This is one of my favorite restaurants. The tapas are good. The sangria is great. And the service is exceptional. It's fun to order small plates and try new things. They always have a few specials. And they have a huge variety of hot and cold tapas as well as soups, salads, and pallea. read more

I went to Tapas Barcelona with a friend a while ago, so this review is what I remember of the restaurant. Here we go: Ambience: We went during lunch time so it was not crowded. There a nice art work on the wall. Service: The wait staff was good but it really should be good if you only had one couple in the restaurant. Food: The food was good. As you expect, tapas are small plates so portion sizes were obviously small. We had 2 potato dishes. The first one we ordered was called potatas alioli. It tasted like potato salad. Presentation of this dish came tobus like a mini cylinder that was standing up. Basically it was pushed through a ring mold. It was okay but not really special. I think it needed some salt (my own preference). The other potato dish we had, was the potatas bravas. It was fried potato cubes with a sauce. It was my favorite of the potato dishes we ordered. We ordered this eggplant roll. It was a thinly sliced eggplant stuffed with a creamy stuffing. It tasted nice but not that filling. Next is a garlic shrimp. The shrimp had a garlic olive oil with some slice red chili peppers. It was a good dish but made better when the waiter brought us some bread to dip into the garlic oil. The last dish we got was a cold chicken dish. When we got to the restaurant, they just opened. So we were told that they did not have any of the cold chicken dishes yet. We ended up ordering the pincho de pollo dish. It laid on top of some sliced red pepper and onion. It also had a mayonnaise-type sauce. To my recollection, it was okay. It was moist when I ate it but seemed like I had more peppers and onion than meat. Overall: I would recommend trying this restaurant. Since I eat a lot, might not be ideal for me since I might break my bank trying to get full. They do have other things that looked pretty good. It is a nice place to try different items with a friend. read more

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Love the small small light dishes Not big portion! Every dish is test good Reasonable prize What else need right read more

Tapas Barcelona - Spanish Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

This is my second time coming to this restaurant, and it still is just as amazing as I remember! We had about 5 dishes, and the price for that was decent-- plenty of food for two people. The staff was very friendly and provided great recommendations, which we asked for because there are so many good options! Definitely one of my favorite spots for tapas! read more

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Can't say enough good things about this Evanston GEM!! Everything is really, really tasty and portions although small plate -- are still generous. Flavors are wonderful. I've been her for business and pleasure many, many times over many years and they NEVER miss. The service is also always outstanding. This restaurant also -- maybe the best value in this city. Very reasonable prices remain after so many hiked prices higher than I think they probably needed to go -- Highly recommend Tapas Barcelona -- great choices for vegetarians, meat eaters, pescatarians....GOOOO!! read more

The food is so good at this restaurant. The Catalana Paella was EVERYTHING. The atmosphere is great for families and friends that would like to enjoy laughing and talking while dinning. Lemon drop martini me again please. read more

Good value, interesting decor, and great food quality. The bathroom is a fun jumble of colorful ceramic tiles. read more

Tapas Barcelona - In the disorientation lounge. - Spanish Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

Rude staff and manager. Walked in for a 515 pm reservation, and despite 90% of restraint being empty, they refused to seat us at a table of our choice. If they can't accommodate such a simple request under these circumstances, then they are likely to fall short where it really matters. We walked out and went to a Venezuelan arepas restaurant next door. Go there instead--delicious food, and they make you feel like your business matters. read more

It is always a pleasant experience to come to Tapas Barcelona. The service as usual was very good! I highly recommend this place for tapas. read more

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This has now happened twice where we've placed an online order for pickup only to get to the restaurant and be told they never received it, and they've made little effort to try to fix it other than make excuses. The first time they somehow didn't see the order come in because apparently it was the first ticket when they opened for dinner service, while this time their excuse was that their internet was down so they never received the order in the first place. Both incidents were over a year apart so clearly they don't have their sh*t together. Food is decent but avoid placing any online orders. read more

Great variety. Interesting, tasty food. Good atmosphere for informal conversation. Busy but attentive staff.

I love Tapas Barcelona and have been going there for years. Friendly service and tasty food. One of my favourite tapas is the tortilla Española. I also love to drink their Margarita Espanola. Their deserts are wonderful. Reasonable prices. Very pleasant ambience. read more

Our favorite was the whiskey chicken but enjoyed everything we ordered. Service was not the best but the food was flavorful.

