Excellent meal. The restaurant is in a Hilton hotel, but do not let that discourage you from visiting. The cocktails and food were fantastic. I started with the "Verge of a Nervous Breakdown," which had pomegranate and vanilla -- it went down way too quickly. I followed it with the Stumbling Monkey (coconut rum with an egg white foam and caramelized banana slices on top), and it was very very good, but didn't necessarily leave me stumbling. My brother had a local draft beer that he said was excellent. There were four of us and for dinner, we ordered a bunch of tapas (shrimp toast, beet salad, olives, fries with melted cheese, mushroom and asparagus salad, cod croquettes, and something else) and the whole grilled Branzino (for $34) with a side of spinach and grilled mushrooms. Everything was excellent, and the service was outstanding! read more

Matadora - After - Spanish Near Me - Woburn, Massachusetts

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A restaurant like this in a hotel lobby? Not what I expected for sure. We made reservations. It's around the holidays, so we kind of expected it could be busy. It was not busy at all. We did not need reservations. They were probably three parties in the entire place. We were sitting at a hightop booth. There were other seatings available, but I think they were trying to keep things around we are at the bar was. So we were OK with that. Paragraph there were three of us. We got a picture of red sangria. It was really good, I'll be up just a tad too sweet. I think it would be really great to have if you were sitting out on the patio our summers eve. We ordered a myriad of tapas, and ended up worrying the paella for dinner which the three of us shared. We got the octopus tapas. Good. Not gummy, not chewy. Really flavorful. We got the salad that had asparagus and mushrooms. And unexpected surprise. Loved the scotch egg on it? We also got the chorizo. I have to be honest, I did not think that one was worth the price as it was only a few pieces of flaming chorizo. More visibility excitement, then actual tapas to order. I just thought the portion was a bit small. But the flavor! Very spicy but good. We also got the pear and cheese things. Those were amazing. Get them if you go. All in all? I would love to go back. It's a little cost prohibitive for me as an every day dinner, but if I wanted to have a special time to go out with friends or my guy, I would definitely think this this would be put on the map. read more

Mediocre. Food was blend and poorly served. One of the cook kept touching his face and nose, Gross

The first night I stayed at the Hilton in Woburn the smell coming from the restaurant smelled really good. I waited until the second night to visit the Matador. Since I was alone I decided to sit at the bar and thought I would get better service. Once I sat at the bar it took over 5 minutes to be acknowledged by one of the two bartenders. I ordered a draft beer and after another several minutes, had to ask for a menu. I sat down next to a young man that had bathed in cologne and it was just so unbearableI I moved to across the bar. I watched the two bartenders struggle with the bar patrons. They just couldn't get it together. After about 30 minutes of being ignored I asked if I can order. I was told "be right back." Finally she came back and got my order. A New York Strip with sautéed spinach and a salad to start with. Well all three came at once and was slide from behind me onto the bar by a food runner. In a nice restaurant and I've been to many, the salad should come out prior to the entree. At this point I was already frustrated with the service so I bit my tongue and decided to eat. The sautéed spinach was bland, not nearly enough garlic and the salad was a slop of greens. The steak was ordered medium rare and was cooked perfectly but did not have the Smokey flavor I smelt the night before, in fact it was also bland. It was OK at best. I get a better tasting steak at Texas Roadhouse. I was halfway through my meal when one of the bartenders finally came over and asked how was everything. I just said it was fine. Once I finished after about 15 minutes, a bus boy cleaned off my plates from in front of me. This was after the bartenders passed by me several times. I asked, while the bartender was passing by for the check. I watched her make some drinks, take other patrons their check and as she passed by again, I again said to her,"are you getting my bill?" She snapped at me saying I never asked her for the check you must have asked the other girl for it....uh....no. So to wrap up, service poor, food just OK, ambiance, a hotel bar. read more

The breakfast crew was very pleasant and gives you your money's worth! Shout iut to Leslies, Hau, and John

This was a very poor experience. Our reservation was for 8:30. We arrived on time. We waited patiently for over 30 minutes and all we received was one trip to the table from the waitress. She provided water and took our order. After 20 minutes of waiting for drinks we left. I informed the waitress that we were leaving because of a slow service and there was no apology given. All around disappointing. read more

