Destapas SF — Restaurant in San Francisco

Detapas is fabulous! If I could give it six stars, I would. I recently “discovered” it after moving back to the Bay Area and doing my usual online search for a great Spanish restaurant. This is the place! They have a genuinely Spanish menu of food and wine, with a wide variety of choices. All the tapas I had were perfectly prepared and delicious. Service was outstanding. This restaurant would be a top choice if it was right in Spain, not only as a Spanish restaurant in SF. Whether you love real Spanish food like I do, or you haven’t tried it before, have dinner at Detapas and you’ll be happy you did so. — A footnote for those who loved Contigo in Noe Valley: I practically cried when Contigo closed several years ago. It was the lone standout for genuine and top-quality Spanish food in SF. If you’ve been missing it and haven’t yet found Destapas, get in ASAP and you’ll smile once again. Destapas offers equally high quality as Contigo, combined with its own great, unique vibe. You’ll feel like you’re on vacation in Madrid while you...

Mixed experiences. Great cheesecake, but service was off when dining in.

First time, I picked up a basque cheesecake to go, (perfect, unique lemony flavor.) I wasn't aware that you had to order days in advance, yet staff accommodated my order. Muchísimas gracias!

When picking up the cheesecake, guy on the front of the house was very friendly, so I decided to come back to try more food. My high expectations were crushed by the rude service: we didn't even finish ordering, when the server walked away and didn't take our order for the main course. Tapas (pan con tomate, garlic mushrooms both just ok) were brought in slowly, which didn't seem to be an issue with the other tables. Servers didn't even acknowledge us when bringing them to the table either. Nobody checked in on us again, nobody asked whether we needed anything else. After waiting to see whether we would be acknowledged to order the rest of our meal, we asked for the check and left disappointed. Maybe it was an off...

Food was mediocre for the price (papas bravas totally uninspired, octopus was good, squid ink seafood paella was not 2 people’s worth as advertised and had a flat taste and texture profile, sangria was so weak I could barely even tell it was alcoholic). Waitstaff seated us next to a broken heat lamp they seemed to know was broken despite us being the first group (!) to arrive in the 100% empty courtyard, and then seemed inexperienced and awkward when we asked to change tables. The table was also small to begin with and the effective space made even smaller by a small bar overhanging it. Go to Bellota instead and enjoy 10x fancier setting with amazing live Spanish guitar and massive portions for only a little more. If I return to Destapas it’ll just be because I am too lazy to go far from home and just want something very casual, even though you usually pay less for more casual...