Oloroso has slowly become one of our favorite spots in the city for Spanish tapas. The food is always terrific, the cocktails are excellent, and the whole place just has such a warm atmosphere. This visit we had a Gin Mare martini, a lovely Spanish garnacha, jamón y queso croquetas, scallop brochette, tajín de pollo, and an incredible traditional paella loaded with shellfish, chicken, and chorizo. We finished with churros and chocolate sauce for dessert, which were absolutely worth it. Such a fun, delicious evening, and we're already looking forward to going back. read more

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Snagged a reservation on a Saturday night and was pleasantly surprised with almost everything we ordered. First, the vibe is great. Cozy and romantic and we were seated with a great view of the open kitchen, which compared to some other open kitchens, was humming away and directed by the head chef/owner. We first ordered several dishes from the tapas menu: Eggplant, Albondigas, Bacalao, and Roasted Beets. The eggplant was custardy on the outside and perfectly charred on the inside and its savory yet sweet profile would convert any eggplant hater. The beets were nicely steamed and sprinkled with a flavorful pistachio dukkah, though the coconut kefir swoosh on the bottom wasn't super flavorful. The albondigas were good, the pork/beef mix a bit overworked but the tomato sauce they were in was bright and perfectly spiced and made a perfect sauce to dip the abbbbsolutely DELICIOUS housemade sourdough slices this course came with. Last of these was the bacalao fritters, perfectly fried and topped with a citrus aioli. ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS. Order these. Next was the raciones course, which is basically just tapas but just more meat-centric. We ordered the chicken leg with berbere and saffron couscous (came with housemade pita bread squares) and the Spanish sausage with roasted long hots. The chicken was our least favorite of the night. Overcooked and lacking much flavor, though the couscous made up for it with its saffron essence and sweet and soft dates and apricots. The pita bread, just like the sourdough was DELICIOUS. (Can you tell I like bread?) The sausage was salty and perfectly charred and another favorite of the night. They have a tapas/raciones tasting menu for $55 and the above cost two of us about $100 so we might try the tasting menu the next time though, we left full satisfied. Definitely will be back! read more

Oloroso - Chicken tagine (far left), housemate pita (top right- AMAZING), Chistora Sausage (bottom right) - Spanish Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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Went for restaurant week, the service was kinda slow, and not much intro on the menu items or drinks. Some apps were tasty -such as the eggplant, flavor were nice but potatoes themselves were dry, shrimp and bruschetta weren't the best. The "entree" were also on the smaller side given they are usually tapas. The seafood rice/paella came in a small portion and the mussels meat were as small as nails... The chicken was tender but didn't have much flavor. Cod was crispy and the sauce was good, but lacked flavor inside. Desserts were all pretty good- apricot olive oil cake was our favorite, blueberry basque cheesecake was rich but not too heavy, surprisingly the churros texture wasn't the best and the chocolate sauce was a bit watery and bitter, but still enjoyable. read more

Service was very slow, but the good was amazing. They were very busy, the paella was fantastic, read more

Oloroso - Birthday chorizo - Spanish Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

We were a party of four, and this place is nice if you want to share multiple dishes (since it's a tapas style). The service was good, helpful, and efficient. Between the four of us we ordered: Charred eggplant Roasted beets Scallop brochette Charred octopus Grilled branzino Ensalada verdura Flatbread with mushrooms and ricotta I have to say my favourite was the eggplant, and scallop! They also give you some sliced bread for the table so it's so nice to soak up some of the sauce from different dishes! We were so full at the end, but wanted something sweet to finish off the meal, so we ordered cheesecake to share amongst us. It was not crazy sweet, and it was slightly warm and we all loved it. Would definitely come back again! read more

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The food is good. We had the pan con tomate (pamboli, in Catalan, that my grandpa used to do), croquetas and the octopus in the photo. The star was the eggplant. Also churros, a glass of sherry (fino) and a few of the Rioja. Service was terrible (authentic Spanish experience). All in all good. Would come back read more

