by Aparna B.

overpriced, unimaginative tapas.  i went here with my relatively easy-going parents and even they were disappointed.

by J T.

Fun place for the dance show - food was OK. Stick with the meat tapa dishes - everything else gets very mysterious.

by Melissa W.

Very good tapas. (Really love the chorizo.)  Fabulous sangria.  But the real killer for me is the flamenco dancing.  Tuesdays and Thursdays.  They are incredible.  Don't come here to have a conversation on those nights, but the show is amazing.

by Steve R.

Meh. We showed up on the late side, but considering the kitchen didn't close for another hour (I always ask when dining late) I don't think I should have had to try to actively find someone to seat us.  The food was decent, nothing special.  The service was ok, but we literally saw the server when they brought our drinks, our food and our check. That;s it.  We did want more drinks, but said server was nowhere to be found.  This is not a place I would return to.

by Ken C.

I'm there because of the flamenco dance.  They might not be the best around the area, but good to watch while having dance.  The service and food is OK.  Sangria taste like fruit punch...!!

by David H.

Their tables outside on King Street make for a relaxing time after work.  The music across the street from Murphy's wafts out to your table.  A pitcher of Sangria.  Great place to go with friends and unwind with all your senses.  The tapas are expensive for what you get so definitely do not go here if you are hungry.  Go here if you just want a place to enjoy some time out.

by J J.

The food was very unremarkable here.  My friend ordered paella - the meat and seafood items in it looked withered and old.  The peas in there also looked past due.  There was lots of oil at the bottom of the pan.  I think I might have ordered their eggs benedict, which were slightly better than their paella, which isn't saying much.Their outdoor seating is nice.  It takes up part of the sidewalk in Oldtown Alexandria - of course it's cute.  But be forewarned: there's a bus stop right in front of the restaurant, so you may ingest some fumes and particles with your meal.

by kainanny c.

little generic tapas place. when we first walked in, there were two performers onstage in the middle of a HUGE dramatic flamenco dance. it was neverending and i literally feared for my friend's life as the guy dancer came within inches of kicking her in the head. and those are hard shoes. definite brain damage would have been procured from such a big flamenco kick. the tapas were aight. i've had better. the sangria was good. but then again, i did have half a pitcher to myself. and pretty much anything with alcohol in it is good to me...

by Dave H.

June 2008 Update - I'm taking away a star because of the sangria.  Their sangria used to rule, but because of Virginia Law, they can no longer make it to include liqeur or brandy.  Now it's just fruit filled cheap red wine.  What's up with those Virginia legislators?   The tapas are still great.  But pass on the paella, it's way overpriced.Another venue on our must eat when we travel to the DC area.  The Sangria is great, though it doesn't seem to have much brandy in it.  We always go early so we get the best of the kitchen.  The hot tapas are very good.  We stick with the tapas becuase the paella is better elsewhere.  Be careful if you have a big group because they may try to seat you at the back of the bar.  Bars in Alexandria still have smoking.

by Amanda K.

We went to Las Tapas with a large party (16) to celebrate a friend's birthday and ordered several different tapas from all over the menu. Although not of the quality of say, Jaleo ( but what is) the majority of what we ordered was decent. The meat items in particular (chorizo, sausage plate, chicken, empanadas) were particularly good, as was the 2 types of calamari (fried and sauteed).The only big downer was the tortilla espaola, which is a really hard thing to mess up. (And I'm a BIG fan of the potatoes, eggs and onions combo.)  It had a really off taste, almost sweet (?)The red sangria was VERY good and it had an odd but refreshing cucumber taste to it (trust me, I mean that in a good way). The white sangria, while pleasant, was not nearly as flavorful.The service was good, and the waiters were very attentive. Unfortunately, a live band began at 9:30 in the bar directly below us, making conversation towards the end of the evening nearly impossible.All in all, if you are in Alexandria and jonesing for tapas, you could do a lot worse than Las Tapas (La Tasca, for instance).

by Kelly K.

