Tapas Gitana

We dropped by Tapas Gitana tonight with a couple and our 2 year old son. The place was just as warm and inviting as it has always been. Our waiter was amazing with our son and very accommodating. We ordered about 10 plates and they all came out quickly but well paced. We finished with two desserts (the ice cream puffs with chocolate sauce and the apple filled puff with caramel sauce and ice cream) — both excellent. Andrew (the owner) came out to say hi and was personable as usual. Such a great place and great staff!
P. S. Seems some have said there are only 3 bacon wrapped dates in a plate — but ours had 5.

I don’t know why we don’t go to Tapas Gitana more than we do. We always have a good time, always enjoy the food, and are always made to feel welcome and appreciated.
On our most recent trip we had Tortilla Española, Gambas A la Plancha, Calamares A La Plancha, Patatas Bravas, Albóndigas, Pincho De Buey A La Plancha, Pincho de Pollo Con Salsa Mostaza, and Profiteroles, and every single dish was delicious.

Best paella outside out Spain!!!

Very sad to say this (as it used to be one of my favorite restaurants) but they are clearly on their way out of business. The service is extremely slow (they had 1 waiter for the entire restaurant when I was there), the drinks are shamefully watered down, the tapas portions have shrunk so much that they are now being served on little b&b plates (6 – 8 bacon wrapped dates in an order, now 3). Would love to see them turn this around and make it great again (I love the outdoor seating area) but I think it’s going to take a lot. My fingers are crossed.

Enjoyed a Tuesday night impromptu dinner with friends. We decided to go to one of our favorite restaurants and we were not disappointed with anything! We were warmly welcomed by Andy, the owner. We had a wonderful waiter who was very attentive and welcoming.
We started with a pitcher of Sangria that we always love! One person had glasses of Malbec by the glass that she enjoyed! We shared 6 tapas of stuffed mushrooms, grilled calamares, mussels, rainbow trout, pork medallions, and the Spanish plate of meats and cheeses. Everything was so flavorful, beautifully presented, with tasty sauces for dipping with the crusty bread. We shared two desserts, one new to us. The first dessert was bananas with ice cream and chocolate sauce, and the new one was a chocolate salted caramel tart. Both desserts were excellent, great finish to a knockout dinner, very satisfying.

I brought my wife here for her birthday and we both loved it! She’s a vegetarian and I can’t have gluten and there were still plenty of options on the menu for us. Everything that we ordered was delicious, especially the bacon wrapped dates.

What a feast we enjoyed Friday night grazing through the extensive and expertly-​prepared dishes. After we were seated Hector, our waiter, asked if we had visited before. Learning we had not he offered us complimentary small plates to get us started as he discussed bar and menu options. He prepared a wonderfully fruit-​filled and authentic sangria. We sampled and enjoyed the following: grilled octopus, shrimp stuffed avocado (a MUST), bacon wrapped dates (outstanding), warm grilled squid, and flan, bread pudding for desserts. All in all a wonderful meal in a warm and attractive environment. Can’t wait to return. Owner, Andy, stopped by our table to check on us and was warm welcoming. Kudos to the whole service staff.

The way that tapas allows sharing among a group of friends or family and serves high quality cuisine with a modern twist is amazing. there’s a snack for every mood and every palate. You can choose to either eat a big lunch and then nap or eat a late light dinner, so you could go out and party. So many variations and the food is delicious. I don’t even know what’s my favorite tapas as everything I tried was absolutely delicious from the start to the end. I will be definitely coming back there again to taste more of tapas gitanas !!

It was my girlfriend’s birthday and we decided to try out something new. Based on great reviews and absolutely mouthwatering pictures on the website, we decided to dine here.
The owner game to greet us and found out it was her birthday. We ordered varieties of different tapas like cheese with grapes, salads, salmon over steamed spinach followed and delicious martinis made to order! Bread was fresh, food was outstanding and so was the waiter. We didn’t have to wait or ask for him, he kept checking on us asking whether we needed anything else. At the end the owner Andy came and brought my girlfriend a beautifully designed plate with desert and happy birthday wishes! She was amazed and so was I! I would recommend this place to anyone who wants to dine in style. This is as close as you will get to Spain :) Overall great experience and we will be back soon!

Went here for a birthday celebration with some friends and had a blast.
Good accessible parking
Pleasant host
Service was A++ and we were a demanding group
Food was excellent. Beef kabobs, calamari, and eggplant were my favs, but everything was a solid good.
Will definitely be back to explore more of the menu

We recently moved into the area from Chicago and wanted a good tapas restaurant like Café Ba Ba Reeba and Café Iberico, but this is nothing like those. Now I understand the whole concept of Tapas and expect the portions to be small, but three bacon wrapped dates for $ 6 and four pieces of shrimp for $ 8 is just ridiculous. Our waiter didn’t understand what a drink menu was and kept saying red or white wine. By the way, they don’t serve beer. We ended up spending $ 90 for the two of us and loaded up on bread because we knew we would be hungry later. Sorry, but definitely will not be going back.