The premiere spot for Tapas just outside of Boston. Matadora boasts a very sexy interior, with open kitchen, high ceilings and ample table space. PROS: From the marinated olives to the Marcona almonds, you will feel like you're back in Spain (or at least transported there for a night), with these tasty starters. No Spanish tapas experience would be complete without some Jamon, and Matadora has some delicious choices. Pair it with some cheese and bread, and I could be full before my tapas even arrive. The shrimp toast and street corn were phenomenal. I highly recommend both of those tapas. We were also treated to a stuffed oyster, which was heaven in a shell. I could have eaten 2 dozen, easy. The Staff! The GM was super friendly and extremely passionate about the restaurant. You can tell that he's proud of what they do there and it really makes you confident that this place is held to a high standard. The waitresses that came around were all smiles. They were friendly and always available. There was another gentlemen, perhaps a host, I didn't catch his name, but he was full of energy and jokes. He really had us smiling. CONS: It's in the Hilton hotel, and set back quite a ways. You will miss it, if you're not looking for it. So spread the word! OVERALL: I have no doubt I will be back to Matadora. The entire experience was 5 star. read more

Matadora - Spanish Near Me - Woburn, Massachusetts

Ate dinner with a friend at Matadora. The food was delicious. Our server was Kenny. He was hysterical. We will be back.

Took advantage of the coupon I received from the Yelp event last night and I'm still glad I ate here. Normally, tapas is not my style of dishes I go for, but I was really addicted to the corn and oysters we sampled. This time, we tried the spicy tuna tartar and the calamari. It kinda looked like a mini pizza decorated with tuna and flowers. I'm pretty sure those were flower petals and they added fragrance and a slight twist to the taste. They also had complimentary bread with olive oil as a dip. I was kinda disappointed in the bread and dip because it didn't match it's environment. Now for main dish, because I wanted to make sure people have an option of getting full off one selection...I went for the BURGER!! Yeah, this definitely got me full. It was 75% very crispy french fries (basically potato sticks) and 25% burger. This patty was bigger than I thought it would be. I feel like most restaurants hide the beef with sauce and veggies, but they did the opposite. Also, the buns were also slightly burnt, because they like to make everything crispy. read more

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I attended a 3 day seminar at the hilton in woburn. I tried to order lunch at this restaurant even though I knew I would pay top dollar. I can't speak about the food, as I was never served. I sat at the bar and after 15 minutes the server finally got around to me and said that I will get to you in a minute, even there where 3 servers a d only 6 people in the restaurant. Every 10 minutes I asked for service and was told "yeah, yeah...." even though they didn't look busy. After 45 minutes I had to get back to my seminar and went without lunch. I asked another attender how the food at this place is and they said it was okay, but way over priced. read more

As any frequent reviewer of my posts know, I like to periodically (annually) re-review my reviews as things can change. Sometimes businesses close, get bad, or sometimes, better. This is one of those posts as we've been back here a few more times since my original post. Yes, I know I've been bad about checking in, but I just had a son, so I've been a bit busy. Plus, since the Pandemic, we've been getting deliveries from here more than actually picking stuff up. As I said with my prior post, this place is all about that tapas life! As Oprah would put it, you get a tapa, you get a tapa, you get a tapa! We've had a fairly healthy number of tapas now, and they were all good. I dig the open kitchen concept, and pre-pandemic, this place has a good crowd on weekdays and weekends, which says something about the quality. We mostly do "to go" orders, and pre-pandemic, we waited at the bar. The bartenders are always friendly and drinks come out looked great. They embrace the mixology thing here. You can likely infer from the restaurant's name that the food and drink menu leans Spanish. I have ordered Mac and cheese, blistered Shishitos, flaming chorizo, churros, and sliced steak. Everything was great, seasoning, light char, texture, etc. Mac and cheese had an oily/spicy texture, but it was definitely different (in a good way). All in all, for a hotel option, this place is amazing. And, for a stand-alone dinning option, it is pretty good too. Plus, as you can see from the reviews here, the business is proactive on meeting customer expectations and addressing issues. If you have an issue, let them know prior to writing the review. Sometimes restaurants are not proactive, and the only way to address issues is through reviews. However, from my experience, management here wants you to have a positive experience. So, would I recommend this place? Yes. I do not think I'd recommend driving a crazy distance, but if you're in the area, it is worth a shot. Plus, it's nice enough for a date night (when in-person dating becomes a thing again), and maybe a hotel stay after (when that becomes a thing again too). read more

