laci's tapas bar

adorable bar and very well appointed restaurant. staff were friendly but the food was generally bad. our first tapas was a bruschetta and the tomatoes were pretty much not ripe. the other courses were almost all equally bad. drinks were expensive and not generous in size. too bad because its really a cute place,

my favorite tapas restaurant anywhere. everything about laci's is quality. the food is really excellent and the service is also always very good. great selections across the board and reasonable prices. this is without a doubt one of the top 5 restaurants in syracuse.

i wanted to love this place, especially after meeting the owner. the service is fantastic, the wine selection is too, and dessert was delicious. unfortunately, for us that was where it ended. we shared the winter salad that was recommended by our waiter, but it was lacking enough dressing and nothing special. next, it was beef wellington, which had little flavor and tasted more like ground beef than real beef. the lamb meatballs were dry and the risotto was just ok. the high point of the evening was the chocolate lava cake that we shared. we had a good time, but for the money, we could have had a great meal at several other restaurants in town.

where's the beef?. my boyfriend and i decided to try laci's, not only because of the good ratings but for the hopes it was anything like just a taste in ithaca, ny.

first off, my boyfriend ordered the moscow mule, which tasted like a carbonated peach green tea with mint and lime. we then got our first order; the baked feta. it was incredibly salty. feta and olives are already salty so why would you serve it with salty tortilla chips? next up was the pow shrimp, which was actually quite tasty. third came the parmesan scallops, which were under seasoned and also came with cold, stale pita bread that didn't belong on the dish. fourth came the butternut squash risotto. first of all, it was not risotto but rather fried risotto balls that were very under seasoned. and where's the butternut squash? the final dish (as if we hadn't tasted enough poor food already) was the beef wellington, which was anything but that. good luck finding the beef because there's about three tiny beef tips in there. not only did it taste like baby food but the puff pastry wasn't even cooked.

the food was bad but the service was poor as well. i was ran into multiple times by three wait staff, one to which i believe was the owner. none of which excused themselves. then we had told our waitress that we wanted more tapas. to which, she said okay and walked away. she then came back and checked on another table, looked at us, and walked by us three other times before she came back to ask what we wanted.

the reviews are incredibly deceiving. do yourself a favor, drive the hour and go to just a taste in ithaca. never again will we be visiting laci's tapas!

fantastic tapas and dining. i've reviewed laci's before and we love it. we've been back several times since 8/12. every time it has been excellent dining experience. last night, 10/11/13 martha and i took her cousins bobbi and sally to laci's. another feast. sue and i split a bottle of robert mondavi cabernet sauvignon, martha had clean slate riesling. bobbi opted for a refreshing glass of our local water : ).

tapas - beef wellington, grilled butternut squash risotto, shrimp & grits, parmesan scallops, roasted brussel sprouts, baked mac n' cheese, lamb chops, and ravioli caprese. sue and i loved the shrimp & grits. bobbi thought it was too spicy. martha doesn't like seafood. the grilled butternut squash risotto was a little dry but good. everything else was excellent.

desserts
raspberry lemon - vanilla cake, lemon mousse with a hint of raspberry preserves and lemon butter cream frosting, creme brulle and french press coffee. check it out!

i go here frequently with my friends & can't complain . food tastes delicious every time ! even if there ever was a problem i would feel comfortable speaking up . thanks laci's!!

never again. the staff were pleasant, but the food was not up to par, and frankly, i feel as though we were ripped off on our dinner. $14 for two beers - really? i've been to tapas restaurants before, so i understand the concept of small plates to share, but never left after dinner feeling hungry and pissed off. our petit filet was overcooked until dry (we were not asked how we would like it cooked, which seems a bit odd in retrospect). the lamb was cooked well, but did not justify $14 for two small chops. the cheese plate was ridiculous, with 5 random hunks of cheese that we couldn't identify, two tiny slices of bread, and unwashed grapes and strawberries taking up most of the plate. and finally, the brussel sprouts, billed as "oven roasted," had clearly been steamed or boiled to death, and then coated in oil flavored like burnt garlic. but the thing that most annoyed me was the lack of seasoning. if you are going to bill youself as a fine dining restaurant and so don't want to put salt on the table for fear of not being classy, then for heaven's sake, season your food! there was no salt at all on any dish we had. i almost asked for some but didn't really want to finish my dishes anyway. we really wanted to like this restaurant, having heard good things about it from friends, and it being close to where we live. needless to say, we will most likely not be back.

terrible, terrible food. awful.. i would love to construct a grand narrative describing the many offenses rendered to my palate by laci's tapas bar, but i believe that any creative effort on my behalf would constitute further thievery by the obscenely over-priced eatery. instead, i will simply state facts, chronologically: seated immediately on a friday night without a reservation (not surprising, in retrospect); wonderful, friendly waitress brings iceless cucumber water; we order wine--meh selection, slightly overpriced; first dish, mediterranean platter--ten dollars for bland humus, insipid tzatziki, "tabbouleh", two admittedly tasty dolmades (stuffed grape leaves), the very same olives and carrots that were placed on the table when we were seated, cold pita and slightly stale italian bread; second dish, mexican sliders--nine bucks for three tiny-ass (kennedy half-dollar sized) burgers with a tex-mex flair; third dish, brussels sprouts--bland--were they even seasoned, i wonder; fourth dish, butternut squash risotto cakes--decent flavor, i gave them the benefit of the doubt on being served room-temperature; maybe they were meant to be that way; and finally "chicken montados"-- i have no words to describe how absolutely incredibly awful this dish was--ten bucks for dry, unseasoned chicken on toast made soggy by "sofrita" that is definitely just ragu and vinegar, all covered in slightly burnt cheese. blech. grand total $85 plus tip. do yourself a favor and spend your money elsewhere.

