tapavino

after reading the rave reviews about tapavino, i was excited about sampling the menu when friends and i arrived for our 7pm reservation on may 3. unfortunately, my experience was underwhelming.

to say the place is bustling on a fridaynightis an understatement. when at capacity, the acoustics of the confined upstairs dining room make it difficult to converse with your companions without raising your voice to a ridiculous level.

during the meal, i sampled the crab, avocado and chilli tostado ($14), the stuffed piquillo peppers with smoked mackrel ($13) and the jamon, baby beetroot and goat's cheese ($16). i personally found the flavours a bit bland and unbalanced, but the dishes were far more enjoyable than my salty dessert experience. i opted for the chocolate terrine, olive oil and salt flake ($12) - a decision i can still taste 12 hours later. basically, it was far too salty and akin to indulging in a chocolate lick block.

on the liquid side of the equation, my three friends and i all agreed tapavino's red sangria lacked any real punch, which was disappointing after a long day at work. that said, the wine menu is exhaustive, and even the most hard-to-please wine buff will find something to tickle their fancy.

it was impossible to fault the service we received during our tapavino experience. our waiter was friendly, attentive and extremely knowledgeable about every aspect of the menu - something that makes life easy when you and your friends are struggling to make selections.

would i go back? probably not.

dinner. had a greatnighthere after vivid, having made a booking, food was excellent. my huge gripe, however, came when ordering coffee after dinner. " we only do coffee for lunch " wtf. spoiled a near perfect evening.

hidden gem at circular quay. really good place for datenightwith your s/o or just a catch up place with your girlfriends.
the place is really small, ambience reminds me of what you would find in the alley ways of paris or rome type of feel.

pros
- when we ordered the charcuterie, we thought, oh is that all? but we actually enjoyed it. it wasn’t too salty, it had an element of sweetness, salt from the salami, sour from the pickles and the cheese to combine it all.
- ambience is nice, cosy
- my boyfriend really liked how the staff was attentive and continued to pour his glass of water
- stuffed chicken thigh was nice
- the pate!!!! so goooood

cons
- it’s very intimidate, close to other tables - if you like you personal space
- tables are small
- the individual servings are average, nothing wowed me
- tuna tartare was meh, thought it would be better

being tucked away in a cobbled lane helps to set the scene... if lucky enough you may score a table outside and enjoy some alfresco dining... just as you might on a summers evening in spain.

the wine list is well chosen and spanish, and the staff know their wines.

the food was delicious and servings generous. we had the:
- jamon with burrata. the burrata was the hero of this dish, delightfully creamy and subtly flavoursome. - sardines - fresh and bursting with flavour.
- braised chorizo - my favourite dish of the evening, as i've never had chorizo prepared in this way. it was slow cooked and literally melted in your mouth. the tomato based sauce was rich and juicy and not too tart.
- beef cheeks - cooked to perfection but slightly lacking in flavour. the chickpea purée however was delicious and the better half of the dish.
- shaved cabbage salad - would recommend adding to your meal, to balance the intensity and heaviness of the other dishes.

overall delightful. my only negative of thenightwas the rather brusque way in which we were made to leave, as they wanted to seat the next lot of diners.
in saying that i would happily go again (with a second seating booking) to try the desserts and other dishes.

a memorable hens party dinner celebrated at tapavino. we had quite a number of dishes to share but there were some crowd favourites.

smoked paprika popcorn was buttery, spicy and addictive. duck liver pate was not too overpowering and had more like a parfait texture, so that worked very well for me. chicken, truffle and asparagus terrine was one of my favourite dishes of thenightas the hint of truffle was just enough to tickle your taste buds and the crunch of the asparagus added texture. boquerones were just nicely salted, not mushy but soft and went really well on toast. i don't see it too often in spanish restaurants, so that was a nice treat! a visit to tapavino is incomplete without some jamon, which we gladly obliged with the jamon iberico. it was soft layers of ham which melted in your mouth.

there are a lot more exciting things on the vast menu that i would want to come back to try. also, a massive thanks to the waiters for the evening who were very attentive and accommodating to our every need. i like!

the service here is great, everyone is welcoming and attentive.  it's very cosy  and lively inside, so be prepared to shout.

the food is only average and a little pricey.  but still a nicenightout.

i never knew anything about this place before i went on friday and i was not excited about going to another tapas place but i was actually very pleasantly surprised after my friends had ordered on the groups behalf and food i had not seen at any other tapas place started coming out!

i really liked the beef briskety thing, artichoke and truffle dip,  roast cauliflower which had a nice spicy sauce i mixed in with bread from another dish to mop up.