we are regulars (Monthly) at Matadora. we love the food and the atmosphere is good. Sadly, it seems that the volume of the music there is increasingly LOUD. really loud. Uncomfortably so. last visit we mentioned the volume to a staff member and the answer was 'we are trying to create a buzz'. yikes. we are trying to create a nice dinner and have the ability to chat without screaming across the table. After that answer we (all 5 of us) just walked out. we will give it another try but please, Matadora, lower the volume to a reasonable level. most of. your patrons are businesspeople or groups like us; trying to enjoy food and discussion. We'll save the talk about the music genre for another day!! read more

The food was good but the service was bad. Lots of servers but they did not know how to keep guests happy. Wait for drinks, wait for a dessert option wait for the check. read more

Honestly was excited to eat here after seeing the reviews but overall it was a disaster. Ordered an appetizer for $24 that was missing 3 things in it. Only after we asked for them did they tell us they were out. Ordered the Chicken two ways and it was super fatty. Ordered the steak MR and it came out completely charred on one side and a little pink on the other. Was told by the manager that it was "the way their grill was" and that the pieces were "too thin". Ordered salmon and it came much later than the other dinners. Dinner bill came to $140. They told us they took 15% off the bill but took it off one meal. Waitress wasn't super attentive, especially for a slower Tuesday night. Normally don't love leaving lesser reviews because I spent 6 years in food service as a waitress and bartender but it was extremely underwhelming and just flat out bad. read more

If you're going to list "fire" as an ingredient for some of your offerings, you've already piqued my interest. Delivering quality kept it throughout the evening. The open setting is very interesting, and to me appealing, though I wonder if the guests on the upstairs floors with balconies that overlook the restaurant would agree. There's quite a few interesting cocktails, sometimes with less common ingredients. But we settled for a pitcher of sangria which, at $32, seems like a lot but is actually a better deal than the equivalent number of glasses of cocktails. The sangria is quite tasty too, with the hint of orange that you really want. We opted for a mix of tapas, entrees, and side dishes. Each came out quickly and as well prepared and well seasoned. They have a nice selection of olives, cheeses, meats and nuts as well as hot plates. The best of these was the flaming chorizo (the item which lists fire as an ingredient), served with flames dancing. The dessert menu is currently limited to only 3 selections. We selected the churros, Be prepared to dip heavily into the generous ramekin of chocolate sauce you're given. Also be prepared to fight over them, because unless you are a party of 5, you can't divide them evenly (unless you ask for more). Service was equally outstanding. Though I do have to smirk at a comment the waiter was probably obligated to say when greeting us newbies - that Matadora is bringing fine tapas to Boston. First, you're in the suburbs, and second, there are already several great tapas restaurants in Boston. I'll continue to go to those. But I'll be going to Matadora now too. read more

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Excellent food. Excellent service. Nice atmosphere. Bar very nice. Outside deck but we weren't able to enjoy due to bad weather.

Christmas Dinner...food was okay although the Spinach in garlic and oil reeked of a fish smell and was totally inedible...but the other dishes were fair. The empanadas were very good .The reason for the one star and the big reason we will never go back...my husband was charged $3 for ice for his Scotch and then again for the second drink. Never heard of this and it is totally outrageous....beware...don't order a drink that requires ice.....ask first if there is going to be a charge. read more

Always a great time visiting here. Gabbi is the best!!! She absolutely deserves a raise! She made us feel comfortable and welcome every time we went to the bar during our stay at the hotel. She was also very accommodating to all of our request. We will be back! read more

Nice and delicious tapas, but small portions. I had to order a few items, multiple times, to finally fill up. But definitely worth it. I went on a Friday and they had the live music. Nice touch. Loved the ambiance around the bar. Would visit again read more