Excellent service. It was lovely enjoying dinner on the patio. Their vegetarian goat cheese tapas dish was out of this world. I also enjoyed their shrimp and asparagus small plate, which was actually very generous in size. The waiter was polite and attentive. He treated me with utmost respect and care. read more

Really bad service, the waiters are very rude. I highly don't recommend this restaurant.

This was one of our first stops on our multi-city vacation. My sister and her husband live nearby, and were excited to take us here. We checked out the menu beforehand to make sure there was food we would enjoy - we aren't necessarily adventurous food-wise. We found items we would like and I'm glad we went. We ordered multiple items, and some of them we all enjoyed. The ones that stuck out for me were the Ensalada a la casa, which was divine, albodingas con tomate, which was also good and the pisto manchego, which was so good we ordered an extra serving of it. Since then, I have been searching for a recipe so that I can make it at home. I also tried the pollo con whiskey which I found to be dry. This is a good, solid tapas restaurant in a great area of Evanston! read more

Recently had my birthday dinner here and I have to say the service and food was amazing. I had a reservation for 15 people and that quickly turned into about 25 people. They were great about accommodating the rest of my guests and adding more tables and chairs. The food was very tasty. We just had one person order for the whole table since they were shared items and it worked out perfect. I will definitely be coming back. Thank you for the great service ! read more

Tapas Barcelona - Spanish Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

Great spot, a little noisy but not too bad. Ordered a mix of cold tapas, salad, and hot tapas, but they all came out at once. A lot of food quickly for just two people. Tasted good, just paced sort of weird. read more

So, so good. And a new Favorite spot in Evanston! Definitely recommend saving room for dessert! the Pera Rellena de Chocolate Blanco is delicious! read more

One of my favorite tapas places in Chicago. First of all, we did not make a reservation early enough (on a Friday night) but they gave us a table despite how busy it was! Since there are so many choices at tapas restaurants, you are expected to have some good dishes and some not so great dishes. However, we loved every single dishes we had. Between the four of us, we ordered spinach salad, grilled mussels (my favorite) , grilled octopus (my favorite) , baked goat cheese, baked dates wrapped in bacon, grilled sirloin, grilled squid, crab croquette and seafood paella (I always ask my paella to be cooked longer because I like the rice a crispy). For dessert, we had flan, chocolate mousse, sautéed bananas with caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream (my favorite) , and roasted pear stuffed with white chocolate. We also ordered a pitcher of red sangria but this prego woman could not drink. You have to be careful with the sangria though, they are stronger than you think. We finished everything we ordered, except the paella, which we took home! I enjoy dining at Tapas Barcelona every time and I would definitely go back. read more

Tapas Barcelona - Spanish Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

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A good venue for both small and large group meetings. The plate portions are quite small so there's the fun of ordering multiple items to enjoy. The bacon date dish seems to be one of the most popular one. The octopus dish was also very enjoyable. The paella is much larger though. It was more than enough for three people to share. read more

Tapas Barcelona - Seafood paella - Spanish Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

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This was the worst I had in Evanston! Our bread was completely stale and borderline inedible. I kindly raised the issue and the waiter simply took it to the kitchen and returned with the same basket of stale bread. I asked him if he has toasted the bread, he answered no and walked away. Absolutely unacceptable and quite offensive! Things did not get better after this, unfortunately. For the price each tapa (around 5 to 8 dollars), you get a ridiculously small portion across the board. For example, the fried calamari can be barely shared even between two persons. Most of the tapas were either over-seasoned (the grilled veggies were way too salty), or bland and uninteresting to a fault (lamb chop). Worst of all, the mussel were not even washed properly. Every mussel I had came with sand. Lastly, not to mention the waiter completely forget parts of our order. This is ridiculous and frankly, I don't understand if management has let this place go recently, but I really wonder if they intent to stay in business serving food like this. read more

Tapas Barcelona - Spanish Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

Some truly special dishes here. The Berenjenas Rellenas con Queso (baked stuffed eggplant with goat cheese) was served in a spectacularly sumptous hazelnut-roasted pepper sauce. The De Espinacas salad was similarly delightful, with wonderful portions of goat cheese, pecans and a delightful citrus balsamic. I also enjoyed the De Jicama salad and Patatas Bravas. The Dali pizza was good but less of a standout, and I felt the same about the Potaje de Alubias Negras (black bean soup). Overall, a delightful place with pleasant decor and (at least) a couple of knock-your-socks off dishes. read more

Hmm absolutely delicious and amazing variety to choose. Got here towards closing on a Wednesday night, was pretty much seated immediately. Service was a bit meh, but I guess it was because it was towards the end of the day. Pulpito a la Plancha - Tasty tasy tasy octopus. It was not overcooked and perfectly tender. Not chewy at all. Mejillones Plancha - Grilled mussels on an iron skillet. Still sizzling of course when it got to my table. I love mussels and you can not go really wrong with it. Flan for dessert was ok. read more

Love the food especially the Catalana paella and bacon wrapped dates. The service is impeccable and staff is so friendly and nice.

