Sneaked in without a reservation right before happy hour was about to end and I'm glad we did because the place was packed by the time dinner rolled around. Happy hour menu was sweet! Half off of wine and beers and many $5 cocktails that were pretty good! For the HH tapas we got the patatas Bravas, beets, and olives. The beers and patatas were awesome, I think we could've skipped the olives For tapas off the HH menu we got the octopus which was small in portion size but came with a really unique sauce, mushrooms with egg which was so well cooked and seasoned, the charred romaine which was different and interesting. Overall really enjoyed the fast service and yummy food. Would definitely return to try more of their tapas. This places is slightly on the more expensive side but still worth it read more

Tasting menu was fabulous. We had a table in the corner, great service, and great food. Will return and be sure to get tasting menu rather than just ordering dishes on the menu. read more

LOVED Costera! This place was great for dinner! They have a good variety of tapas to choose from! My party shared the meatballs, beet salad, and crab salad! The meatballs were my favorite! They were cooked perfectly and came in a dish with the most amazing red sauce! The flavor of the beet salad was also delicious! You could tell the beets were really fresh! The Louisiana crab salad was also really nice and light. It came on a grilled tomato which was really cool! Overall, this is a great date night place and they have a good amount of seating! read more

See all

We had a table of five, and had a terrible experience for dinner this evening. We ordered some tapas, small plates, and large plates. Service was incredibly slow. We had 6:45 reservations and it took almost 3 hrs to get all of our food delivered to the table. My partner ordered the hanger steak and it was delivered cold. It must've been plated for quite some time before it was delivered to the table. We are pretty confused why this place has such high reviews. read more

Love this place, I've been several times and each time is just as good or better than the last. The service is out of this world for New Orleans. Very friendly and engaging staff, the owner is always there and always personally speaks to guests. I was even given a complimentary drink on my latest visit. The Paella is a must order along with the gambas. Very well priced place for the quality of food and service, can't recommend enough. You have to go at least once. read more

See all

Happened to be in the area and decided to find a place to eat while there. Thanks to Yelp, we found this gem. Love the vibe, the decor, friendly service, the drinks, and the tapas! Will be back for sure! read more

See all

I often leave tapas restaurants feeling underwhelmed and underfed. Not the case here. Everything was full of flavor! We enjoyed every single dish, especially the stuffed mushrooms, seared tuna, and the scallops. Cauliflower and beets were also delicious. The chocolate dessert with dulce de leche gelato was so delicious that stomach overpowered my brain and hands and wouldn't allow me to get a photo before I devoured it. They also had a house version of a gin and tonic that was outstanding. Cardamom infused Hendrick's really added to the sensory experience of the drink! (P.S., That might just be most bougie sentence I've ever written!) read more

Costera - Seared tuna with blood orange vinaigrette and fried leeks (on the left) and shrimp and leek stuffed mushrooms (on the right) - Spanish Near Me - New Orleans, Louisiana

See all

Love the ambience here! Everything gives off a cozy feeling (except the fish heads decor lol). We sat at the bar for two & our bartender who was serving was excellent. The food was AMAZING.. from the appetizers down to the dessert! The only con was that the entree took a long time; but other than that, we'll definitely be back again! Potato Bomba: 4/5 Chorizo soup: 5/5 Roasted cauliflower: 5/5 Lamb Shank: 5/5 read more

See all

There are a few of us foodies that come together for happy hour every so often just to catch up. With schedules always conflicting, it was nice that we found a date that work for us all and I've been DYING to try costera. We went for happy hour because we all had dinner plans. Happy hour is 4-6 I do believe. We ordered one of everything on apps for happy hour and did two cocktails each. It was a delicious menu and I would love to try dinner soon! They have a family tasting menu which this is tapas so it makes sense. I think my fave was the beet salad. I know the papas bravas were great and the fried balls (idk what they were called off the top of my head). I love tapas so I'll be back soon. S/O to Avery for being the best waitress. read more

My husband and I sampled as much as we could in one visit, and it seems that you really can't go wrong when ordering. I look forward to returning. My favorite was the lamb and beef almondogas (sp?). And the fig mousse which was absolutely divine. read more

