laci's tapas bar

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 thetablefor 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 thetablewhen 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.

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 ourtableand 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 ourtableand 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 !

not impressed.. i went with a few friends to try laci's. we were seated at atablein the front room, with drafts from the front door keeping us cold, and plenty of noise from the bar forcing us to shout. first to come out was stale bread with flavorless hummus. the owners altogether missed the entire concept of tapas, which would have been forgivable if the food was more palatable. the petite filet, ordered rare, came out medium-well and possessed a funny flavor, possibly from a bad rub or marinade, possibly just from bad beef. the mac & cheese eggrolls were no more than lumps of mac & cheese sandwiched between two very thin layers of pastry, and the three "rolls" all tasted the same, even though one allegedly featured lobster, and another ham. the vegetable spring rolls were soggy, although the sauce that accompanied them was tasty. lamb chop lollipops were tough and tasted more like mutton than lamb. the only two dishes that weren't completely awful - the mustard pork empanadas (lots of mustard, not much pork) and the flat bread pizza (crap for a crust, nice toppings) - came out last and were almost cold.

meanwhile, our surly server was scarce, despite the dining room not being very busy. i will say the drinks were good, but even several cocktails couldn't drown out the mediocrity of the food.

i always give second chances, so if my next laci's attempt is at all improved, i will be sure to post an update.

wow. i took my wife to laci's for a romantic dinner and i got more than i bargained for. they sat us at an awesometableunder a chandelier behind the bar. after the server sat us she came back with bread and a house dip. the bread was warm and the dip was delicious. we asked for more and the server gleamed and ran back to the kitchen. water was on thetablebefore we even asked and then our drink order was taken. we each ordered a glass of cono sur after the server told us the story of how they chose their house wine, and said we would like to start with brie and apples. we moved onto martini beef skewers (out of this world) and then the flatbread pizza. the server suggested that we should each order two dishes so we could share and be full. so i ordered the filet and my wife went with the pow pow shrimp. the filet melted in my mouth and the sauce from the pow pow was so good we were able to eat it with the lettuce the shrimp came on. we joked with our server and thanked her for putting us at thistableso we could lick our plates without anyone noticing. i have to tell you thetablewas a llittle drafty but we quickly overcame that with the wine. the owner told us that the building was built in 1860 and that they were still in the process of getting it squared away, so we understood the draftiness.
thanks again laci's for giving us a wonderful evening of good food, wine and atmosphere.

outstanding. went to laci's for vantines day, lucky us!! i was a little dissappointed that they had a set menu but was quickly elated with the menu they chose. the petite filet is out of this world, as well as the ravioli caprese. both owners graced ourtable(one being the chef) and talked of the building history and their history. the atmosphere is similar to being in a nyc bistro. loved our server amy and eddie is such a force behind the bar. thank you for bringing this gem to syracuse.

didn't work for us. on a cold january evening we decided to try laci's tapas bar. friends of ours had been to it a couple of times and had only good things to say about the place. since it was a friday evening we made reservations and one of the owners took my call - very pleasant and even inquired whether i was interested in viewing the flamenco dancing. i mentioned that our 11 year old son will be dining with us. she told us that they didn't have a kids menu but something can be worked out. which was very nice, but luckily our son goes everywhere with us and has learned there are times when burger and fries are not available! she also informed us that there was parking behind the restaurant. this was useful information as we would have been driving around looking for street parking. out first impression was very positive. an old house, with a red door, updated with contemporary colors and modern fixtures. we waited briefly inside the entrance at the foot of the stairs for the hostess. we were led to the front dining section. it was one big room with dining at the front with the bar at the end where the "tappy hour" was in progress. the bar seemed pretty full - about a dozen or so people were there. i spied another dining area beyond the bar, which was partially walled off. even though the bar was in close proximity to where we were seated it was not noisy and we didn't have to shout to have a conversation. the first indication of trouble was when my son refused to remove his jacket. this is a child walks to the bus stop in the winter in a sweatshirt. he had his back to the entrance and every time someone opened the door a cold arctic blast would hit him. soon all of us felt the cold draft, and since we were the only people in the dining area i wondered whether we could be seated elsewhere away from the cold air. my hope was that we could be moved to the room in the back. we were told that there was a room in the back by the side of the bar. this was going from bad to worse - a lonely cozytableat the end of the bar - with three windows. now we were banished to the back of beyond. we were isolated and cold. ourtablewas next to three windows and a cold draft found its way into the room via every crack and crevice of those old windows. i had to go back to the entrance and get my jacket. i almost ordered a space heater with my food. speaking of food, the menu had tapas, petite tapas and group tapas. i was a little confused since i was under the impression that tapas were equivalent to appetizers. i was wondering what the petite tapas was and the server told me that the tapas were to be shared and the petite tapas were bite size. we skipped the group tapas as none of the items seemed unique. my son chose the "mac 'n cheese eggrolls" my husband the "lamb chop lollipops" and i ordered the "mustard pork empanadas". the wine we ordered, an australian shiraz and an argentinian malbec, was nom! the bread and hummus was nom as well (however the server had to check to see whether the hummus was homemade when i complimented the dish - one would think the server would know the origins of the food served in the restaurant - when i re-read the menu it stated the hummus was homemade). the food was plated tastefully but it didn't wow us - eggrolls were all mac 'n cheese and we couldn't taste the lobster or ham, the empanadas were mostly puff pastry with a teaser of pulled pork, the lamb lollipops were good, but the bed of baby spinach didn't have anything to hold it together. the mango apple chutney accompaniment didn't taste like mango or apple. i used the hummus on the baby spinach and it worked. all the plates had three items so we could share. i have dined at many similarly priced restaurants where i was content just with a glass of wine and an appetizer. we were all still hungry. so, my husband ordered two more items - sliders flight and baked sweet potato fries. we waited, and waited and waited for our order. finally a dish arrived and the server said "sorry - it is getting busy" - but the dish was not ours. we hailed the server and returned the dish. again we waited and waited and waited. by now we were cranky, frozen and still hungry. my husband ever the diplomat wanted to wait patiently. i revolted and my son backed me. my husband reluctantly cancelled the order paid the bill and we left. i did not hear any one apologizing to us for the confusion. at the entrance we met another couple and they were gushing as to how wonderful everything was. i didn't say anything. i felt bad for our son, as this was sort of a celebration dinner for him for a recent accomplishment. he wanted to go to chiles which we vetoed. as a consolation i got him a hot fudge sundae at mcdonalds for a dollar which he relished.