My wife and I struggle to make a dining choice in Evanston mostly. Not for lack of places to eat but because prime dining time during the week is typically dead in Evanston and we hate being the only ones in the place besides the staff. Enter Tapas Barcelona, close to a few of the hotels so the crowds pick up a bit more. It is a Goldilocks option, just right. Tapas is small plates so you can choose several and enjoy a culinary adventure. Try interesting and different foods #NotBarFood #NotAmericanFare at a fraction of the price and not fill yourself up too much. My advice, go exotic with your choices. We seemed to enjoy the more exotic plates the most. The highlights, eggplant rolls and octopus. The eggplant rolls were tender like crepes and the baby octopus was tender, not chewy, and served on a bed of bok choy that had a lovely charred flavor to it. The drink choices cover a lot of ground but with reasonably priced options of sangria, margarita, beer and wine to choose from. The atmosphere was just funky enough to make you feel cool, and the service was friendly. Inside/outside seating options. The only thing I would change is the table bread choice, it seemed unadventurous given the small plate options. read more

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3.5 Stars if I could... Tapas Barcelona was empty at 6pm when we arrived. I don't mind quieter places, but tapas places are usually livelier. I liked Barcelona's warm colors and feel, but the temperature in there was way too warm on a winter's night, and our party was all getting flush with hot flashes! Food: -Bacon Wrapped Dates (Order)- a MUST at any Tapas place, they hit it out of the park at Barcelona, with a bell pepper sauce that had a hint of caramel and dark mustard that was heavenly. We dipped our free bread in that sauce! -Patatas Bravas (Skip)- another one of my faves when ordering tapas, but here they were unimpressive -Empanada de Cordero (Order)- two ample puff pastries with savory lamb, very good -Fried Octopus w/pommes frites (Maybe)- the seasoned french fries were amazing! But I'm not a fan of the tentacles. -Special of Goat Cheese with Candied Walnuts, served with crostini, greens and grapes (Order!)- Rave reviews for this Special of the night We got several pitchers of Red Sangria, which was okay. But we had to order a side of ice cubes because perhaps the hot hot restaurant was melting the ice. I mean, it was really warm in the restaurant! Good spot for a date or a group. I'm sure I'll bump this review up once I eat on their beautiful patio next summer! read more

Love the food and service here . I come here often with my clients and family. Manager was great . She came and greeted us. Drinks are good , sangria is my favorite. read more

Me gustan mucho las tapas. Pero... ¿Donde está el sabor picante?* I may be mistaken, but I was always under the assumption that patatas bravas were served with a -spicy- tomato sauce, and that gambas al ajillo came in a dish of sizzling oil with -spicy- red pepper flakes. If there was any capsaicin in either dish at Tapas Barcelona, it completely evaded my taste buds. On the other hand, you get your money's worth for the Valenciana paella served with chicken, chorizo, and shellfish (read: mussels and clams). It's readily enough to satisfy four hungry people if you supplement with a handful of tapas.** At ~$16, it'll provide a hearty serving or two per person. The extremely varied menu offers a little something for everyone, whether you're going for hot food, cold food, sandwiches, or entrées. And all at reasonable price points. And to think I once thought this was high class dining.*** Oh, how times have changed. --- * Apologies if I completely bastardized that translation. I haven't taken Spanish since high school in Arkansas. ** Okay, let's be real. If you can finish off the paella between four people -and- polish off a whole handful (read: five) tapas, you win my Clean Plate Club stamp of approval. Respect. *** Yeah. I was a poor Northwestern student once. That seems like -so- long ago now! read more