Oloroso - Octopus - Spanish Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Delicious food coming out of the kitchen and the space is beautiful but the service was a bit of a bummer. They were understaffed and the servers were frazzled. I hope they figure out how to set their team up for success because I really want to recommend this place! read more

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It is overall a little pricey but offers high quality food. The paella has a lot of protein on top and the rice has a nice crust in the bottom. I wish they have a paella option with no seafood but not vegetarian. Also, they need to reduce the wait time for the paella as well; 1hr wait is quite long. The meatball is very good as well. It's not as sour as the meatball in Italian restaurants; it has a good sweet and sour balance. I don't like the sauce of the grilled octopus. read more

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Came here on Sunday night for dinner. So good and would come again. It is a great place to go with friends and get many different things to share. Definitely not cheap but also get good portion sizes for the price. With two people, we got about 4 tapas and 2 entrees and each had food to take home. They were a bit under staffed when I was there but still very friendly. Intimate setting with low lighting. read more

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Stopped by for a happy hour meal. The food and drink were good, as was the ambiance, however, our server was extremely rude, honestly one of the rudest I have had so that soured the experience. The sangria was decent, I enjoyed it. We ordered a variety of tapas and they were all tasty. We were disappointed they were out of shishito peppers, and they made a substitution to our mixto charcuterie without telling us. I would skip, there are likely many better options in the area. read more

Oloroso - Pan con tomate with boquerones, patatas bravas, croquette - Spanish Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The food is pretty good, but pricey. We ordered the patatas brava, charred eggplant, grilled Branzino, charred octopus, and Pan Con Tomate. I would recommend each dish that we ordered except for the charred octopus. The price ($24) is too much for a tiny tentacle with an ok taste. The service is unpleasant. The lady who seated us and took our order didn't have any welcome attitude and didn't seem pleased to serve us. read more

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My husband and I stumbled upon Oloroso for happy hour last week when our familiar favorites were completely full to the brim, and it was a lovely surprise! We enjoyed the pitcher of Sangria for $18, and it was a nice friendly pour - I think we got 2.5 pours each - either way I was feeling great after that pitcher. My favorite thing was probably the patatas bravas, my husband also completely cleaned his plate including the sauce it came with. Shishito peppers were good, nothing to write home about but I mean.. they're shishito peppers nothing too crazy about the cook of them. I didn't like the mushrooms, but that may be more of a personal opinion - although I do normally love mushrooms, just didn't love the acidity of it, texture was fine Our server was acting as both host and server, and so naturally service was a little slow, but she was trying her damn best doing two roles. The couple next to us ordered the paella and it smelled amazing, might have to try that next time. read more

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Solid choice for weeknight dinners, offering fresh ingredients, fair pricing, and welcoming staff, where small details could improve, yet consistency makes it worth revisiting again with friends or family dinners. read more

Service was poor. Tasting menu (Tapas & Raciones) was tasty but not worth it. Wouldn't do the tasting menu again. As a summary we were served in 4 rounds. (1) 3 Tapas, (2) 3 Tapas, (3) 2 Raciones, (4) churro dessert. Food comes out in rounds and it takes like 10-15 minutes to eat or so, and typically courses are streamed well. However not here -- between round 2 and 3 we are finished and there was a 20 minute wait of nothingness. We were wondering if that was the end of the tasting menu or if they gave our food to another table. And then Round 3 arrived. This Raciones round was the star and most filling. Unfortunately again after round 3 there's another 15 minute wait for nothing before round 4 arrived. They were pretty empty and no staff mention anything about a delay or that the next item might take more time. Can't say that's ever happened to me and I've had a good amount of tasting menu experiences. Would not recommend most of the Tapas over Raciones read more

