This used to be my favorite restaurant but after TWO sanitary issues in the SAME night needless to say I am disgusted. First, my sangria had a dead fly in it and my chicken had hair intertwined within it. When I bit into the chicken, the hair was pulled out by my teeth. My appetite is gone. I have never been more disgusted. Not only did that happen, but the server took fifteen minutes to greet us. I am a server myself so I was very empathetic, but when the hygiene issues continues and the server failed to get the manager that is where I draw the line. I had to get the manager myself and let him know what was going on. Completely unacceptable. They were very very unapologetic and really seemed to care less that this happened. I usually would have forgiven, but good customer service is a must for me and they failed miserably. read more

Tonight my wife treated me to Isabella's Tapas Restaurant. Since I have never experenced "tapas" before, I was not sure what to expect. Making a reservation is best so you won't wait long. I must say I was pleasantly surprised as everyone was professional, and the place is pretty trendy and very lively. I especially loved the music (George Micheal, DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince, Eddy Grant)...very, very cool! LOL! So, we met our waiter, Sam!! THE BEST WAITER E-V-E-R!! If you ever visit this restaurant, I STRONGLY recommend you ask to sit in Sam's section. He is one TOP NOTCH guy!! I am terribly picky when I eat out (due to dietary restrictions) and he was accommodating and my dinner was very Deeeeelish!! I ordered the Calamari, and Seafood Paella w/ scallops (waay too much to eat in one sitting so i'd recommend sharing or getting a doggy bag), my wife ordered the Shrimp and Mussels Paella with Pear Salad. The scallops were GINORMOUS and magnificently seared on both sides...Absoultely delish!! The Shrimp in the Paella were HUGE also and exceptionally exquisite!! For a trendy, fun, laid back, and totally hip way to end the week... stroll over to Isabella's in Frederick, MD and ask to sit in Sam's section. Tell him Trisha sent ya! ~:-) read more

Quite honestly, you would only like the food here if you have never been to Spain and you have never tried Spanish food in a decent restaurant anywhere in the US for that matter. Food was not legitimate and the wait staff knows nothing about Spanish food. My waitress did not know what the specials were and could not understand what I was ordering (I am from Spain). When my tapa was delivered to the table, the waitress simply said, "I would tell you what it is but I do not know how to pronounce it". A lesson in restaurant Spanish would do the waitstaff some good. read more

Came here to celebrate my birthday. Every single thing was delicious and service was impeccable. Definitely recommend. Very pricey, but so worth it! read more

I made a reservation for 6 people. When we got their the area they had us in was close to the door and extremely cramped. We politely asked Roberto one of the managers if we could move to another area which he replied with a side eye. He moved us and we thanked him, however he completely ignored us like we didn't exist. He then complained to us how we threw off his arrangement and how he would have to move the next group of people who made a reservation. Bottom line after this we all decided it would be better if we did not eat here. I'm sure the food is great and the employees are nice but Roberto completely ruined it. Can cross this one off the list. Thanks Roberto read more

After many excellent visits, a recent Friday night was quite disappointing. Spoiled mint in my Mojita, no plates for a split entree, and feeling pressed to leave by the rotating servers though it was not yet 10. Usually I consider Isabella's a reliable place to bring visiting guests. I hope this was just a bad night. read more

My husband and I dined here for Valentine's day. Despite being busy, or server was very attentive. We dined on small plates... The braised short ribs were nothing short of amazing. Everything was delicious and flavorful. Highly recommend! read more

This was recommended by a few shop owners so we tried it. It was ok. Not bad but nothing great. The asparagus fries are just over breaded fried asparagus. Tempura battered would be so much better. The other tapas we had were again just ok, nothing I would talk about. Waiter was sweet and friendly and atmosphere is cool. Not saying don't go but don't expect greatness. read more

Omg!!! Love this delish layed back place!!! Great atmosphere! Amazing food and gigantic sangrias with apples and oranges! Wonderful time every time. Fri night- happy hr w table of food laid out. Nice. I love the tapas here. My daughter and I ordered 4, and each had a huge glass of sangria, it filled us up!! They kept bring the crispy little airy loaves if bread w olive oil, (could hv made that a meal!). The meat balls are only chopmeat in ball shapes, no taste, rubbery in a plain brown gravy w a tiny bit of oinions, blahhh. Everything else was great. Not quiet if that's what u r looking for......its got great 70 s music!!! Very quaint! Great town. Nice to walk around and shop afterwards! If I could change anything....I would add lace curtains only about 3 feet high, across the windows,(low). It would be cute and more private. Felt like a puppy in a pet shop window the whole time. Great service. The manager never spoke to anyone and never smiled. That's weird. Other than a few small changes it would be perfect. My daughter who lives there said they hv live music at night sometimes and the whole place changes mood. Check with the restaurant to see which days. So that's cool. Frederick is such a great place! read more