Last weekend I got to try this new and hot restaurant! Something about new and hot makes me lol. It's located in the old building where my favorite Pad Thai use to be served (RIP La Thai ). But Costera has really done a great job thus far. The space before was a little awkward but now has been transformed into a beautiful, swanky and modern looking restaurant that makes me want to have all the date nights and girls nights out ASAP. Delicious tapas adorn the one page menu. Smaller and cheaper portions at the top but nothing labeled specific as a small plate or entree. With only two of us dining we ended up sharing 5 plates and a dessert plus two drinks a piece. Our bill was around $75 each so I'd say a little more pricey than a typical night out. All the food was delicious. Definitely order the scallops. Next time, nothing will keep me from the paella! The only reason we didn't order it was because we wanted to try a few dishes as the paella was 26/person with a two person order required. Make a reservation! This place was so busy the wait for two on a Friday was going to be an hour but luckily the bar is first come first serve so we snuck into two spots there and had a fantastic experience. read more

See all

The service was good until it wasn't. We asked for the coolenary special and received a bowl of olives, sardines on toast, a fried ball of stew beef and pickled fish for appetizers. 40 minutes later, we got cold raw hanger steak and fennel covered tuna that amounted to about 1/4" total slice of fish. We were also served half glasses of beer and cider. We didn't even stay for desert. We were starved and went to a real restaurant for dinner following this very expensive ridiculously pompous, out of a jar, amateur, waste of time and money. Worst experience in New Orleans. read more

Absolutely, outstanding and service was excellent. There was no salmonella but our waiter was surprisingly well-versed with the wine list. Leftovers were spot on this morning!!! read more

My husband and I love food...we LOVE it. We set out this particular evening to go to my personal favorite place, Barcelona Tapas. It having been closed unexpectedly, likely due to COVID like everything else in the world, I suggested Costera as I had been previously with the Louisiana Associate of Nurse Practitioners at a meeting/class. At the LANP meeting, I found the food was very good, quite unique, and I was excited to see what offerings the restaurant had that I didn't experience before. Unfortunately, the menu didn't differ from that experience. I was okay with that, it was good, I could eat it again. My husband ordered a Sangria--which seemed reasonable, its a Spanish restaurant after all. Apparently, Sangria isn't an option. I could already tell this would be a difficult sell with him. The menu isn't well organized and its hard to tell what's a full serving and what's tapas style. We ordered the olives, lamb and beef meatballs, and blistered peppers to start. Then the scallops and steak for mains. What we learned is that its not really tapas and its not really not tapas. The portions are just not right for either, and the price point isn't either. We were given five meatballs, that seemed like a nice appetizer size serving; way too many peppers--its a rich dish and just a few would suffice; and an appropriate serving of olives--this should be a complementary table offering. Next came our "mains". Three sea scallops on about 1/2 cup of pasta, and I would estimate an 8oz sirloin steak sliced and covered with chimichurri and about 1/2 cup of potatoes cubed covered with a nice paprika aioli. So my husband and I got to try both. Both were served not quite hot enough, though fresh. Really nothing to write home about here, however. For this price, I want my socks knocked off, they were definitely securely in place. So pricing, our meal came out to just over $100 (we drank sodas). For that price for two we've had great experiences at other restaurants with top notch food and exemplary service. You won't get that here. The service is just adequate, a few times I considered asking for the check early so we could go somewhere else because my husband was obviously not pleased with the offerings or the service. So its really just this quandary not tapas, not not tapas. Not fine dining because of service and quality, but fine dining prices and ambiance. I feel if the portion sizes were much larger, or if the food quality was much better the price point _might_ be justified, but in its current iteration it just wasn't. Essentially it left me trying to justify what had just happened....I kept repeating "the food was good...no, it was great" as if that would excuse the small portion sizes and the exceedingly poor service. In the end though, I really just don't think I'll ever convince anyone that anything Costera has to offer is worth the price they're asking. read more

We love traveling to Spain and were excited when Costera opened up. We started with house special cocktails that were vert good. Small plates ( tapas) that we shared were the gambas al ajillo , shishito peppers , shrimp and leek stuffed mushrooms , and of course the wonderful aged jamon iberico from the Iberian peninsula. All 4 were incredible and left us wanting for more. We then shared the seafood paella and pompano a la plancha. All delicious, with the paella loaded with large shrimp, clams , mussels and calamari. The service from Taylor and Zach was first class , and they were wonderful. If your craving authentic Spanish cuisine, this is the place to go . read more