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Made a reservation for 6 here. We were seated right away and the service was very friendly and attentive. The vibe is very cozy and romantic. We ended up dining there for over a few hours. The food was also better than expected. - seafood paella (5/5): this was one of the best paellas I've had (and unique). The only downside was that we had to wait over an hour for it to arrive. - gnocchi (4.5/5): delicious, wish it had even more mushroom! - spinach flatbread (4/5): very fresh - charred eggplant (4/5): eggplant can be a hit or miss but I enjoyed this version. - shishito peppers (3.5/5): good, nothing special - cheesecake (5/5): I wiped my spoon on the plate. The textures were all right and it was very good. - churros (3.5/5): good but not my favorite dessert Overall a nice place to go on a date or with friends. It is a little bit upscale, but still relatively casual. read more

Oloroso - Seafood paella - Spanish Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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This place has unique dishes, great cocktails, and was very conveniently located to my workplace for a post work happy hour

Located in Center City, Oloroso competes with top flight Philadelphia restaurants and unfortunately fails. We had reserved a week before but the hostess pointed to a table at the entrance with a cold wet wind blowing in. When we stated that this was an unacceptable location she seemed to shrug as if they couldn't care less. They suggested that we wait at the bar which we did for 25 minutes; fortunately the barman was actually accommodating and introduced us to the manager Felipe who brought us to one of the few four tops in the mezzanine. Although our table was in front of the restrooms, at least there was no cold wind blowing. We ordered the tapas including calamares frito that were standard issue deep fried breaded squid served in most fried food joints. The grilled sourdough was housemade but soaked in oil and salty. Indeed, almost everything they served lacked subtlety and finesse and was simply overwhelmed with salt, oil, and when indicated, cheese and tomato. The two grilled prawns ($18) were good but maybe two oz of shrimp, a steep price. The wood grilled NY strip was high quality and had some nice smokey flavor notes but again over salted. The squid ink fideo were tiny strands of overcooked pasta that had so much salt as to be inedible. The ink was strong enough to turn your mouth black. I hope the whoever orders the jamón ibérico at $25 an ounce (slice?) gets their money's worth. Even the churros, which were offered as mitigation, were of lower quality than in many amusement parks. Another minus is the uninspired selection of NA beverages with no 0.0 beer, cocktails, or other options. Having Sprite, Coke, and the like as the sole soft drinks shows a lack of caring for their customers who don't consume alcohol. Service was quite erratic and harried with unhappy looking waitstaff running around but not seemingly able to effectively help their customers. The final insult were a 3% credit card charge that was added before they knew how we were paying and a completely inexplicable and usurious 18% "beverage tax" that the manager was at a loss to explain and finally removed. This at the least was made up and at the worst dishonest. Perhaps I missed it but I did not see any warning about these extraordinary charges on the menu. If you have read my other reviews you know that I do my best to give the benefit of the doubt to any place that cares about its customers and prepares food with love. I could not detect either in this case. Given the high overall quality of Philadelphia fine dining, this is well below minimal standards. There are hundreds of superior options. read more

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Good solid Spanish/Spanish-inspired tapas/small plates restaurant in downtown Philly. Place has a cozy feel with friendly service. Food is good with fresh ingredients, and has a solid base of traditional tapas and some creative takes to go in the menu. Wouldn't call this a traditional tapas spot but it does serve a similar social purpose for gatherings. The paella was good even if the squid ink with fried cod one is a bit nouveau than traditional. Enjoyed the meatball and bacalau though the latter was clearly tempered for a more American tastebud. All quite good most importantly. Overall, a nice spot which I would return to if in the area and in the mood for the well prepared dishes, even if it's not a foodie pilgrimage type restaurant. read more

Stopped by for restaurant week for the tasting menu. Everything was delicious and would come back for the regular menu. For the fixed price, the dishes and options were worth it. The chef also stopped by and gave us and extra dish, which was so nice! read more