Pains me to even give a star. Service super slow. Ordered four plates and brought to me backwards (meat first). Meat dish was COLD and Spanish blue cheese sauce was more like cold lava. Wine by the glass $ 10 and it was a half pour. Place was slammed and outdoor seating lovely but maybe an off night? Mosquitoes flying around without any lit torches either. I’m not local so maybe they noticed … 40 mins in and waiting for the next two plates. Never mind, the bill just arrived so the waiter didn’t understand the four numbers I provided. Wow.
Waiter realizes I was charged for everything I ordered and then asks if I’d like to have it to GO. Ugh. Now, a 15 min wait as the manager would like to speak to me.
Manager NEVER comes over to apologize … just give me my bill (removing two plates I never received) AFTER I said I just want to go home — and I still tipped 20%.
Poorly run and managed. Truly pathetic.

Tapas were fine, small portions but it is what you might expect.
What you won’t expect is the poor service.
Horrible waiter today — we had a groupon and his demeanor changed as soon as we mentioned that we had one. His attitude got worse, he might as well just tossed the check at our table.
It sucks that one person could ruin your experience.

What happened to Tapas Gitana? The restaurant my husband and I visited Saturday night bears no resemblance in terms of food or service to the restaurant we used to love and frequent often. Horrible slow service, teeny tiny glasses of sangria, and poorly executed food. We ordered 2 appetizers to start, 2 glasses of sangria and paella. Our drinks took a half an hour to arrive, and then the 2 apps came. The bacon wrapped dates which used to be our favorite were tiny, wrapped in raw bacon on a plate of what tasted like orange grease. Our waiter never returned to ask if we wanted anything else while waiting for our paella. At the one hour mark, my husband went inside to cancel our paella order and ask for the check which we paid and left. The water did not ask us why when he delivered the bill to our table. I am so sad that this restaurant has gone so down hill.

Thumbs up on our fav tapas place in the ‘burbs! A double date night out was enjoyed by all. The service was snappy and friendly, the food was excellent, and a nice night for al fresco dining made it a very satisfying experience. The winning tapas were langostinos and potatoes, paella, beet salad, and artichokes and shrimp. Our server Hector served up good mojo with the food too. Quick water refills and dish clears made us feel like the staff was on their game.

It was beautiful evening and we wanted someplace with a nice outdoor patio, and we figured it had been a year since our last visit so we’d give this place another chance. Once again, mediocre service and so-​so food. It was a busy Saturday night, but they weren’t staffed enough to handle the crowd — the patio was filled, and the indoor section was nearly full, and there weren’t enough servers. The hostess sat us and brought 2 menus for the three of us, and never came back with a third. The server took our order for the first 2 tapas, and we said we needed some more time to decide on the others, but he didn’t come back until we had a back-​waiter go get him. No one brought us bread until we asked for it. We were brought the wrong dessert. We gave the server our groupon but he forgot to put it through and had to redo the check. Again, not our server’s fault, but we watched him jump from table to table, and he was stretched way too thin.
As for the food… When we asked for a wine list, the server just asked what we like — strange for a tapas place to have no wine list. I asked what reds they had by the glass and there were only two. When we were there 3 years ago the wine list seemed sparse, but only two reds? For food we ordered the Ensalada Marinades, Patatas con Alioli, Crêpe Rellena, Queso de Cabra, and Championes Rellanos. Everything had a very similar, mild flavor, and, just like our last visit, except for the Patatas (potato salad), tiny portions. This time the stuffed mushrooms were two button mushrooms. Tapas are supposed to be small, but for the price, I’d expect slightly larger portions. The standout of our meal was dessert — the three of us split the Crème Catalana and a special chocolate mousse — both were delicious and much better than the rest of our meal.
So — nice patio, 3 star food, and service that definitely needs improvement.