I like Las Tapas for their tapas AND for their sangria. We used to eat here alot, but now we do to-go. We got take-out from here last weekend, and the staff was so nice to us! It was a little before dinner time, so the place was pretty much empty. We waited by the bar for our food. We had our 1-year old, and he was walking around, and several staff members would stop and pick him up and love on him. Anyway, I digress.We always get the potatoes with the aioli sauce, the tortilla (omelette), the sauteed mushrooms, spanakopita, and then the garlic soup. You get lots of bread with it, also. I just think their food tastes better than La Tasca. It's no Jaleo, but I think Las Tapas has more veggie choices. We are moving in a couple of weeks, and I had a "Farewell Tour" of our favorite restaurants, and Las Tapas was on the list. Good-bye, Las Tapas! *sniff* You will be missed!

by Jay A.

Good atmosphere, Good service, okay food. If you want to drink good sangria and decent tapas to snack on, this is the place to go. I ordered at least one thing from every category; cold, hot, meat, seafood, and vegetarian tapas on top of parrillas I ordered already. Tapas were okay although I'd shy away from Stuffed calamari and quails. Their portions are generous as well for their price. I wish I had gotten the Paella instead of Parrilla I got; it was horrible. It seemed like a tasteless broiled seafood on pile of very bitter spinach and mushrooms. For 22 dollars I feel like they can do so much better. 2 stars for not-so-hot food

by Karol U.

Besides the paella, which is a joke....this place rocks.  The tapas and drinks are incredible and if you are lucky enough to come on a flamenco night, you are in for a real treat.  Excellent service, great guitar playing and dancing, sometimes in traditional spanish flamenco dresses. It's a great night.  You could go here for a party, birthday or even bring yoru out of town folks here. Everyone will love it.

by Melissa S.

My friend and I went to Las Tapas on a Friday night at about 10:00 pm.  The band was decent but we sat at a table at the bar and didn't get served for over 15 minutes.  We approached the bar and were ignored for another 10 even though it wasn't busy.  Both bartenders were doing nothing... simply inattentive.  We basically had to flag them down.  In short, the service was awful and the drinks are extremely over-priced.  The whole environment was awful and you could tell it is poorly run.  Management doesn't care about the customer.  Whatever happened to being attentive to the paying customer... don't they want our business?and one more thing...The bathrooms were leaking and stinking.

by Tu-Van L.

Went here the day after Valentine's Day and was pleasantly surprised at how romantic and attentive my restaurant experience was here.  My fiance and I tried too many different tapas, and all were varying degrees of good or great.  I was brave enough to try their rabbit tapas, and the sauce made the Little Bunny Foo Foo-eating experience pleasant and flavorful.  The dishes were alright, but the sauces accented the flavors of the dishes marvelously.  I debated taking my bread and dipping it into the sauces as my main meal.  The decor was Spanish romantic and the wait staff was attentive.  What set this place from the other tapas bars I've been to were the flamenco dancers.  They come on every Thursday nights and they have other live entertainment other nights, so check out their website for what.

by Jason M.

Not bad.  The service was excellent.  Our waiter was always within sight and I flagged him down on many occasions (water, napkins, more food) and he would come right over.  The food was decent.  I was on a first date and went on a Thursday when they had Flamenco.  The dancing was so loud, it easily overwhelmed my conversation; but I don't know what I was expecting.All in all not a bad place at all.  Prices and service are what would make me easily return.

by Annalynn C.

I treated my cousins to dinner on their 5th wedding anniversary at Las Tapas.  The food was okay.  The spanakopeta was good, but the mushrooms were too salty for my liking.  The bread complimented the mushrooms, but it was missing something...  Most of their wines were from  Spain; perhaps the reason they were over priced?  I expected a better tasting wine for the cost, but maybe I'm just not well versed when it comes to Spanish (red) wine.  Maybe I should've tried the sangria...The place was crowded, so it seems that it's one of the places to hit when you're in Alexandria.

by Ricardo M.

The only reason to go here is for the flamenco.The paella is so-so.

by A. E.