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FOOD Our table had a variety of dishes-- a mixto charcuterie with chorizo, cheese, etc.; bread and olive oil/mushrooms/olives; charred eggplant tagine; chicken skewers (highlight for sure); shrimp; salmon; lamb; seafood paella; and churros with chocolate dipping sauce. All were absolutely delicious and filling, and it was a wonderful experience to be able to try a variety of dishes without it being overbearing. DRINKS Our table had a pitcher of sangria. It was sweet, refreshing, and definitely packed a punch. SERVICE The staff are kind and friendly. They were very attentive, checking for our table's allergies and dietary restrictions before serving. Several bathrooms are available in the back and are very clean and relatively spacious. They are individual, gender neutral rooms. AMBIANCE The lighting inside the restaurant is dimmed just right for a cozy dinner with friends or loved ones. It's clean and modernly decorated with ample seatings at the bar and at tables of 2-8. The outside of the restaurant looks unassuming, but there is a lot of space once inside. PARKING Paid street parking is available at a limited capacity. Parking garages are also located nearby. read more

Food was incredible and highly recommend any of the pork belly options. Service outstanding. Ambiance was cozy and warm.

My two friends and I visited Oloroso to celebrate a 40th birthday. We were warmly greeted and served by a very sweet waitress, and we decided to go with the chef's tasting menu. Unfortunately, this turned out to be the most disappointing tasting menu experience I've ever had. With each dish, we hoped things would improve, but by the third course, we felt compelled to let our server know how underwhelmed we were. Rather than asking for details about what we didn't like or how the experience could be improved, the manager simply remarked, "We heard you guys have particular taste." She went on to say that the food represented "the epitome of Spain"--a statement I strongly disagree with, having been to Spain myself. Despite our disappointment, we continued with the tasting menu due to its price. The dishes lacked flavor--especially the shrimp and scallop courses, which sat in pools of vaguely seasoned broth or "gravy." Most items were either overly soft or lacked any textural contrast. The octopus, for instance, was limp and flavorless, sitting in liquid instead of having the expected char or crispness. The croquettes--typically a reliable staple in Spanish tapas--were among the worst I've had. Even the dessert, a cheesecake, tasted like it was missing sugar entirely. The shishito peppers ( should not be on the chef tasting menu ) were dissapponting that we asked to take it back. The paella lacked true Spanish flavors. The only dishes that were remotely enjoyable were the eggplant and the branzino. Service also seemed to be an issue, possibly due to being understaffed (we went on a Saturday). Our waitress did her best, but one staff member who brought food to our table clearly had no idea what she was serving. She referred to an oyster dish as "scallop," and when we asked about another item that appeared to be fish, she shrugged and said, "Umm... it's fish," then walked away. We left disappointed and won't be returning to Oloroso. read more

Although this place closes early (by 9PM) we were able to get some good tapas for a late dinner.

Our experience was honestly a 10/10! The atmosphere was excellent, Tosh our waitress was wonderful and the food was truly unmatched. Every item that came out was great we couldn't even pick a favorite. Run don't walk to this place! read more

Oloroso - Spanish Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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A very underrated tapas place in philly. People tend to lean towards barcelona wine bar or amada (understandable), but oloroso has some great options, too, while being relatively cost friendly. Patatas bravas are a must have if you're getting tapas and you can't go wrong with theirs. Besides the obvious, their charred octopus, gambas al ajillo, and NY strip are our favs. If you're debating between the veggie tapas though, I'd avoid the charred eggplant as it's the least flavorful thing on their menu. read more

Crazy over priced. Lackluster food. Hopefully something better eventually takes over the space.

I enjoyed my dinner here at this tapas spot in center city. Cute indoor and outdoor seating. Food was good and our waiter provided many recommendations. I feel like the menu could be a little more expansive but overall good experience. read more