I've been to Tapas Barcelona a number of times now and while I can't bring myself to give it 5 stars for some reason, it deserves more than 4. Really wish I could give it the 4.5 stars it deserves. The food is always delicious. I honestly don't think I've had a bad dish at Tapas Barcelona. Some of my favorites Dates & Bacon - very good, not really any better or worse or different from anywhere else, but that's fine by me. Goat cheese & Tomato sauce - wonderful. absolutely wonderful, a fairly common dish but one executed very well. Pincho de pollo - excellently cooked chicken with a deliciously unique cumin mayo. Great way to counter some of the heavier/tomatoey dishes. Rigatoni con salchicha - Almost always get this one and it's a great value - surprisingly large portion for a tapas dish. Tuna cannoli - interesting take on a cannoli, somewhat subdued but intricate flavors Puffed Pastry with lamb - fairly small but a lot of interesting flavors Octopus - one of the few I probably wouldn't get again. octopus is good but not much flavor and rather oily. I always really like the Spanish margarita they have there - brandy, orange liqueor, and lemon. Haven't seen this many other places but I quite like it. Service can be great or quite terrible, there's simply no middle ground. The most recent time it was superb, the waiter knew details about everything on the menu and food came out quickly exactly as we requested it. Other times, I've had to wait and wait only to then ask again for the same dish and have the waiter realize he didn't put the order in or the kitchen lost it. Really hit or miss service. read more

I don't know many tapas places, but this is a solid one. I had a groupon here so my boyfriend and I decided to check this place out. (Make sure you make a reservation or else you'll be waiting a long time.) I checked yelp to see what was good here. We ordered the bacon wrapped dates, goat cheese and tomato sauce, calamari, bowtie pasta, shrimp in aioli sauce, the beef skewers, and creme brulee for dessert. Everything was very tasty except the calamari. It was WAY too salty. I had one piece and I couldn't eat anymore. My all time favorites were the bacon wrapped dates and the beef skewers. The only disappointing thing was that you only get 1 skewer for 7.50. But it was delicious with the sauce so I had to order it. Overall, I loved this place and our waiter was great and accommodated to our needs. Check it out for a nice dinner date! read more

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My husband and I came here for our anniversary dinner. We have been to Spain so we know good tapas and good sangria! This place does not disappoint the food is absolutely top-notch and so are the drinks along with the customer service unbelievably wonderful. We walked in on a Saturday busy night and waited for 30 minutes at the bar while our table was getting prepared outside. We are still in Covid times and outdoor seating was nice and spacious even on an incredibly hot evening there was a nice breeze. Both white and red sangrias were refreshing and yummy! Here are the tapas we ordered... Salmón ahumado, aceitunas aliñadas, guiso de lentejas(lentil soup, albóndigas con tómate(meatballs), gambas al ajillo, (garlic shrimp) fritura Del Mar (calamari), Pincho de pollo and pincho de solomillo, (skewers of chicken and beef) filetes de patatas (beef sirloin with potato) rigatoni con salchicha. I loved them all but I would probably not do the calamari again as I've tasted better in Italian restaurants but still good! Everything had such an incredible flavor. read more

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Ah, to return to an old favorite. I hadn't been here for a few years, but tonight was probably my sixth or so visit. I actually ate here with my then-girlfriend the night that I graduated from college. It's good for two, four, six, ten...any combination, really. The food was just as good as I remembered. I've been to other tapas joints in the city (namely Emilio's and Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba) but this place just feels more right. Elsewhere it seems that you're paying inflated prices for artifice; here, there is value and substance in each dish. Assuming that they haven't radically changed the menu in the last few years, I've probably tried almost every dish. Tonight we had grilled calamari, shrimp skewer, marinated artichokes...and bacon-wrapped dates. My friend dragged me here in the hopes that these dates would shake the conviction of my "no fruit and meat" rule (don't ask; neither you nor I have all night to devote to the explanation). She was wrong: while I'm sure that they are well-made and enjoyed by many others, I remain entrenched--fruit and meat should be separated like church and state. We also ordered the Gaudi pizza, thinking that it was tapas-sized. Oh no--this is a whole 12" pizza of medium thickness, and a quite tasty one, too. I had hoped that it would have some sort of Iberian slant. In any case, at $6.95 it seems underpriced. This and two glasses of sangria would be a great cheap lunch for a pair of Evanston business-types. read more