REVISED- I went back (3rd time's a charm) late on a Saturday evening (9pm) and to my suprise the server was very nice and competent, food was much better than usual and I tried their ceviche for the first time- mouthwatering.  I have upgraded my previous review to 4 stars now, don't knock this place until you try at least 6 different tapas and a dessert, you won't regret it.------------------------------previous review.I ate here for the second time ever for my Valentine's dinner with the GF.  My GF actually told me about this place and made certain I did not confuse it with the giant evil chain; La Tasca.  Which brings me to my first postive, this place is a mom pop joint, there are no other Las Taspas around, a big plus for me since I enjoy supporting these establishments, especially if they're providing yummy food.  I have yet to have a bad experience with the food here and I have tried just about every tapas item on the menu.  I would say my favorites are the meatalls in red sauce and the pollo al ajillo (chicken n' garlic) followed by the patatas bravas and shrimp in wine sauce.  We each ordered 3 tapas and that was more than enough to satisfy us both; until I convinced myself to split a dessert as well.  We decided on the profiteroles, a dessert consisting of vanilla icecream, puff pastry and raspberry/chocolate drizzled all around.  Yes, it tasted just as good as it sounds!Food was great, dessert was great, prices could definitely be a bit lower, and atmosphere was fitting for the flamenco dancing nights.  I'm not a big fan of paella, so I'm not going to even comment on it, but the service here needs some work.  The server seemed like it was his first night and was awkwardly trying to upsell items to us every time he came by.  My greatest concern though was that the bar is not divided from the dining area very well, because near the end of my meal, some jackass basically smoked an entire pack of Camels on the other side of my wall and it almost ruined my entire night.  Lastly, they unexpectedly changed their perfectly good menu to some commercialized mess of a "Valentine's menu"; very annoying, since most of their best tapas were not even available.This place is a sad case of great dining and desserts drowned out by a poor table layout and poorly trained servers.  Want to know how to make this a 4-star tapas place? Find out if they will let you carry-out!

by Guillermo F.

This place is awful, OK I love tapas but I went there a Tuesday night and for the server ask us for a drink took like 10 min.And the food, overpriced and too simple is like the chef have no passion for what he does. The service is really bad.The decoration is pretty bad.The flamenco is good.I never coming back I rather go MC Donald's

by Lynn N.

Look, the restaurant is called Las Tapas not Paella Paradise.  Don't be fooled by the five paellas on the menu, they're all pretty lackluster.  Order a ton of tapas, some sangria, and no one will go home hungry or disappointed.  I'm particularly a fan of their escargot in a tomato-wine sauce (Escargot is earth-bound calamari and I do love a nice chewy ring of calamari). Their aioli's got a nice hit of garlic too.  I can't say that I've tried all their tapas but, when my next escargot craving comes, it's the only place that'll scratch my itch.Just beware of their flamenco nights.  They're not for the hard of hearing.

by Cyrus S.

Okay... so lets set this up a bit.  We went there .. called ahead.. for a lunch on a holiday weekend... to let them know we were looking for a place to host our 40-50 person rehearsal dinner before the wedding.The manager was very nice and walked us to the room upstairs to show us where we'd likely have the party.  Fine..It was 12:00 Noon... one would expect some people eating, but only 3 tables were taken.  Fair enough...But they had 2 servers.. and the service was so mediocre, though polite... getting a refill on my diet coke was like pulling teeth.  We asked for their recommendations... and he gave us a list of 10 things.. we tried 8 of them. Not one of them was what I'd consider tasty.  Only one was awful (the fried calamari... seriously, how do you screw that up?).. but the rest were okay at best.I think they're a 2/5 place, but from the food we ate.. not ONE thing stood out as tasty and great.  In a tapas place, i expect a few dishes to be better than others.. and understand that some may not be as great (or suit my taste).  But nothing stood out.  Even the bread was ..eh...Sorry.. looking for great places in alexandria for the event, and this wasn't worth it at all to me.One bonus for being moderately priced.. (though it was lunch, and they likely have a more expensive dinner menu)

by tina r.

Salty salty salty. Everything is.A colossal waste of money. Will never be back.

by Lenny T.

