Tapas de España

[Rachel Perlow]

All I can say is Wow! And many, many, many thanks to new eGullet member Beachcove for recommending Tapas de Espana to us in another thread. Jason & I met Rosie & Lowell there last night. We had one of the most delicious Spanish meals any of us had had in a long time (and we are all frequent Ironbound goers). We were very impressed with the fabulous food and friendly service and definitely plan many return visits.

As the name implies, the menu features a large assortment of tapas. These are small plates of food meant to be consumed with drinks. The plates aren’t so small, however, and two or three could easily be an entire dinner for one person. We ordered a decent assortment of tapas, including:

• - Tortilla Española (Spanish omelet with potato, onions, ham, red pepper) made fresh and served hot, really good.
  - Jamon Serrano (Serrano ham)
  - Tabla de Queso Mixto (Spanish cheese sampler including Cabrales, Mahon, Tetilla and Manchego) the semi-soft Mahon was my favorite, Jason threw non-dairy caution to the wind and relished the Cabrales.
  - Gambas Al Ajillo (Shrimp Sauteed in garlic sauce) only one of the best versions I’ve ever had!
  - Calamar a La Plancha (Grilled calamari) a little spicy and so tender.
  - Chorizo Salteado con Cebolla (Spanish sausage sauteed w/onions) I’m generally not a big Chorizo fan, but this was amazing, the onions really add something.
  - Sardinas a La Plancha (Grilled sardines) ordered after reading the rave in the Bergen Record review (from 2000, I can't find it online), but Lowell seemed to enjoy them more than I did.
  - Papas Fritas (Fried Potatoes) the only true disappointment, they weren’t really the Spanish Potatoes we were expecting, much too thin, like potato chips. Next time we’ll get the spicy or garlic potatoes.
  

The tapas are listed in three different places: the tapas list, which is a separate laminated page from the regular menu; the appetizer section of the regular menu; and in the specials menu which is in a separate leather bound menu (entrees on the left, tapas on the right). Be sure to examine all three before you order. They range in price from $6-11 each, with most around $7. Also, only order a few at a time. There wasn't enough room on the table for all we ordered. I recommend ordering two or three and when they arrive order your next round.

In addition to the tapas, our meal was preceded by a bowl of their soup of the day. Yesterday, it was Cream of Asparagus, which was very good, rich with chicken broth and fresh asparagus flavor, while being light on the cream and not too thick. I assume this complimentary starter changes daily like at most Spanish restaurants. After all the tapas our one main dish arrived, Arroz con Pollo (Chicken in saffron rice) at steal at $11.95. Jason wanted something simple, which this was and wasn’t. It was served in a paella pan about a foot in diameter. The chicken pieces were on the bone and tender, but the star was the rice, Rosie and I just couldn’t stop eating it. I described it last night as a chicken paella and was definitely, to repeat myself, the best arroz con pollo I’ve ever had.

We had arrived just before 8PM on Friday night, and the place was already jumping. The dining room was about ¾ full and the bar was just starting to get crowded. As mentioned in the thread linked above, the bar is beautiful but it is also the smoking section. Fortunately the dining room is non-smoking and it was welcome. By the time we left a couple hours later, the place was packed and the music was pulsing. Alas, we missed the flamenco dancers and live music that I see on their website (linked below) arrive after 10PM on Friday nights. We had a reservation which I would definitely recommend; I saw them turn away a couple without one when we arrived. The parking is also an issue, I lucked out and got a spot right across the street, Rosie and Lowell were about 4 blocks away. If you do park at a meter, be sure to feed it through 9 PM, we could see the meter reader writing tickets through the window. However, this is definitely one restaurant that is worth the extra effort.

Although already dangerously full, we felt we had to at least sample their desserts. We ordered one regular flan and one special, guava, flan. The regular flan was the eggy version, which Rosie particularly enjoyed. Jason and I preferred the creamier texture of the lightly flavored guava flan. We had also ordered a pitcher of red sangria. Here’s I go again, it was the best Sangria I’d ever had. Quite fruity and boozy, you could really taste the brandy. Even the bill was a pleasure; it was almost exactly $100 with tax. After the tip we got out of there for under $30 per person! Of course it would be more if we ordered less tapas and more main dishes, and we probably would have left with lunch for today. Oh well, as it is I left wanting to return again and again.