As an Evanston resident, I've eaten here 6-7 times in the past 2 years and loved it each and every time. I love that the restaurant can be great for dates, for larger birthday parties, and even for a casual meal with friends. I've probably tried around 10-15 items on the menu, and haven't found a single dish disappointing, though some are clear standouts and others are more average. While I do try to be adventurous and order a few new dishes each time, I find myself always ordering the same few, favorite dishes: Bacon-Wrapped Dates (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/tapas-barcelona-evanston?select=FAUqUQlLqBvYARjdnoGsOw#FAUqUQlLqBvYARjdnoGsOw) - having tried this dish at 5-6 other restaurants in the Chicago area (i'm crazy, i know), Tapas Barcelona's continues to be my ABSOLUTE favorite. that sauce... OMG. keep the leftover sauce & dip the bread into it. Baked Goat Cheese (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/tapas-barcelona-evanston?select=QQ4GcAttwca5ElC_UP-qUw) - another dish i've tried at other tapas places, but it just can't be beat. again, ask for extra bread, because it only comes with 4 garlic breads and there will be a lot of leftover marinara & cheese. Dali Pizza - with bacon & caramelized onions (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/tapas-barcelona-evanston?select=QQ4GcAttwca5ElC_UP-qUw#LcLXkFkjEp90a6ffIcRiIQ) - this may not be for everyone, because while some of my friends love it, some complain that the onions are too sweet. if you're someone who likes mixing sweet & salty, you'll LOVE this! and best of all... the SANGRIA. OVERALL: 4 things. Bacon Wrapped Dates, Baked Goat Cheese, Dali Pizza, Sangria. TRY THEM. You won't be disappointed. I'll definitely be back... many more times. read more

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Tapas have to be the most fun way to go out and eat with friends. You get a chance to try so many different dishes and when you like one a lot you just order more! We had Patatas Bravas, Tortilla Espanola, Gambas al Ajillo, Champinones al Jerez, Datiles con Tocino, and a pitcher of Sangria. The food was delicious, and I do agree with a previous yelper.. those dates are to DIE for. The Sangria was fantastic. The hostess was sweet and accomodating and made us feel right at home, she helped our young daughter out with a few questions she had and soon both were giggling together. Our server was sweet and everyone there definitely made us feel welcome. read more

We went to get dinner in Evanston and found this place, and I once again appreciate the design of tapas to be shared amongst the table. I was able to try their escargot, roast salmon and beef skewers and between that and the complimentary bread offered to the table, walked out after an hour feeling quite satisfied. Their red sangria was perhaps as textbook sangria as you can get, going as far as to leave out many of the little twists that other bars tend to add, for better or worse - it truly tasted like a red wine with some orange juice added, and bits of fruit floating in the wine, rather than the cocktail that I'm typically used to. read more

I decided to check this place out today since I was craving Spanish Tapas. We ordered, Tortilla Española, Champiñones Rellenos, Frutos Del Mar, Paella, Batatas Bravas and Pollo al whiskey. The very first thing that I noticed about this place is the lack of service. Our server was not profesional, forgot to write down a few plates that we previously ordered. It seems that the batatas bravas were placed on a plate and was rushed out the kitchen. As well as the pollo al whiskey. I'm glad we came here and experienced this restaurant to never come back again. I don't know how this place is still open. read more

What a major disappointment. Like reviewer Rosa (7/21/18), I've been to Spain many times over many years, and ate my way up and down Tapas menus local friends. So the concept is not totally unknown to me. But what Tapas Barcelona offers is between insult and injury. Some of the dishes may sound good (Jamon con Pan con Tomate, Salpicon etc.), but the execution is plainly love-less and miserable. Cold tapas seem to have come straight from the walk-in cooler where they sat for some time, and by the time the first hot dish arrived we had decided to cancel the rest, pay and leave. That rarely happens for us, but when it does is not a good sign. Apropos: the service was love-less too, so it matched the place very well. The consolation price: a great single shot at Peete's vis-a-vis. Sigh. read more

Service is spotty. Sometimes you get good service and sometimes you dont. The food is delicious. Would've given a much higher rating if it wasn't for the hostess giving us the worst table right in front of the doors/her station when there were an abundance of other indoor tables. She seated all the people after us without reservations at the other tables. read more

I loved everything about Tapas Barcelona. Food was heavenly delicious, romantic, service was excellent, my waiter kept an eye on everything, plates appered and disappered at the right time. And the food was sooo good. I ordered: Patatas Alioli $3.95- Garlic potato salad Salmon Ahumado $7.50 -Smoked salmon, toast points, eggs, onions, capers, horseradish Datiles Con Tocino $5.50-Baked fresh dates wrapped with bacon, bell pepper sauce Cabernet Sauvignon, Concha y Toro Frontera, Chile $4.95 Delicious, authentic tapas The modern art with the flare of Picasso and Gaudi. that is displayed around the restaurant really makes an impression like you're back in Barcelona. The reason why this place is always packed and reservations are you strongly recommended is that this place is fantastic and in my top 5! read more