This place has a nice atmosphere and hookas upstairs in the lounge.  The menu is large and the tapas is better than most of the tabernas in DC.  I recommend the sangria, any of the calamari dishes, the spinach salad, and the stewed veal dish.  The bread that comes on the table is delicious and excellent to soak up the sauces or simply dip in olive oil.  I'm looking forward to trying the selection of hams and a paella on my next visit.

by Erin A.

We went there for a birthday dinner this weekend and everyone had a great time.  They accomodated our party of 14 with no problems.  We had a great table overlooking the bar.  The service was as expected, okay but not amazing.  After reading the other reviews I am glad we steered clear of the paella.  It was on the list but we got carried away with the tapas and didn't save room.The sangria was okay, not exactly to my liking but not bad.  I am particular about how I like it but I did take one for the team and help with the pitchers that we ordered.  It's not fine dining but I don't think anyone expects it to be.

by Kelly C.

If you saw my La Tasca review, this is the opposite....I think the sangria here is really pretty decent.  It's certainly not as good as Spain, but it's acceptable and fairly authentic.  However, the food here is more expensive, less generous, and sometimes not as good as La Tasca a block away.  I found the paella to be more authentic at La Tasca and the tapas larger at La Tasca.However, if I want to get sangria, I go here.  The flamenco show is pretty neat too.  This place sure is expensive though.  Not something I can do more than once a year.

by Mary S.

During a recent stay in Alexandria, a colleague and I happened upon Las Tapas.  We carefully studied menus up and down King St. before deciding on which restaurant to eat at.  Nearly all of the menu items seemed delectable, so we were excited to try the fare. Together, we sampled the chicken quesadillas, spanakopeta, garlic chicken, steamed vegetables, calamari, beef and chicken empanadillas, and hummus.  Everything was so good!  The garlic chicken and empanadillas stood out as the best flavors, but the spanakopeta was also very well made.  We finished our meal with a profiterole, complete with chocolate and raspberry drizzle.  I found the sangria to be slightly less than amazing, but still quite good with the meal. Our servers were VERY available and friendly.  (They were so attentive, at times we hoped they would find someone else to spoil w/ attention.)  The restaurant is really big, w/ a menu that has something for everyone.  I would definitely try Las Tapas again and recommend it to friends.

by Andrew C.

Foods pretty good. Service is alright. There are better places in OT. And why they hell is it so big?  Anyone been here with more than 10 people in it at once?  It's huge and no one is really ever in it.

by Susan S.

Wooooh!  Move over Jose A. for some fierce tapas competition!!!Sometimes I walk into a restaurant with a coupon from http://Restaurant.com and think "It figures!" and sometimes I think "Wow!! Wonder why this successful place offers a coupon!" Las Tapas is the latter!! My income went down 30% in the last year, so I sometimes augment my "foodie" experiences with an offer for a coupon to off set the cost of eating out. So, I'm very appreciative of the savings, but sometimes not so impressed with the venue or the food quality. NOT so with Las Tapas! We walked into the restaurant, and were seated in a nice table for two on the first floor (still in a cast and can't go up stairs easily.) Low romantic lighting and a pretty atmosphere makes it restufl!  The service was prompt and lovely, and we dug into the menu. Right away, I was taken with the difference of the offerings. Not your typical "jambon" and "croquettes," this menu was a plethora of lovely hot and cold combinations. While I had to order my traditional potatoes and spicy sauce, I added to that the shrimp over avocado with thousand island dressing, and I also craved the lamb mixed with onion and peppers in a savory sauce. My colleague ordered the small skewers of beef and chicken (in a wonderful tomato sauce,) the shrimp and avocado (she wanted one more!), and a mini quesadilla with chicken and cheese. The server brought two orders of the quesadilla, which was their mistake, and I was charged for it, but you know, what the heck! I had a coupon!! We thoroughly enjoyed the food, and we loved the service! Gracious, genuine - really nice. In addition, the vibe of the bar was heating up next to us -- people were smoking hookah's!! Yes, smoking nearby...which I loved...cos I love that smell of tobacco. AND, the band was tuning up with gorgeous music, and I wished I could have stayed for the show. I'll be back tho -- which after all, is the great benefit of a coupon. Try out the restaurant, and then you are so intrigued you want to come back I will!!

by Hana K.