See all

I haven't lived in New Orleans in a while, but I've seen several restaurants occupy the building on this particular corner of Prytania. After a couple of years of non-travel, I'm happy to have returned to NOLA to find Costera in this spot. It's in a completely different class than its predecessors, deftly mixing Spanish cuisine with just enough touches of Gulf seafood and New Orleans flare to make it really sing. I was visiting in the run-up to Mardi Gras, so things were hopping, but the service was on point during both of my visits. Yes, I went twice over the course of four days--something I have never done before--because we had a latecomer to our traveling party who insisted on it after hearing the rest of us go on and on about the meal we'd had (nobody protested the return). I could go and just eat their boquerones and bombas and be quite content, but the albondigas, paella, and ribeye were all excellent as well. The beet salad and broccoli paired well with everything we had. The Spanish portion of the wine list is (no surprise) robust and approachable, but there are plenty of wines from other regions--primarily France--if Spain isn't your jam. Bring a group. Get some bottles. Share all the food. You'll be pleased. read more

Tried the tasting menu and I highly recommend it. Everything was delicious! The food was amazing and the service was delightful. read more

Visiting from Florida, VERY briefly in New Orleans and caught this for happy hour on a Sunday, and, I don't think I'm being bold in saying you are a complete embecile if you don't patronize this establishment! Great prices on drinks and the tapas were really great. The octopus was incredible!! Seriously recommend you try this if your a tapas fan read more

Costera - Beet salad, papas - Spanish Near Me - New Orleans, Louisiana

See all

DELICIOUS. Came here with a party of 4 to celebrate a birthday and Costera did not disappoint. We ordered the sweetbreads, wild mushrooms, seafood paella (jumbo gulf shrimp, little neck clams and mussels), and the hangar steak to share. For dessert we had the coffee panna cotta and pistachio goat cheesecake. Everything was 10/10 and plates were empty. Rarely do we leave without leftovers and this place just left me craving more. I'm already thinking about the next time we can go back to try the rest of the menu! PS the old fashions are good here, too. $10 read more

See all

I was unsuspectedly blown away with how GOOD the food was on my visit. Like really good! Started off with the Costera Gin & Tonic. I detest gin, but LOVE a G&T because of the magic of chemistry, and this one did not disappoint!! Grapefruit lime & mint were so light and refreshing in here. It's a huge glass too. So worth it. My taste buds were pretty happy to start off. We did about 5 tapas plates to share between 2 ppl, plus dessert and drinks and we left FULL. The tapas are a decent size for what one would expect for tapas. We got the Jamon Ibérico because you have to in a Spanish restaurant and it was delicious as cured leg of meat should be! It was followed by a fantastic little bowl of marinated beets which were the hands down fav pf our tapas. The blistered shishito peppers were solid, the scallops had an AMAZING crispy seat on them and were served atop saffron fideos (which are fancy Spanish noodles that are short and look like angel hair pasta). The only thing that didn't delight my taste buds was the veal sweetbreads, but I think that's a personal preference thing, though I will say I'm normally down with the organ meats. Service was spot on, friendly and attentive, like he was happy to be there, which is so nice. As you make your way down the tapas menu, the dishes get heavier/meatier and the prices rise a bit and the bottom of the menu is a handful if entrees. Wished I had another stomach to try their paella, but it's a min order for two people and my extra stomach was saving up for dessert. I think we made the best choice for dessert- the pistachio crusted cheesecake. Easy, ingenious and freakin' delicious, served atop a smear of lemon curd so yummy I wanted to lick the plate. I want to go home and encrust everything in pistachios and slap some lemon curd on it and stick it in my pie hole. So yeah, very pleasantly surprised with how fantastic my meal was here. Also, I love Spain. Bravo! read more

See all

ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS! The happy hour wine deals are incredible. Their wine selection is great as well! The food is meant to share so its great for a big group. I couldn't complain about any dish. I'm not a fan of scallops and they made me love theirs! read more

I surprised my husband with a Birthday dinner in New Orleans, Louisiana last Friday the 24th of May, 2019 whilst in town for a few days over Memorial Day long weekend. I made a reservation well in advance to ensure we could dine here. Costera is a Spanish Tapas style restaurant and has only been open for about 12 months. We shared several Tapas dishes and absolutely loved all of them. Each had their own amazing fresh flavours. We ordered to start with whilst enjoying a cocktail the Citrus and Vermouth Olives. These olives did kick a punch and were a perfect accompaniment with our pre dinner cocktail. Gradually during the evening we ordered the following tapas plates: *Gambia's Al Ajllo with oregano, lemon and sherry *Scallops a La Plancha with Fideos and Bacon *Octopus a La Plancha with Heirloom Bean and Herb Salad *Shrimp and Leek stuffed mushrooms *Coffee Panama Cotta with Chocolate Bark Our waiter was fantastic and knew the menu and extensive wine list well. The ambience was wonderful and perfect for a special occasion. These dishes reminded us of our time spent in Barcelona, Spain. A fabulous birthday evening was had at Costera. read more