Isabella's - Tapas/Small Plates Near Me - Frederick, Maryland

Solid choice and brings a nice variety food-wise to Downtown Frederick. Lot of great tapas options but the only knock is that it can be a little pricey at times. read more

My husband and I took an impromptu trip to Frederick after hiking near Harper's Ferry last weekend. We walked around and looked at a few restaurant menus before choosing Isabella's due to the wide range of menu items and what looked like a full restaurant. The ambiance wasn't terrible but the restaurant is pretty dark. The server was very attentive (almost too attentive) and immediately began recommending different tapas dishes for us to try. We didn't have a chance to really peruse the menu and he was so insistent that we just ordered his top recommendation -asparagus fries - to get some time to look at the rest of the menu items. The fries came out within 5 minutes, straight from the fryer. Honestly, they were no better than something from a chain restaurant - very greasy, too much bland breading, no flavor, and the sauce was some sort of chipotle mayo concoction. We almost bailed then, thinking that if that was their best menu item we were in trouble. We decided to stick it out and order a few more things, so we ordered another recommended dish, the chorizo & goat cheese stuffed dates, and a shrimp paella. The dates came out second, underwhelming again. Not sure if the chorizo was left out or just such a small amount that we couldn't taste it. I didn't even want to finish my small portion. The paella was good, probably the best thing we ordered, but again underwhelming. Steamed shrimp, unseasoned, on top of rice that could have come from a box and was burned on the bottom of the pan. The thing about a restaurant with this many menu items is that we could have definitely just ordered the wrong things, but usually ordering the recommended dishes is pretty safe - unfortunately this time it didn't pan out. Probably won't be back to this place but I'm disappointed we didn't have a better meal as some of the other reviews on here are pretty decent. read more

We've come a half dozen times, but more recently, I went for my birthday dinner and we ordered practically the whole menu. Some things we wanted weren't on the menu and they created a version for us anyway- so nice! The pork was fantastic and the chorizo burgers great too. We We still love our favorites (the dates and asparagus fries). We did get paella, but honestly that was my least favorite of the dishes. dessert was lovely too and they brought out candles! read more

Tasty bites and a good draught beer selection. Friendly bartender. Busy but not noisy or wild.

My friend and I decided to dine at Isabella's in honor of our wonderful girls get-a-away weekend. She lived in Frederick for several years and was very excited to have me experience Tapas at Isabella's. However, our food was lackluster at best. I was served corned beef and hash from a can and the order that my friend received was massively overpriced...(crab meat slathered in thousand island dressing which she did not enjoy). When I asked for a side of avocado, and I was told that they would charge me $4 for half of a measly slice. To top it off, my wheat toast was burnt and served to me with the burnt side down. The only thing I enjoyed was my glass of wine. No matter what you do... don't drink the water! Their water tasted very foul and was absolutely disgusting... My friend and I simply could not drink it. If you want to enjoy a nice meal, and have a good restaurant experience, Isabella's is not the place for you. read more

Isabella's - Tapas/Small Plates Near Me - Frederick, Maryland

First time in Frederick. All 3 of us ate off the brunch menu (Highly rec the chorizo benedict!) and were happy with our food. Good variety of options. Efficient service. read more

Good food as always. Great atmosphere and not too loud. We went on a Saturday evening with reservations... which is a must. Service was decent, food came out slow at times making us wonder if they forgot one of out orders. The reason we gave them 3 stars is because we split the check with some friends we went with. The suggested tip they placed on the check was for the full amount not the split amount. It was our fault for not catching that but good servers typically tell you these things instead of hoping to get a 40% tip on accident. So beware... read more

Super Duper yummy food, plus great service by Ashley. Tried the asparagus, calamari, and fillet.

Isabellas is a nice place - the service was very nice (and they use opentable.com) and the tapas were generally very good. I think the place falls on the slightly pricey side for what you get - but the quality of the food and the presentation is nice. read more

Always good food; something new seems to surface every time I'm there. The empanadas were delicious, the service good.