Oloroso - Pan con tomato (add jamón) - Spanish Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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This might be a first, but I took no food pictures of the restaurant week items we had at dinner. However-- I still feel compelled to tell you about the experience here. I booked this restaurant for a two person dinner and got an 830 reservation. I was able to be seated right away. We were able to be seated in the back near where the open kitchen is and you could look over every once in a while and see the chefs preparing all of the meals. They do have an actual chefs table where you can literally sit and watch your food be prepared but we wanted a little bit of distance from that. It also was nice to be seated in the back dining area because it was a little bit quieter there and we could facilitate conversation. The front entrance area is where the bar is and there are also tables and seating available there it's just a little bit louder because of the bar. Everything on this menu that we tried was delicious. We had the steak. We had the meat and cheese. We had the beets. We had the ham and cheese croquettes. We had the Bronzino and we had the shrimp. EVERYTHING WAS COOKED PERFECTLY. The drinks we had to accompany the meal were wonderful and the waitstaff was so incredibly kind. While this was my first dining experience here, Oloroso has definitely made a great first impression, thank you restaurant week, and I will be back (and take pictures next time too)!!! read more

I was really hoping to like this place but everything was a bit over priced for tapas. The eggplant as everyone else had mentioned was the best dish we got. Everything else was good but nothing really wowed us. Overall, staff was very friendly and attentive. It was cozy and food was good. read more

Came here on a Thursday at 6pm to an empty place to my surprise. We were quickly seated and our server(s) could not be anymore charming. They were super kind, attentive, and had the banter game on lock. Taste: i was disappointed with the taste. Most of them were pretty blend to me. Price: a little bit on the pricier side Ambiance/decour: nice and cozy Service: just hope you get Joel and Filipe. read more

Oloroso - Complementary bread - Spanish Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The best Spanish food in Philly and honestly among the best in the city period. I dare you to order the hamachi, eggplant, steak, and Basque cheesecake and tell me otherwise. GO! read more

20% gratuity added for party of 5. 2 different taxes. We came for the paella. 3 of us don't eat pork or shellfish. We went Jan 2 and had checked out the online Winter 2024 menu before booking. The actual menu had a different vegetable paella that was mushrooms with XO mushroom sauce. Our waitress could not describe the sauce, didn't know what it was. We should have walked out. Mushrooms are not protein. The default to mushrooms only almost always means the chef is only putting something on the menu because they have to. The 2 who had the normal paella said the clams and mussels were fine but nothing special. The shrimp was plain grocery store frozen shrimp and the rice was too spicy to eat. I don't think the chef has ever been to Spain and is just randomly creating things based on a check list someone gave him. A gin and tonic was $18 for a $12 drink. The Sprite came out as a can and a glass. The mild blue cheese was inedible. Probably because it was old/improperly stored and the mold went strong/bad. We told 2 different staffers there was an issue and were ignored. We let them know 4 of 5 of us were gluten free and they still brought bread (about the only stand out Spanish item they served) for 5, no substituting anything and barely enough quince paste for 2 people. Our waitress tried. But clearly untrained. Chef is phoning it in. And its still expensive. read more

Great ambience and great tapas. Service was good as well. I think this is probably my preferred tapas place in the city. Charcuterie: quality of the meat and cheese was good. I especially loved the olives (and I'm not an olive eater either), they were so addicting! All the tapas were good. Good tapas portion, good flavors, good execution. Paella was very generous portion and the seafood was fresh. The rice was flavorful and "al dente". Will definitely come back. read more

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Tiny portions but so flavorful Octopus was my favorite Chicken was surprisingly delicious Braised beef not as tender as we hoped read more