See all

What an upgrade to this space! The menu is shareable, which I love for meals with those who matter- everyone can try a little of everything, which is my suggested way of eating through this restaurant. We had both the meat and the seafood paella and both pans were scraped clean! I also sampled the seared yellowfin tuna, which was cooked perfectly. The inside has been renovated, which makes Costera a great selection for date night or meeting folks at their cozy (and spacious!) bar. For small plates, try the papas bravas, the marinated olives, blistered shishito peppers or the lamb sweetbreads. Please try all of the desserts- you'll be glad you did. If you only have room for one, I suggest you get the chocolate dish or the cheesecake. I am still thinking of that lemon curd on the cheesecake and it's a week later. In addition to the more intimate tables, there is space to seat parties, so consider this when scheduling your next work lunch, birthday dinner, etc. We were in from out of town with friends during some of the magnificent mardi gras madness, and this spot was perfect for us. For such a large space, it's also pretty quiet, which was a bonus for me. read more

See all

Great service. Tried the family tasting. All the food was overly salted and tasted like olives. So much that our mouths were burning. Ambience was dark and meh. read more

We were looking for a place with shareable, small plates, and were happy to find Costera nearby. The food and service were excellent. We ordered the citrus and vermouth marinated olives, blistered shishito peppers, and papas bravas for entrees. Three dishes was more than enough for two people. The olives were tasty and went quickly! The shishito peppers were some of the best I've ever had, grilled and salted with just the right amount of seasoning. A couple of them had a bit of a kick! The papas were lightly fried and had the perfect amount of aioli with them. We ordered the brûléed arroz con leche with peach for desert. Wow! One of the best deserts I've had. Beautiful arrangement and super sweet and tasty after the salty food. We ate at the bar, and Jason was our bartender/server. He knew the menu well and was able to suggest menu items and wine to us. Super friendly and knowledgeable, he's a great asset to the restaurant. I would enjoy trying some of the meat based entrees, but that's for next time. read more

Since my move down here, I've been in search of a tapas joint, and I think I've found it. The grilled octopus was tender accompanied with a refreshing salad with heirloom beans. Delicious! I'm definitely a fan of the beef shank bombas! Crispy exterior with flavorful tender beef within. Great place to bring friends and family. Keep up the good work! read more

Costera - Octopus a la plancha - Spanish Near Me - New Orleans, Louisiana

See all

Stopped in on a Monday afternoon. We were planning on trying one cocktail and sharing a tapa dish. By the time we left, the two of us had enjoyed 4 tapas and 4 cocktails between us. We couldn't have been more impressed with the quality and flavor of the food! My favorite was the beef shank and potato bravas. So surprisingly delicious, rich and satisfying! More like comfort food than I anticipated. The calamari was perfect (to us/fried like we love it), and the cumin and mint cauliflower, while strong, was deemed a winner as well. It bursts with cumin, mint and a bit of vinegar...tasty. Anyway, we'll be going back soon. A Happy Hour would be nice (which they don't offer) but as our favorite two tapas were only about $8 each; we figure being more selective with our drink options will make it quite affordable. Highly recommend! read more

Matt the bartender, super fun guy! Love the cocktails, unique and what we had tasted amazing. Would come back for more. We had a couple small plates. Towards the end we realized the food was super salty(or just simply too salty for our liking). Dessert was really good!! overall good experience hanging by the bar with cocktails and dessert. read more

See all

We saw this place recently on a list of must-try new NOLA restaurants and thought it was a nice place for an evening date. The atmosphere inside definitely sets the mood for a nice, casual date with dark exteriors, dim lighting with most of the light coming from open windows. We were at first hesitant with the tasting menu, given that it was a blinded tasting menu, but the waiter was very accommodating and swapped items when we explained to them that we weren't the biggest fan of cheese. We ordered from their happy hour first, potato brevas which tasted like fried home fries with this delicious red pepper aioli over it, and two drinks: their homemade cider which tasted similar to Mexican beer and a yuzu cocktail? After approving of the flavors, we went with the tasting menu. In hindsight, the tasting menu will definitely leave you full (definitely do not eat beforehand) and was perhaps too much for two people! The order of the dishes included 3 appetizers, 3 mid-courses, and 3 entrees and presented as following: Olives - we should have told the waiter we were not the biggest fan of olives! Really plump olivers, however, to those who do enjoy them. Beef Shank - crisp exterior with minced beef shank inside of a spherical ball. Was a tad too buttery for our liking Shisito Peppers - flavorful shisito peppers. Careful, there was one incredibly spicy one in each order to surprise your taste buds! Romaine Lettuce with almonds - a nice palette cleanser, but was very lemony. Honestly, given the portion this could've been a salad for two Mushrooms - nice mushrooms with butteriness Tuna - tuna slices, nothing extraordinary Scallops with noodles - scallops cooked perfectly, but the noodles were too buttery Shrimp - very excited from the first impression. Large prawns in a hot cast iron always present nicely when served. When eatern, it was way too salty! Nice flavors, but the salt killed it for us Broccoli - Charred broccoli, nothing special Dessert - Homemade Honey butter tart with buttercream? It was a warm tart with lots of butteriness as you can expect, but we were not the biggest fan, plus we were already so full! The dishes' flavor and over-saltiness overall gets a mediocre 3-stars, but their cocktails and atmosphere brings my review to a 4-star. It's definitely worth a visit if you're in the area, but I think next time we won't go with a blind tasting menu! read more