It's a small plates place. Know what that means before arriving. It seems that some of the menu items are truly phenomenal and others are mediocre. What I can recommend is the crab stuffed avocado, the portobello mushroom and the gazpacho. My 6 yr old really loved her black bean soup as well. I ordered the Pollo Salteado for my 3 year old and she enjoyed it but I thought it was just ok. We ordered the crab and cheese stuffed yucca dumplings which were disappointing. There was no crab that we could see or taste and they were deep fried, which wasn't explained on the menu. They were basically super fancy, homemade mozzarella sticks. When we told our waitress we were disappointed with the lack of crab she notified the manager who came out to our table and very graciously apologized and refunded the price. He said they had been made incorrectly and after he inspected them he threw the whole batch out and had the chefs start over. This was a really cool move on their part. He could have been defensive and rude but he wasn't. The decor is stylish and tasteful and I loved all the real sunflowers displayed in vases. They have a big bar with tv's as well. read more

Stopped by isabella's on a bar crawl for my 60th birthday for their Happy Hour so cannot comment on their menu but can on the ambiance, the bartenders and what the liquids they served and must say I enjoyed it all. The bar is reminiscent of a traditional American hard wood bar making the ambiance comfortable and inviting but more than that the bar had personality in the form of Rick the singing bartender. Challenged to best the disappointing Mojito I just had at Nola's around the corner Rick mulled and mulled the mint while apologizing for the quality of the latest batch of mint and let me say I would never have realized mulling so much would improve quality because he did indeed best Nola on this particular evening. Now don't go in with too much expectation because I do not think Rick would last long in an audition but sing he still did and to my lovely lady and my delight as it added depth and warmth to the experience and we could tell he also made standing behind that bar enjoyable as the other bartenders smiled nearly as much as we did. Thank you Rick and keep singing, just maybe you might get past that first audition someday but my guess it would be many days from now :) read more

Good food and atmosphere. Accommodated an increase from a party of 2 to 5 on the spot on a busy day.

I've only eaten there. The paella was tasty, service was good. Menu overall was a little limited, and prices for the tapas were all over the board. read more

The tapas were good. Expected more for the price in respect to the preparation. The bill is the downfall here, we had $110 for three people and left needing a snack to feel satisfied. They have discounted beverages at the bar but not available 2 feet away at a table. read more

This is one of our favorite restaurants in Frederick. Service and food have always been good, and we love ordering different tapas each time we come, except that we always order the asparagus "fries. It's one of the restaurants I was proud to show off to my mother when she visited Frederick from Santa Fe. read more

This was my second time coming here with my bf, and we were not disappointed. Each plate we ordered was great. The calamari was perfectly fried and seasoned (part of the reason we wanted to come back was because we were craving this dish). The Kolokithoktdes (zucchini fritters) were great, although the tzatziki was the star of that plate. The datiles fritos con chorizo (dates and chorizo fried then placed on a thick pool of goat cheese cream) was something I wasn't really prepared for, but the flavors worked together really well. The salty chorizo combined with the smooth date and the crispy outer wrapping and sweet creamy goat cheese...yummy! I don't know how they came up with the flavor combo, but I definitely recommend this dish to people. My bf somehow had the insight to pick it out from a long list of menu items, and our waiter recommended it, and now I know why! We also ordered the pata negra: FYI, it is prepared cooked, not cured, although we didn't really care because it was delicious. We also ordered the panini de manchego y soujouk and the portabello a la parilla.... which were good tapas--good enough to come back for, but not as good as the other dishes. We finished off with the ice cream sampler, which was even better this time than the first time we came to Isabella's (I liked the flavors better this time), and they make new flavors all the time, which is a nice surprise to have at the end of a meal. The ambiance was cozy, a little rustic (although it's a little more upscale than the tapas bars I've been to in Madrid or Barcelona), with a full service bar up front and cute tables for the full dining experience. Service was good, what you would expect from good waiters and servers. And the food came out fast, like super fast. This happened the first time we came also, so I would recommend that you order a few dishes at a time so you're not overwhelmed all at once. We are probably going to go back next weekend when my sister visits Frederick. I don't drink, so I can't say much about the wine selection or sangria (actually, I didn't even check if they served sangria), but my bf had a beer, which was "normal," as he puts it. Overall, if you're in Frederick, I would definitely recommend this place. I would also recommend a reservation, because they seat you promptly. We didn't come with a reservation, but were lucky and were seated in 15 minutes (this was at 6:30 pm on a Saturday night). The first time we came, we waited 40 minutes. Yay for tapas! read more

The customer service in this place beats anything I have ever seen. Genuinely friendly and helpful. The food is terrific as well. Great experience. read more

My family and I really enjoy Isabella's. With excellent tapas selections for kids as well as adults, it makes for a fun evening in a lively atmosphere. The wait staff and kitchen do an excellent job of getting foods out rapidly, and the menu is fairly well thought out. read more

A multitude of fun tapas; well prepared and tasty. Although the portion sizes have diminished over time and the menu is large and disorganized, it is still a fun place to go. Your best bet is go with a group and order a variety of tapas to share. Friday nights boast a free happy hour buffet. Go early and sometimes you can catch a few special buffet additions. Their beer selection includes locally brewed beer from their sister restaurant, Brewers Alley. Try the IPA! read more

