The food at Tapas Areal is great, but the service made everything 100 times better. I went in and sat at the bar because I was alone, and one of the servers asked what I'd like to drink. I first asked for Sprite, which they didn't have, and then sangria, which they only served by the pitcher. After that I ran out of ideas so I just asked her for a recommendation, and she gave me this light beer with a lemony undertone (I normally hate beer but this was great).
Afterwards she stayed with me while I was deciding what to order and giving me descriptions of certain dishes and also suggestions about which plates are the best for one person (I think she could tell I was a tourist even though I speak fluent Spanish, so she wanted to make sure I knew what everything was). I decided on a revuelto, at first the salmon one, but she suggested I try the one with mushrooms and shrimp, so I did and wasn't disappointed at all. Even though it was lunchtime, it was my first meal of the day, and I didn't know that the dish came with eggs, but it made for a perfect brunch meal. The mushrooms were seasoned to perfection and there was also salmon. About halfway through my meal, she checked to see if I was enjoying the food.
Normally I like to go to an actual pastry or ice cream shop for dessert in Spain, but when she asked if I wanted dessert, I decided to try something just because I wanted to support such a great business. I ordered the dulce de leche, which was delicious. It was creamy and smooth on the bottom and there were crunchy crust flakes on top with powdered sugar which made for a nice texture contrast. Again, my server checked to make sure I was enjoying everything and she even told me her goal was to make sure I was satisfied. Well she definitely surpassed her goal!
My whole meal was just over 10€! I couldn't believe it. Quality food and service for such an amazing price. If I go back to Vigo, I'm definitely eating at Tapas Areal again. read more