Wow Wow Wow, Absolutely incredible Food!!! The 3 "Wows" says it all! The Red Snapper Crudo is the bomb! Barcelona doesn't do it any better! read more

Menu options limited. Scallops were undercooked. Some food items bland and not memorable. Tables very close together. Restaurant is loud, event room by dining tables can be bothersome. Servers going in event room banging against our chairs. Will not return and would not recommend. read more

Food - (4 stars). Great menu, Spanish tapas are a nice change of pace for NOLA. Paella was the best I've ever had (including in Barcelona), rice cooked perfect with that great crispy patina on bottom, muscles and clams plentiful, and the plump peas added the color. Other items, we had were average, including pan con tomate which was too greasy. However, peaking at neighboring tables, most dishes looked very good including the papas bravas and spicy shrimp. Wine and Cocktails (4 stars) - Wine list was heavy on the Spanish and Napa, which are both my favorites. Great prices, with more than a few bottles in the $40 range. The cocktail list was not to my taste, with too few bourbon drinks, but that is just a personal preference. Service - (5 stars) Friendly, fast, always a smile. I think typically in NOLA you get better service away from the tourism areas, as Costera is. Ambiance - (4 stars) Clean, comfortable, great long bar, open warehouse feel. Tables for two may be a little too close together by back wall, but hey, sometimes eavesdropping is fun ;) read more

Costera - Logo on Point - Spanish Near Me - New Orleans, Louisiana

See all

Always love coming here. Food, ambiance, service all spot on. Grilled Romaine Salad, Gambas Al Ajillo, Grilled Octopus were some of the many things we ate. And all the desserts ! read more

Hand down one of my favorite restaurants in New Orleans. Last night was our second time dining there, and it was even better than the first time. Both times we started with the shishito peppers and they had a delicious, savory taste to them. We also started with the dry cured chorizo and it complemented the peppers perfectly. I couldn't stop eating them. The first time we went my boyfriend was blown away by the lamb shank. The meat completely fell off the bone. The lamb was the reason why we came back a second time! Although they didn't have the lamb last night, he got the 24 oz Ribeye and he absolutely loved it. I had the drum fish special and it had an incredible flavor; it was lemony, had capers, and perfectly oily. The time before I had the scallop and bacon pasta, which was perfectly portioned and satisfying. The service was excellent. Our server was very knowledgeable about the menu, attentive, and gave great recommendations. Overall, it was a fantastic dining experience and it is definitely one of our go to spots! read more

Great service, fantastic food, and lively and pleasant atmosphere. Hands down one of the best restaurants I have been to in quite a while.

While looking everywhere for paella, we happened to stumble upon Costera. The ambiance of the restaurant is very nice along with the staff being attentive and helpful. We went for happy hour and got nice cocktails as well as two appetizers, one including the delicious papas braves. We split the seafood paella and it was out of this world delicious - well worth the money. Ended dinner with tres leche made with with coconut milk. Service from Erin was great and she was very helpful. Highly recommend stopping here and treating yourself to quality food. read more

See all

I love tapas and this is my favorite place to get them. Everything was delicious. Highly recommend the Jamon Ibérico and the scallops.

Great restaurant! Delicious small plates of all kinds, tasty cocktails, and a nice wine list. Service was also excellent.

This is one of our GoTo restaurants. Food is always interesting and different. Service is good. Noise can be a bit obtrusive but lots if venues seem to foster this. read more

The best small/shared plates restaurant in NOLA Drinks are nicely done and food is exceptional, 3 adults drinks and dinner just over hundred dollars wow! read more

See all