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First off, the food was amazing and the service fantastic which makes the rest such a shame. 1. If you make an 8:30 reservation DO NOT choose the 5 course option or chefs choice. You will not have time to fully enjoy the experience. We weren't even at desert when the place was empty and everyone was cleaning up around us and the bartender left. The music got louder and we were told that if we were uncomfortable we could wrap up the final courses to go. If at the end you still plan going. Keep your choices Ala carte and not so many. 2. We get the bill. Now like most trusting people who aren't expecting to get ripped off we would have just paid but because our server forgot to add our bottle of wine (no problem, these things happen) I decided to look at the check to make sure the rest was right. First thing I see is the beverage tax. In Philly the beverage tax is applied to sweet drinks and energy drinks NOT alcoholic drinks. We did not have what the tax is intended for. We were also charged an $8 credit card fee. With this one-how did they know I'd use a charge card? What if I paid with cash. That aside I did use a DEBIT card. A debit card is the same as cash and cannot be charged a fee. We even googled these things when speaking to the manager to say hey, we're not making this up! When you say to a manager "you're taxing us twice for the bottle of wine?" and he says "YES", there's a problem. He even removed the beverage tax. (The manager was great and unless the owner would prefer he lied and look stupid, he did his job) at this point I wasn't going to argue the credit card charge, though he was aware that it was wrong, these people don't make the big money and wanted to go home. This is a Townsend Wentz restaurant. We have eaten at Townsend as well as Amano. We couldn't recall if these charges were applied there in the underhanded way they were applied here but again, we're people who trust and don't expect to get ripped off. I'm thinking the owners are putting their bets on that. Honestly, of the many, many restaurants we have dined at in Philly, this was a first. My son-in-law is a chef and restaurant owner. He'd never risk his reputation by putting a beverage tax on alcohol served or charge the customer $8 for the use of a debit card (let alone put it on the bill before knowing how the customer is paying). Yes, the food and service was fantastic, so if you're ok with $25 in taxes-the majority of which should NOT be charged-and the knowledge you're being taken advantage of...Townsend Wentz will give you that. "The beverage tax applies to nonalcoholic beverages with sugar-based or artificial sweeteners." "restaurants cannot charge a fee for debit card transactions. This is because it's illegal to surcharge debit cards in all 50 states." read more

This was a wonderful dining experience. We went with the tastings & each dish was fresh, unique & delicious. Highly recommend.

We visited Oloroso to try the chef's tasting for dinner and had an excellent dining experience. The servings were very generous, which is atypical for tasting menus but very welcomed as the dishes were delicious. We left stuffed to the brim and delighted - I'm sure the Chef would've continued serving dishes if he hadn't noticed our pace slow considerably. The ambiance was warm and we had a nice view of the staff preparing dishes at the chef's counter. One of the most memorable dining experiences in Philly and I will have to come back to try the paella. My two dishes were the prawns and bone marrow - the bread crumbs added a slight complementary crunchy texture to the richness of the marrow. read more

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It had been quite a few years since I've been here and my previous glowing reviews completely still stand. This place has only just gotten better. However, I must say that the extremely knowledgeable, kind and helpful bartender made our experience feel over the top. He guided us in ordering food and cocktails and graciously explained items that we were not sure of. Everything we ordered was delicious but the stand outs were the boquerones (white anchovy, salsa verde, gondola pepper, cipollini onion) and the bunuelos de bacalao (salted cod potato fritters). Both of these orders are explosions to the palate. The anchovies were a feast for the eyes with beautiful colors.. but also a feast for the tongue. Dipping big hunks of bread into the salsa Verda, topping it off with delicious anchovy and the nicoise olive was my favorite part of this tapas feast. We tried an array of happy hour drinks...the bartender guiding us through a sherry tasting. We arrived at around 445 for happy hour and had our pick of bar stools but several hours later the place was filling quickly and seats were becoming a prize. This happy hour was one of the best I have had in a very long time. The prices were seriously happy hour prices and the food was elevated. I wish I remembered the bartender's name because he is an extreme asset to this establishment, but I don't. However, I have captured him in a photo, so if you happen to see him behind the bar on your visit, you can be rest assured you will be more than taken care of. This was a top night! read more

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We had a really great dinner at Oloroso. The menu was full of both classic and innovative dishes. We especially loved the Bronzino, Fideo and Ensalada Mixto. Would love to try the paella next time. read more

I was there Nov 8 for my birthday dinner with my bf. Food was delicious unfortunately the manager ruined it all at the end. When we found out the paella didn't have any shrimp. He gave me a shrimp appetizer but also insinuated that we were lying about not getting shrimp in the Paella. Sad because of him we won't come back. He could've handled it way better. read more