While I'm beyond ready for bed right now, I can't help but yelp Matadora before I nod off. I am home visiting from San Diego and was fortunate enough to get together with a group of dear friends from college. Selecting a place that everyone agrees on and is in close proximity often proves difficult, so i was grateful when my friend suggested Matadora and everyone agreed. Upon arriving, I was a little skeptical to see it was the restaurant of a hotel, however, as they say, "never judge a book by its cover". To my pleasant surprise, i was immediately hit in the face with a delicious, smoky aroma the instant I walked in the door. A friend and i were early for our reservation and decided to have a drink at the bar. My friend ordered the "on the verge of a nervous breakdown" and myself a Chardonnay. The one listed on the menu was out so she offered me a different one (which I didn't care for) and then another. As i noticed the pour was light, she mentioned it was the last of the bottle, and to my pleasant surprise it was on the house! Why thank you! When our group was mostly accounted for, we took our seat and glanced over the menu. To be honest, it's a bit overwhelming, but trust me when I say you have a pretty good chance of finding something delicious. Fortunately our server Rosie offered some suggestions; both on dish selections and ordering tips, as Matadora is heavily tapas based. We sampled the following: (Not all pictured due to ravenous women) WOOD CHARRED SHISHITO PEPPERS FLAMING CHORIZO SHRIMP TOAST PATATAS BRAVAS PAN CON TOMATE BASQUE STREET CORN CALAMARI CONTABRIA and 2 orderers of the warm beet salad, which I could live on. And without further ado...the star of the show... PEAR AND MARSCAPONE MONEDEROS Holy crap! I don't even know what it is, or how Mexican it is, but it's hands down the best thing I've ever eaten. Can't wait to go back for seconds! And dying to try their dessert! read more

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This place is inside the Hilton Hotel in Woburn. The atmosphere is cool it's inside the atrium of the hotel and the decor is nice and they have an open kitchen. unfortunately that's where my kind words end. The food was just not good and exorbitantly expensive. My husband ordered paella and the most seasoned part of it was the chorizo sausage. Everything else was bland, over cooked and rubbery. My steak was just ok but at price of 44 dollars I expected so much more. the sides for steaks are Al la carte so I ordered some mashed potatoes. These came to the table cold, lumpy and dried out. it was almost as if they were left over from another dinner service. Our server was nice enough but rather inattentive. He was kind enough to remove the paella and potatoes from the bill. However with drinks and our app and steal it was still north of 100 dollars for the meal. it just wasn't worth it. read more

Lots of very good tapas selections. good service and nice atmosphere. Would eat here again.

This hotel has an amazing bar and restaurant attached to it. Located in the lobby of the Hilton hotel, the Matadora restaurant caters to a lot of functions and conferences. If you are local and want to check out a Swanky new spot, with expensive drinks and appetizers that are well worth the pallet, this is your place. I usually hate olives but I loved the Spanish olives. We shared a few specialty cocktails and fell in love with the speakeasy concoctions that transformed us to Boston or New York quality drinks. Would come back in the warmer months to share a pitcher of sangria on their patio with fire pits. read more

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We were there for a birthday. Have had many visits, always excellent. Excellent service by Tori, Manager Zak is very friendly and always ensures that the food and service are top-notch. We had the salmon with lobster Arancini that were phenomenal, burger and fries should be served on a silver platter they are so good. The salted cod croquettes are amazing as is the crispy cilantro they are served with. The atmosphere is excellent and what I love is that the food not only taste amazing, the textures and presentation are really nice as well read more

Can't think of anything I disliked about this restaurant. Laughed when I pulled up because I didn't realize it was in a hotel, but the set up is very cool (within what seems to be the hotels indoor courtyard area). The decor is updated and hip. The dining chairs especially were super comfortable to sit in. My friend and I ordered the corn (staple), jamon serrano and a pasta special. The corn was good (maybe could have used a little extra cheese), the jamon serrano was delicious (!!) and the pasta was great! Interesting mixed drink list and decent beer list (which we enjoyed). Our server was super nice and answered all of my questions. Parking was also a breeze. Would certainly return! read more

The full breakfast buffet is delicious. They have so many options and the food is all fresh. The hot food includes potatoes, pancakes, and bacon. They have a huge variety of fresh fruit and pastries to choose from. They also have cereal and bagels. Was able to order made to order eggs which was an extremely nice touch since I always find buffet eggs disgusting and soggy. When I ordered tea they brought me my own tea pot which was extremely cute! Highly recommend at least one morning which staying at the Hilton Woburn. read more