definitely will come back. the place was bustling on fridaynighttoo really great atmosphere!

my old tapas haunt miro closed down last year and i really needed to find a replacement and i certainly have found a gem!   no nasty clay pots of traditional aussie "spanish" tapas with horribly bland chorizo, this place takes you to barcelona!  serrano and burrata is to die for or serrano with px reduction if you want a sweet touch. lastnightthey had a gambas special that was brilliant, succulent, crunchy, balanced. outdoors is best but the crowded bar area is also appreciated on a cold night.  the chocolate mousse was very interesting but should be half the size.  service was incredibly efficient considering the crowd.  greatnightout.

horrible service. it was my birthday and i was super excited to eat at tapavino because the reviews were really good. the start of thenightwas ok and the staff were polite. but as thenightwent on, it got worse. the food was not amazing and for the price, clearly not worth the money. when my friend asked if we could cut a cake, one particular waitress was really rude. if she had said, sorry we don't cut cakes in this restaurant, that would have sufficed. but she decided to be really rude by saying "no restaurants allow you to cut cakes", "would you bring food to a supermarket?, would you bring drugs to a doctor? would you bring clothes to a store?" by way of comparing cutting a cake in a restaurant. this was said in a rude tone as if to say my friends and i were beneath her. when we got the bill and paid, we waited 20 minutes to get our $18 change back and only got it back when we asked the staff, obviously we weren't going to leave them an $18 tip for their horrible service. this experience has ruined my expectations of this restaurant.

since it was a friday night, it was no surprise that the bar was incredibly packed and noisy. because we already did a booking, we didn't have to wait long to be seated upstairs. the top floor is reserved for those who made a booking while the walk ins are seated at the ground floor. there was a cool and noisy vibe with dark lighting (sorry for the terrible photos), which is great for after work drinks and dinner for those working around the cbd. initially it was very quiet upstairs but as thenightgoes on, the floor was busy, packed a

enjoyable!. had dinner lastnight(tues) with a friend. the service i experienced was great from the get go, greeted with a smile and seated. was waiting for a friend and a knowledgeable & friendly waitress helped me chose a glass of port which was beautiful. food was amazing, between 2 people 3 dishes is more than enough as they came with bread. we were recommended a dessert which was a lovely finish. will be back.
we ordered:
duck liver pate - deliciously rich and creamy
warm potato, rosemary & salt coca - tasty and filled us up
braised chorizo, black olives, romesco
pan de casa - very tasty, a bit oily but i liked mopping the oil with the bread. yum!
for dessert
dulce de leche tart: a milky caramel tart which was not too rich, a lovely way to finish.

recommended. we went to tapavino on a wednesdaynightafter work with 5 of us. definitely need to book as it was packed! the atmosphere is great, we were upstairs and it was a little bit loud. the food was all to die for. it all comes really quickly as it is ready-prepared. we ate the rabbit terrine, anchovies, chorizo, lamb, goats curd and walnut salad and a few others. most notable was the chorizo and the caramelised walnuts in the salad. so good. everything comes with a side of bread which is good in a way as you can fill yourself up on that if you want to. i would go back for the jamon as we didn't get that and it looked good. wine list is extensive and service was pretty good too. i would recommend for a date, nice upmarket version of tapas.

we need more places like tapavino in sydney. it was already very busy on a wednesdaynightat 6:30, but the service was still professional and quick. the sherry list is extensive and there's is a fantastic selection of wines by the glass, accommodating all wallets and palates.
between three of us we had razor clams with crispy jamon, peas and mashed broadbeans, some fabulous pata negra, a tuna crudo with spiced nuts and sherry, lamb shoulder with pomegranate and yogurt and a salad of shaved cucumber, olives and seared watermelon. the highlight was a knockout dessert: a chocolate, olive oil and sea salt terrine. everything was simply really good, and very reasonably priced, especially for a place near circular quay. and you can book!

bar tapavino. i went here lastnightwith a couple of friends. the food was good but the service was not great. after taking our first initial orders for food and wine, we weren't attended to at all for the rest of the night. i had to wave the waitress down (which i hate doing) everytime we wanted something. also, there was no help with choosing wine and sherry from the extensive list, when it was apparent we needed some guidance. the three waitresses were having a great conversation with each other in the corner while the only two tables in the room were obviously needing service. then when we were the last table left, and obviously finished, the waitress, instead of asking us if we wanted the bill, started spray and wiping the tables around us, and it wasn't late, maybe 9.30pm. this place could be great, if only the staff were much more professional.