Atmosphere:HUGE. There's a full bar area, a full dining area, and an upstairs dining area as well. To access the restroom you have to go through the bar area, then up the stairs which was kind of a pain. We had window seating, so was able to people watch. The also offer a handful of tables for outside seating. The decor is Spanish but nothing authentic appealed to my eyes.Food:Five tapas (mixture from hot, cold, and meat dishes), three beers, and warm bread was enough to fill up two people. I enjoyed the Mediterranean salad (tomato, fresh mozzarella, and olives) and the chicken quesadilla (which had a spicy kick) but the remaining three dishes were nothing spectacular. I normally enjoy ceviche but felt they squeezed in too much lime juice which took away any taste of the seafood. However, all the dishes had distinctive flavor and nothing was bland.Service:Our waitress was a bit slow to start (forgetting our waters and so forth) but became a lot more attentive towards the middle of the meal. Overall:The portions to price ratio seems a bit high for what they charge with nothing spectacular or standing out. I might return but only to check out their happy hour (I saw $2 signs on their HH chalkboard).

by Bhumika K.

meh. I've experienced better. I couldn't care less for the wine I picked - maybe I've become really overpartial to California wines...?I couldn't care less for the patatas aioli we got, it was like fried potato cubes with mayo.The two points goes to the spanokopita, ironic, because it's not even a spanish tapa. I said it before and I'll say it again, tapas outside of spain just aren't good.

by Bhumika K.Hana K.Susan S.

meh. I've experienced better. I couldn't care less for the wine I picked - maybe I've become really overpartial to California wines...?I couldn't care less for the patatas aioli we got, it was like fried potato cubes with mayo.The two points goes to the spanokopita, ironic, because it's not even a spanish tapa. I said it before and I'll say it again, tapas outside of spain just aren't good.Atmosphere:HUGE. There's a full bar area, a full dining area, and an upstairs dining area as well. To access the restroom you have to go through the bar area, then up the stairs which was kind of a pain. We had window seating, so was able to people watch. The also offer a handful of tables for outside seating. The decor is Spanish but nothing authentic appealed to my eyes.Food:Five tapas (mixture from hot, cold, and meat dishes), three beers, and warm bread was enough to fill up two people. I enjoyed the Mediterranean salad (tomato, fresh mozzarella, and olives) and the chicken quesadilla (which had a spicy kick) but the remaining three dishes were nothing spectacular. I normally enjoy ceviche but felt they squeezed in too much lime juice which took away any taste of the seafood. However, all the dishes had distinctive flavor and nothing was bland.Service:Our waitress was a bit slow to start (forgetting our waters and so forth) but became a lot more attentive towards the middle of the meal. Overall:The portions to price ratio seems a bit high for what they charge with nothing spectacular or standing out. I might return but only to check out their happy hour (I saw $2 signs on their HH chalkboard).Wooooh!  Move over Jose A. for some fierce tapas competition!!!Sometimes I walk into a restaurant with a coupon from http://Restaurant.com and think "It figures!" and sometimes I think "Wow!! Wonder why this successful place offers a coupon!" Las Tapas is the latter!! My income went down 30% in the last year, so I sometimes augment my "foodie" experiences with an offer for a coupon to off set the cost of eating out. So, I'm very appreciative of the savings, but sometimes not so impressed with the venue or the food quality. NOT so with Las Tapas! We walked into the restaurant, and were seated in a nice table for two on the first floor (still in a cast and can't go up stairs easily.) Low romantic lighting and a pretty atmosphere makes it restufl!  The service was prompt and lovely, and we dug into the menu. Right away, I was taken with the difference of the offerings. Not your typical "jambon" and "croquettes," this menu was a plethora of lovely hot and cold combinations. While I had to order my traditional potatoes and spicy sauce, I added to that the shrimp over avocado with thousand island dressing, and I also craved the lamb mixed with onion and peppers in a savory sauce. My colleague ordered the small skewers of beef and chicken (in a wonderful tomato sauce,) the shrimp and avocado (she wanted one more!), and a mini quesadilla with chicken and cheese. The server brought two orders of the quesadilla, which was their mistake, and I was charged for it, but you know, what the heck! I had a coupon!! We thoroughly enjoyed the food, and we loved the service! Gracious, genuine - really nice. In addition, the vibe of the bar was heating up next to us -- people were smoking hookah's!! Yes, smoking nearby...which I loved...cos I love that smell of tobacco. AND, the band was tuning up with gorgeous music, and I wished I could have stayed for the show. I'll be back tho -- which after all, is the great benefit of a coupon. Try out the restaurant, and then you are so intrigued you want to come back I will!!