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Almost a 5 star, but a few hiccups. You dont typically think of Woburn as a place for good food, but this place is great. Thanks to Phantom Gourmet we decided to give this place a try. We enjoyed an eary dinner because Open Table didnt have any seatings around the typical 7pm. Interestingly the place had many spots open during that time and afterwards - it was two thirds full at most. The table had a weird wobble that we couldn't stabilize; but we just didn't rest our arms on it and it was fine. Service was ok, but all the food came out too quickly to enjoy at a tapas restaurant. Some of our food was lukewarm before we could enjoy it. We had the jamon platter with two types of olives (one tiny, and one extra large to contrast), pan con tomate, octopus, shrimp toast, street corn, long bone pork chop, and kale side. All the food was flavorful with a bit of spiciness. The wines by the glass were good as well. Hot churros for dessert rounded things off. They were bite size, smaller than we expected. The chocolate sauce was ok, not the best. There was also a live musician, Carlos, who was on the Spanish guitar and had a great voice. We were staying at the hotel for the night and had an interior room; so we enjoyed the music all night till a bit after 9pm. read more

I was looking forward to seeing the restaurant setting and trying the food. Both exceeded my expectations! Fantastic food, vibrant environment and great staff. Hats off to chef Azeddine Toumi and his team! read more

The place is at the Hilton. The food here is tapas but don't let the size fool you because they are full of flavor. The charcuterie board with the cheese and prosciutto was so deep full of flavor. The pepperoni was so rich. Drinks were on point. I would come back read more

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Food was great! Excellent service Love sitting at the bar meeting new people and chatting with the bartenders.

Very good food in a casual atmosphere. Would be fun with a large party. Most tapas are just a bite or three, so you can order a lot of small plates. The short rib is amazing. Highly recommended. Fun, complex cocktails. The tapas come out quickly, so just order a couple or a few at a time. Our server must have been new, as he seemed overwhelmed. Review would move into 5-star territory with a more read more

The food has historically been great here although when I went it was half way decent at best not sure why they changed the crispy ness to the batata bravas. This was one of my favorite spot but my last experience here was horrible. Had a birthday party with many friends the night wasn't even that busy and our server literally checked in on us every 45 minutes (at best). Drinks would often take 20-30 minutes. Our server was the black guy with short/no hair. To make things worse they include an automatic 18% which is fine to include automatic tip but 18% for below average service seems disrespectful. 10-15% mandatory seems more logical any ways Even though his service was bad having worked in restaurant I always tip 20%+ so we did the math and gave him the 2% difference. This server in front of all my friends came back out with the receipt and told me I was off on my math by a 5 dollars on a $2000 tab. Do you know how embarrassing and classless that is to complain you got a 19.9% tip on top of the fact you legit deserved a 10% tip from your horrific service? Only reason I didn't give it a 1 star is the black guy with dreads who assists in service was phenomenal he was charismatic, funny and made it his job to ensure we were all happy. I wish I could've tipped him 30% and that other guy 5% since that's all he deserved. This is a trend here too because recently friends who had celebrated with us went back. Got the same server and he was nightmarishly bad and they said the guy with dreads had to fix everything for him again. I know finding workers after Covid has been difficult for businesses but this is inexcusable. Maybe he's not meant to be a sever maybe he should be the person who assists. read more

I had both breakfast and dinner today, dinner was much better. For breakfast, my waitress had no idea what to do. She even asked me to order with the sous chefs, then she came to apologize that it was her first time and she didn't know what to do, which is ridiculous. The dinner was tasty and I'm very satisfied with the meal, the server was enthusiastic but SLOW! It took over 10 minutes to get my check. read more

Matadora - Spanish Near Me - Woburn, Massachusetts

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I absolutely love this place, if you ever want to do a staycation book this Hilton hotel. It is my absolute Favorite staycation spot!!! The place has this amazing Smokey smell when you walk in from the tapas restaurant in the lobby. I sat at the bar and ordered three tapas and my bartender made absolutely AMAZING dirty martinis with fresh green olives. They were small but of quality. I ordered a shrimp toast, street corn, and a tuna tartare every item was just amazing! So much flavor! Go here please. read more