wonderful decor and pretty good food. the owners really do make you feel at home. but avoid like the plague if you are a hetero sexual male because you will be instantly thought of as a creep. and indirectly told not to return

i was a little skeptical at first because of the location and im not from syracuse but once inside i am impressed! service was friendly and atmospere enjoyable. bartenders were great and food even better! try the pow pow shrimp! def an a plus in my book!

good for a drink.. bad for food.. pros: nice atmosphere.
cons: food isn't that good. tapas end up being smaller versions of appetizers at chains. mac and cheese bites, sliders, quesadillas. even the higher end plates (beef skewers) are made with poor ingredients and not executed well. expect to be there a while - service is slow.

i'm not usually one to right reviews but i'm writing this hoping the owners read it and use it to improve things. my first time at laci's was much anticipated, since i had been hearing such amazing things from clients and friends. the atmosphere was great, decor perfect, staff amazing however sadly the food left much to be desired. i had scoped out the menu before arriving for our reservation so i had a pretty good idea of what to order. we were immediately seating and given bread( which unfortunately was stale....very stale) fantastic wine list and the owner was very helpful in our selection. the first thing that arrived within 2 mins of ordering was our steak fajitas, thought to myself how can steak be cooked so quickly and had an odd feeling things may be precooked instead of done to order. i'm pretty sure my thoughts were confirmed when our next plate arrived. it was the ravioli caprese which in thoery should've worked but the ravioli was huge the tomato slice was beyond thin and a very poor tomato at best. actually had to use a knife to cut the ravioli because the edges where so hard i couldn't get through it with a fork, therefore confirming my previous notions of precooked food. im pretty sure that ravioli saw in inside of a microwave at some point. the next 2 dishes were ok even though they were not as described on the menu stay away from the empanadas, tasted more like cheap over cooked dried out ground beef rather then filet. great bar, great service but overall the food was really not good but very easy to fix by adding better ingredients and doing each dish to order they could be on to something and i hope they can make it work

i use to come all the time. and the food and service was amazing but lately it sucks. food takes forever and its no up to par. the owners are a bit rude unlike usual. bartenders don't seem to no what they are doing . they lost me reservation and didn't seat me til over an hour after i reserved. the person at the door was quick and to the point... the pow pow doesn't taste the same. what happen laci? this use to be the place to be.. i'd rather not come anymore. i had a big party once and it was amazing but u can't handle 4 ppl... and it wasn't just us a couple tables left early and we hears them saying bad things.... fix it ppl. it was horrible.


-----25 mar, 2011-----

coming back soon!. i went to laci's for the first time yesterday and the food was amazing. i was excited for each dish to come as they were all so good. the pow pow chicken i couldnt get enough of, and the presentation of each dish was spot on. we first got a drink at the bar with liz who gets how to interact with costumers and was funny keep us wanting to talk to her. than moved to a table. the only complaint i have about this experience was our server, name not needed, she wasnt very attentive, kind of comes off as rude and we found it hard to get her attention when we need something. luckily there was another girl walking around with water and cleaning off tables to help us. we asked her about some of her favorite dishes and suggestions and she was eagar to help us with our decision. we also were greeted by one of the owners laura as she came to our table and asked us how everything was. over all i can say i will be coming back because the food and most of the service was impeccable. i will not sit with the same server, i would like someone to assist us next time that understands how to be personable. thank you to everyone. amazing !


-----25 mar, 2011-----

great food great environment. i went to laci's for the first time yesterday and the food was amazing. i was excited for each dish to come as they were all so good. we first got a drink at the bar with liz who gets how to interact with costumers and was funny keep us wanting to talk to her. than moved to a table. the only complaint i have about this experience was our server, name not needed, she wasnt very attentive, kind of comes off as rude and we found it hard to get her attention when we need something. luckily there was another girl walking around with water and cleaning off tables to help us. we asked her about some of her favorite dishes and suggestions and she was eagar to help us with our decision. we also were greeted by one of the owners laura as she came to our table and asked us how everything was. over all i can say i will be coming back because the food and most of the service was impeccable. i will not sit with the same server, i would like someone to assist us next time that understands how to be personable. thank you to everyone. amazing !

love laci's. i've always had a lovely time at laci's. the staff are incredibly pleasant. i've enjoyed every dish i've had... i've been here a few times and make a point to get something different each time. lamb lollipops and the stuffed jalepeno peppers are my two top favorites. it's fun and delicious. go!

very pleased!. so.. i decided to try it tonight. first, the atmosphere was soo nice. it's very cozy and a little dark.. but very comfortable. the server, who was very nice, brought out bread with hummus.. delicious. between the 2 of us, we ordered 4 different plates. pow wow shrimp, brie with apples and pears, spinach queso with pita chips, and scallops scampi. they were all very good and the perfect amount for 2 people. i also liked how they all came out separately so you could enjoy each one.

for dessert, we ordered a special they had. it was creme brule, chocolate cake, banana pudding, and a blueberry martini cheesecake. i posted a picture of it on here. it was only $12!! it was amazing... oh and the coffee comes served to you in a french press.. i thought that was pretty neat.

if you're ever in syracuse, make sure you come here. there are very few good places to eat here and this is definitely one of them.