Spain has a wonderful tapas tradition and Tapas Gitana does as well, transporting you to that wonderful country with a menu full of varied small dishes.
We’ve visited the restaurant on several occasions over the years, most recently a few days ago. The menu slowly changes over time and the chef makes sure to add specials for a yet more lively taste event.
Our two or four person style is to get a sound base of tried and true and then venture out. Tried and true for us is: the Datiles (bacon wrapped dates), Tortilla Espana (Spanish potato dish), and the cheese plate (a variety of cheeses accompanied by apples and grapes).
If you feel compelled to choose between fish or meat dishes, choose what you are in the mood for. I have found plates for each to be fresh and creative.
Food, service, ambiance?
Food – see above.
Service – the wait staff is prompt and attentive. A server comes armed with a smile and is patient in explaining what’s available. One’s plate is delivered when it’s prepared. With the tapas style you can expect rounds of plates coming to the table as you enjoy.
Ambiance – this is not some dark dank cave, it has a comfortable array of tables with plates and art work suggesting Spain. Tapas restaurants in Spain vary in style – this fits right in. The restaurant has a buzz of conversation from the tables, but you are able to converse easily.
The coffee and desserts present a very satisfying end to what certainly would be anyone’s least expensive trip to Spain ever. Very good, very Spanish, very enjoyable!

Tapas is a thing I am learning to love more and more. This spot is hidden in a corner of a Northfield strip mall. Nothing flashy, simple looking from the outside. Inside it is pretty quiet and laid back. Started off with drinks the sangria and mojito were decent. Now for the tapas. One of my favs was the patatas bravas, the sauce on that was amazing. Due to other reviews the bacon wrapped dates seemed to be a must try. I must say it is not like nothing i have ever had before. Savory and sweet but it works. Tapas have a rep for being pricey and tiny, although this spot is not bad, takes the flashy out of tapas, but keeps the loud exciting flavors in the quiet suburb of northfeild.

I was in town visiting my parents and they chose Tapas Gitana as one of their few «must go to» restaurants. Sadly, after our visit tonight, I think they will not be returning for a while. =(
My review is based on 3 things: food, service, and ambiance.
My first impressions did not start well. The menu was not very descriptive, organized, or professional looking. After some struggles to find what we were looking for, we ordered a paella dish, bacon wrapped dates, grilled octopus, asparagus/​meat/​cheese thing, duck breast with mushroom sauce, and roasted red pepper with refried beans. The best dishes were definitely the grilled octopus and the bacon wrapped dates. I wouldn’t order any of the other things again.
When we arrived, it was around 4pm and we were the only group sitting inside. The waiter made the rest of our experience very unpleasant. In short, it seems he hated his job and rather play around with other staffers. As he took our order he barely said anything. A little conversation or a smile would go a long way.
There was music playing when we walked in, then it stopped. I asked our waiter to turn back on the music and eventually 5 – 7 minutes later he started playing Spanish music. Now, I know tapas is food from Spain, but I don’t really see how Spanish music would be something to set the mood. All of the workers were speaking Spanish, so maybe it was for them to enjoy. #fail again
Besides the poor taste in music or lack there of… other sounds of the restaurant included the giggles and rowdiness of the 5 – 7 staffers giggling and talking amongst themselves. I also heard a microwave dinging from the kitchen a couple of times. I don’t know about standards, but the sound of a microwave coming out of a kitchen does not say «fresh» and «high quality» to me. If I wanted something microwaved, I could cook myself something at home!
A woman who seemed to be a manager by answering the phone and going into the back office thought it would be appropriate to wear her pajamas to work. That is so wrong on so many levels. See picture posted here on Unilocal for proof! It’s the one with a lady in a white shirt and blue and white bottoms.
Near the end of our meal, we asked for more bread and butter, and again our waiter didn’t say anything at all. He was more slumping around like Lurch from the Adams Family. At the end of the meal he came back to our table 2x asking if we needed anything else, with the same answer from us both times. The last time he stood there with his hands on his hips. Maybe I’m being hyper sensitive, but that body language doesn’t express friendly service to me.

Service but a bit slow to start as it was one of the first eat outside weather evenings we’ve had this year. Once it started we were well cared for by the server.
The food although all was tasty was inconsistent in the temperature. Fried artichokes were nice and hot and crispy while the calamares a la plancha were a bit tougher than normal and not very warm.
The datiles and beef empanada were also quite lukewarm. It appeared they were waiting for all the items ordered together to be ready before bringing any of them out instead of bringing out what was ready one at a time which is the old way they used to do it and much better for food temps.
The red pepper butter sauce for the datiles was broken and the butter was oozing out of it.
The montaditos de cerdo had soggy bread and the meat was lukewarm as well.
One new item is that the bread slices were a new style of bread — a little more yellow in color and much more moist and fresher than their previous bread.
They need to add a few new items to the very dog eared and tired looking menus that have not changed in ages.
We did find a new wine there however which was very tasty — Carchelo from Jumilla Spain. It had a nice inky color and very full bodied.
We hope the traffic increases and service improves over the summer.