Tapas de España

7909 Bergenline Avenue

North Bergen, NJ 07047

(201) 453-1690

Edit: The bread was really fabulous, too. Very crusty on the outside, warm and soft on the inside. :gushing:

[201]

Let me just wipe this drool off my keyboard...

Do you know if they might be open for lunch as well? I took a quick look at their website, but couldn't find any posted hours.

[Jason Perlow]

Seriously, if it wasn't for Casa Vasca and Seabra's Mediterranean Manor I probably would consider not going to Newark anymore, the place is THAT good.

I feel really bad that La Posada closed down, but I think we found our preferred North Jersey iberian.

[Rosie]

They are open for lunch. Tapas de Espana is now my FAVORITE Spanish restaurant. We had a fabulous meal, the best ever sangria and I could go on and on but Rachel described the meal perfectly. I did not like the sardines and they smelled too fishy. Also, the potato chips while greaseless were lukewarm and uninteresting. I would return here on a weekday night or perhaps a Sunday.

[Jason Perlow]

They had some other potato dishes (a garlic potatoes and a spicy potato one comes to mind) which sounded more interesting than the regular fried potatoes -- next time we'll try them.

Usually doing bad papas fritas are a major strike against a Spanish restaurant, but given how excellent everything else was in compensation, it's forgiven.

[Rosie]

I think we need to return here to be sure that the food was as good as the four of us thought it was!

[pnapoli]

Speaking of North Bergen...a guy I used to work with recommended a place called Stephen's Cafe on N. Bergenline Ave. Never got around to going. Anyone know anything about this one? Thanks.

[ngatti]

Speaking of North Bergen...a guy I used to work with recommended a place called Stephen's Cafe on N. Bergenline Ave.  Never got around to going.  Anyone know anything about this one?  Thanks.

I believe gone.

Nick

[Rosie]

Stephen's Cafe has closed. It will be reopening under a new name. Watch Table Hopping With Rosie/Openings and Closings for info.

[Rachel Perlow]

Jason and I liked Stephen's Cafe, and we went there several times when we lived in Fort Lee. Just the other day we were saying we should head back there (actually, it was when we were trying to find Tapas de Espana), now we can't. Rosie, be sure to let us know when the reincarnation opens.

[Rachel Perlow]

Jason, Jon and I returned to Tapas de Espana last night. That's right, a Saturday night, without a reservation. Dropped Jason off to get our names on the list and went to park the car. Found a spot on a side street off 79th, not bad. By the time we got back to the restaurant, Jason had snagged a bar table and ordered some tapas: the Garlic Shrimp, Chorizos a La Plancha (great, but I prefer it with the onions), Chorizo Cantimpalo con Queso (cold sliced chorizo "salami" with manchego), and Patatas Bravas (Spanish spicy potatoes).

After drinking lots of their excellent sangria with our nibbles we were able to get a regular table (about 45 minutes after we arrived), but still in the bar area. By this time I was so used to the smokiness that it didn't bother me. What did bother all of us was the lack of light. Jason said it was exactly like the pubs in Spain. But really, could notching the dimmer up a little bit so you can distinguish the items on your plate one from another be such a horrible thing?

Anyway, the food was just as good as we remembered. For mains I ordered the Pollo Ajillo with Potatos, different than at other Spanish places, more of a garlic gravy, which made the potatoes amazing. Jason and Jon had specials, pork tenderloin with an orange sauce and Baby Veal chops sauteed with wine and garlic. Both were very good and we all enjoyed tasting each other's food. Too full and drunk for dessert.

PS - the potato chips were better this time, while still being too thinly sliced they had a better flavor. Or maybe I was more drunk this time? The host had bought us a second pitcher of sangria so I must have had at least 2/3 of a pitcher all by myself.

[Rachel Perlow]

After the tip we got out of there for under $30 per person! Of course it would be more if we ordered less tapas and more main dishes, and we probably would have left with lunch for today.

As expected, less tapas and a main dish each increased the bill to $40 per person after tax & tip. No lunch for today though, we had all had light lunches and we didn't arrive at the restaurant until after 8, so we all managed to eat most of our food. Oh Well.

[Rosie]

Sharon Gintzler gave this restauant 3 stars for food in the Star Ledger 11/8/02.

