlights: for a Tuesday afternoon with only a few parties, three bartenders felt overstaffed, and service was still inexplicably slow… they were on their phones, two left to go to the liquor store (why? And why disclose that to customers?), one mostly ignored us while oversharing with a 4-top that forced us to move our seats, one poured himself a Gatorade and had it uncovered on the back bar, another made himself an iced latte and had it on the back bar… and yet, they barely attended to the music.

I sound fussy right now because this is supposed to be a listening bar, and nobody was actively, consistently selecting and cueing music. That’s why I bothered going there in the first place.

I can select my own nice bottle or Albariño and keep the vinyl going for far less than the $95 two of us paid for 2 glasses each and...

I found this restaurant online saying it’s a good place to work and study so I’m so excited as it is down the street from my place. At first the server hands me a menu and I told her I’ll think about it. I really was not trying to order anything as I wanted to simply check out the place to study. She kept coming back to me to ask if I want to order anything and I said I’m good. Then another server comes to refill my water after I finished it and asked if I wanted to get anything. I said “no, i’m just here to study, I didn’t know it’s a requirement to buy something.” She said well it’s a restaurant, it’s a business so you have to order something. I never left a place so quick as the server made me feel bad for being there. I understand that I went to a cafe, but they should not keep asking or make you feel obligated to buy anything especially seeing you work on your laptop. Also, train your servers about HOSPITALITY. Teach them to talk nicely instead of being condescending about it. The first server was blonde with an accent and was nice to me, but the second server who I thought was rude was a blonde server without an accent working on Monday, September 8. Avoid this place at all costs if you plan to just study...