I found Matadora on Instagram and was excited to try a tapas restaurant that was closer than Boston. I made a reservation online for the two of us and I'm glad I did as the restaurant was quite busy. We were seated after a few minutes wait and our server welcomed us. I wasn't thrilled with the cocktail menu and honestly, my order was a bit on the tart side. My 2nd cocktail was a Cava and I should have started there. For our meal we selected Iberico ham, boquerones, pan con tamate, patatas bravas, charred galician octopus, seared wild mushrooms, and the flaming chorizo. Our favorite dish was the seared wild mushrooms with a close second place going to the boquerones (sardines). Otherwise, nothing was memorable. For the price paid we would rather drive into Boston for tapas. read more

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This is my first trip to Matadora. It is in the Hilton Hotel that I am staying in. It is on Woburn, MA, which is just outside of Boston. I love this area and enjoy coming to Boston any chance I get. The service was quick and the staff were extremely friendly and helpful. I have several food allergies and must eat a gluten free diet. They are geared to help people with special diet requests. I had 3 eggs with sausages and fruit for breakfast. The eggs were done nicely and the sausage were nice mild breakfast links. There was also a good sized portioned mix of fruit. Nice and fresh. The place is very clean. It's a nice open concept, and the view is quite nice as well. Definitely a great place to eat while at this conference! read more

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Wife & I stayed at the Hilton in Woburn and this happened to be the lobby restaurant. This isn't your typical hotel restaurant as others have said again and again. This is a top notch tapas place. They paid great attention to every detail here and it shows. There is live Spanish music at dinnertime. The ambiance is incredible and you really feel like you are having an experience here. Once seated the service immediately starts to match the surroundings. Very detailed and very courtious. The prices are supper reasonable for the type of place this is. The food is frickin awesome!! We tried a few things, including the cured meats, the mac and cheese w. Shrimp, the meatballs, and calamari. Everything tasted and looked great. I definitely recommend coming here whether you stay at the Hilton or not. Just awesome!! read more

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Most reviews are spot on: The atmosphere/ambiance is amazing. The way the tables are laid out is spacious and the decor is very well thought out. The food has flavor and comes in in good form. The service was good with some specks of improvement to be had. The biggest downfall is the cost to value for the food. The disappointment came when they charged $5 for kids juice in a styrofoam coffee cup. I walked past the bar and saw a plain old Motts bottle, and the $16 Chirzo which were basically store bought mini sausages on fire. I have no issue paying a premium for great food, but when I saw this it was off putting. Besides that it's a good experience if your in the area, and want to try a new restaurant. read more

Matadora - Spanish Near Me - Woburn, Massachusetts

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Don't order their Prime NY strip steak it's always very hard. We had ordered the steak few times hoping that we just got the bad cut, but everytime it's hard. We told the waiter about this last night, but she didn't do anything. Their pork chop and chicken dishes were good, not to mention the ambiance. read more

This is the second review I gave one star. This is the second time I complained to a restaurant manager how horrible it is. His response was "You are right. I am so sorry". Food wise, it was average and ordinary. We ordered 2 appetizers, 8 tapas and 2 deserts. Tuna tartar was the only dish that was good but the service was so bad that made this dining experience so horrible. I looked at the receipt, the order was put in at 7:30pm. The appetizers came out at 8:00pm. The restaurant didn't serve any bread and for 30 minutes, we had nothing to eat but our alcohol. Why did the kitchen need 30 minutes to prepare olives, pickle peppers and cheese (our appetizers)? I had no idea but at that time, I didn't know the worse was yet to come. At 8:45pm, 1 hour and 15 minutes after the order was in the system, 6 tapas were out and 2 were still missing. We complained to the waitress. She finally talked to the kitchen. It took 1 hour and 40 minutes to deliver all the dish to the table. It broke the record of waiting time (the second longest was 1 hr). I complained to the manager and he knew the situation was horrible and unacceptable but he offered no explanation. The day I went happened to be on restaurant week. My table was not the only one that is slow. Other customers were complaining about the slowness too. The waiters and waitress were holding calamari and tapas asking around tables whether they ordered the dish. It was chaotic. If the restaurant wanted to promote itself on restaurant week, it succeeded because it is full. However, it also exposed its chaotic operation. Average food but poor operation and service. I will never never come back. read more

Matadora - Waited 30 minutes for this appetizer. Why it needed 30 minutes to assemble such simple dish, I have no clue. - Spanish Near Me - Woburn, Massachusetts

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