I found this place on Yelp since I was looking for Spanish food. I must say they had the best paella I've ever had in a long time. Food cooked to perfection and the beef veg steak soup out of this world. Great service and I will come back. read more

Having been totally impressed with the food and service for the most part, what I found a bit disturbing was the fact that when my friend and I entered the restaurant the wood floor is very slippery, I had on wedge heels with rubber no slip bottoms and went down like the titanic, in my nice white dress of all things, twisted my ankle, the waitress was very kind and brought me an ice pak for it, we had a great dinner, the food is outstanding, having been traveling all over the USA for the past 15 months and have dined at many places, I would say their food is excellent, the service is great, we had a lot of tapas and some sangria Which was not impressive (however that helped with the pained ankle) we had great empanadas for desert as well, everything was really great even with the pain. as I was in great company of a dear old friend I had not seen in years. When we got the check, I was thinking the nice thing would have been to have at least comped a dessert. NOTHING, on a hundred dollar check for 2. They did place a rug where I fell, which is great it may keep an elderly person from breaking a hip but we got zip for my pain. I found that a bit off as far as customer service goes. As much as I really enjoyed the food I would not be recommending it to friends for future visits as there are so many places to eat in the area. I do not expect things but with a rare instance like this one, it would have been a nice gesture on their part. Shows where the intentions of the place really are and too me that speaks volumes. So its a tough call as the food was really great and had that rug been there before I entered the restaurant my experience overall would have been so much better. And having been a professional salsa dancer I rarely ever fall or cannot keep one from happening, So good job Isabellas, you took down a pro and didnt step up to the plate either. read more

Frederick's first small plate restaurant continues to deliver good food. Can't pass up the asparagus or garlic shrimp. Warm or warm-ish weather outdoor seating. read more

I went to Isabella's off of a recommendation from a local. I figured I would give it a shot, I ordered an old fashion, and it was not drinkable (I am not a snob btw, this drink was terrible). Next we ordered a tuna dish which tasted like potato salad, and then the $12 meatballs, which may or may not have come out of a can. Lastly was the paella, they might have well have given us each a stick of butter. This restaurant is fine for $8-10 a person to eat there, but Isabella's is overpriced and the food is disgusting. read more

I have enjoyed a few happy hours at Isabellas. Pluses - complimentary buffet, variety of HH tapas, drink specials. Minuses - can't do HH on the street (which would be incredible), inside is dark for our taste and not as open (better in the winter). Tapas are good, but not the best I've ever had (solid probably describes them best). read more

We got lost and missed an earlier Friday evening downtown and ended up at Issabellas. I have been there for happy hour my date had never been there. It was 9 O'clock and there was a table for two outside in their small serving area against the front, which they promptly and courteously cleared for us. Having been inside before, I was interested to find out how "outside" was. I think that at some time the interior will deserve a logistical re-modeling albeit not now because they have a good thing going on there. I believe we thoroughly enjoyed the outside dining experience! By 930 Market street was getting quiet, with just a handful of couples outside with us, under a perfect evening sky. For a café setting on Market, I think Issabellas might be the quietest spot on packed weekends downtown. All the tapas and entrees we tried were delicious, delivered promptly and courteously. Oh, and the drinks...yummie! read more

One of the worst restaurants in Frederick. Bland food, bad drinks, unprofessional / nonexistent management and semi-attentive servers (which I blame the management for). I gave them a try a few years ago and was not impressed. A friend said they had a good lunch there and I decided to give them another try.... bad decision. They won't get my business or referrals for sure. Tasting Room is a much better evening out. read more

I like Isabella's. Truthfully I think I would give it a 3.5 if they had half-star options. Basically I love the experience of eating tapas with friends. The food itself is decent to very good, but will not blow you away. Service is good. The bar gets loud, but what do you expect with the sangria flowing. A solid place to go in Frederick. I'll be back! read more

My first visit to Isabella's a Sunday Brunch was disappointing and frustrating. The service was appallingly slow for a table of three and the restaurant was full not overcrowded. I ordered the spinach and goat cheese salad with grilled chicken. My friends ordered egg dishes which arrived separately by some time. My salad was $9.99 and the extra chicken $4.99. But there were only 7 small chunks of chicken about $.70 a piece that I could not find at first. It took so long to get the check at the end that I could have gone shopping and come back before I got it. Seating outside, I noticed, is limited but the poor waiters have to wade through patrons crowding the small doorway to get the dishes outside. read more

My husband and I LOVE Isabella's. It is one of the places we make a point to go to while visiting Frederick, MD. Our favorite tapas are the potatas bravas (sp?) and the asparagus fries. They also have an extensive wine list! read more

By far the best tapas in the area. You won't be disappointed. Reservations on Friday and Saturday nights are a MUST! Decent wine selection. A must try when you are in old town Frederick! read more