[Kim WB]

This place sounds like it has the potential to be an e-gullet dinner contender, dontcha' think? I would volunteer to organize, but I've never been..I'll asssit in the lists, thread, etc, if someone is interested in choosing the menu and working with the management of the restaurant.

The beginning of December, before the major holiday crunch, perhaps?

[Rosie]

Returned here last night and after 3 pitchers of sangria I can attest to the fact that this is still my favorite Spanish restaurant!

We started off with the complimentary soup of kale and sausage and moved onto some tapas. Had frittata, white asparagus, grilled shrimp, chorozio and stuffed mussels. All were very good except the aspargus which tasted canned and were too vinegary.

Entrees were a pork chop in a tomato sauce with onions, peppers and mushroms that was reported to be good. I shared a paella for two which was tasty but skimpy on the shellfish. It was topped with a very small lobster which was missing one claw and had some shrimp and mussels in it. No clams or scallops. The rice was fabulous. Lowell's entree was the winner-- garlic chicken with potatoes which was the best rendition of this dish that I have had in a long time. We shared a flan for dessert. Dinner was $40 a person with 3 pitchers of sangria, tax and tip.

I will return here as there are many items on the menu that I want to try. I think the best way to dine here would be to order loads of tapas and one entree for every two-four people depending on how full you are.

[jhlurie]

I was back there last Wednesday myself. Learned that the white sangria is easily as good as the red.

[Rachel Perlow]

We returned to Tapas de Espana last night with some friends. The white sangria is delicious, sweet and not as boozey as the red (which we also had last night). It is also uniquely clear. Most white sangrias seem to have the same appearance as mimosas or something. This looked more like white wine with some pods of orange pulp floating in it. Very very good.

Things we ordered that we hadn't had before:

• Tapas
  Beef Empanadas - amazing!
  Fried Calimari - quite good
  Pollo Villaroy (Chicken in bechamel sauce) - very good, Jason described them as creamy chicken nuggets
  Stuffed Mushrooms - Bad - I think the mushrooms were raw when stuffed and then just broiled, they were watery and the stuffing was flavorless. First time anything has actually been bad here, dissappointing but still a very high batting average.
  Mains - everything was delicious and cooked as ordered, once again, I am only listing items we haven't mentioned before
  Chuletas de Cerdo a La Riojana (Pork chops sauteed in tomato sauce w/onions, peppers & mushrooms) - beautiful chops, though they could have been cooked a little less.
  Churrasco a La Parilla (Broiled skirt steak) - chewy cut of beef, but served with an interesting vinaigrette.
  Paella Marinera - I didn't get to sample the lobster, but it looked like a decent portion (as compared to Rosie's description above). The rice was delicious, but not as addictive and savory as the rice with the Arroz con Pollo
  Desserts
  Coconut Flan - rich and creamy flan with a layer of toasted coconut on the bottom. Similar in creaminess to the guava flan
  Crema Catalana (Spanish creme brulee) - not good. It had a nice crusty top but the custard was watery.
  Coconut and Pineapple sorbets - the better examples of the sorbet in the fruit shell varieties
  Cheesecake - it dissappeared before I got a taste, but I was told it was good.
  

[Hank]

wOULD YOU KNOW IF THEY SERVE ANY FISH AS A MAIN COURSE BESIDES SHELL FISH?

[Jason Perlow]

wOULD YOU KNOW IF THEY SERVE ANY FISH AS A MAIN COURSE BESIDES SHELL FISH?

Yes. They most defintiely have fish.

[Rachel Perlow]

Click for the fish section of their menu

In addition, there is usually a fish special or two.

[menton1]

David Corcoran yesterday reviewed this one and gave it a "Very Good". But with the NY Times, it won't be available on the web site for about 2 weeks.

[201]

David Corcoran yesterday reviewed this one and gave it a "Very Good".  But with the NY Times, it won't be available on the web site for about 2 weeks.

$*%#!!! I still haven't gotten there yet and now it's going to be mobbed. Ah well... my fault entirely. From what I've read, they deserve the business.

[RockADS21]

This may be the most favorable thread that I have ever read on a place - sounds like a must try to me!

[menton1]

This may be the most favorable thread that I have ever read on a place - sounds like a must try to me!

Saigon Republic in Englewood has a deservedly lopsided favorable thread, also.

[RockADS21]

This place sounds like it has the potential to be an e-gullet dinner contender, dontcha' think?

I second that!!!