by Bhumika K.Hana K.Susan S.Andrew C.Mary S.

meh. I've experienced better. I couldn't care less for the wine I picked - maybe I've become really overpartial to California wines...?I couldn't care less for the patatas aioli we got, it was like fried potato cubes with mayo.The two points goes to the spanokopita, ironic, because it's not even a spanish tapa. I said it before and I'll say it again, tapas outside of spain just aren't good.Atmosphere:HUGE. There's a full bar area, a full dining area, and an upstairs dining area as well. To access the restroom you have to go through the bar area, then up the stairs which was kind of a pain. We had window seating, so was able to people watch. The also offer a handful of tables for outside seating. The decor is Spanish but nothing authentic appealed to my eyes.Food:Five tapas (mixture from hot, cold, and meat dishes), three beers, and warm bread was enough to fill up two people. I enjoyed the Mediterranean salad (tomato, fresh mozzarella, and olives) and the chicken quesadilla (which had a spicy kick) but the remaining three dishes were nothing spectacular. I normally enjoy ceviche but felt they squeezed in too much lime juice which took away any taste of the seafood. However, all the dishes had distinctive flavor and nothing was bland.Service:Our waitress was a bit slow to start (forgetting our waters and so forth) but became a lot more attentive towards the middle of the meal. Overall:The portions to price ratio seems a bit high for what they charge with nothing spectacular or standing out. I might return but only to check out their happy hour (I saw $2 signs on their HH chalkboard).Wooooh!  Move over Jose A. for some fierce tapas competition!!!Sometimes I walk into a restaurant with a coupon from http://Restaurant.com and think "It figures!" and sometimes I think "Wow!! Wonder why this successful place offers a coupon!" Las Tapas is the latter!! My income went down 30% in the last year, so I sometimes augment my "foodie" experiences with an offer for a coupon to off set the cost of eating out. So, I'm very appreciative of the savings, but sometimes not so impressed with the venue or the food quality. NOT so with Las Tapas! We walked into the restaurant, and were seated in a nice table for two on the first floor (still in a cast and can't go up stairs easily.) Low romantic lighting and a pretty atmosphere makes it restufl!  The service was prompt and lovely, and we dug into the menu. Right away, I was taken with the difference of the offerings. Not your typical "jambon" and "croquettes," this menu was a plethora of lovely hot and cold combinations. While I had to order my traditional potatoes and spicy sauce, I added to that the shrimp over avocado with thousand island dressing, and I also craved the lamb mixed with onion and peppers in a savory sauce. My colleague ordered the small skewers of beef and chicken (in a wonderful tomato sauce,) the shrimp and avocado (she wanted one more!), and a mini quesadilla with chicken and cheese. The server brought two orders of the quesadilla, which was their mistake, and I was charged for it, but you know, what the heck! I had a coupon!! We thoroughly enjoyed the food, and we loved the service! Gracious, genuine - really nice. In addition, the vibe of the bar was heating up next to us -- people were smoking hookah's!! Yes, smoking nearby...which I loved...cos I love that smell of tobacco. AND, the band was tuning up with gorgeous music, and I wished I could have stayed for the show. I'll be back tho -- which after all, is the great benefit of a coupon. Try out the restaurant, and then you are so intrigued you want to come back I will!!Foods pretty good. Service is alright. There are better places in OT. And why they hell is it so big?  Anyone been here with more than 10 people in it at once?  It's huge and no one is really ever in it.During a recent stay in Alexandria, a colleague and I happened upon Las Tapas.  We carefully studied menus up and down King St. before deciding on which restaurant to eat at.  Nearly all of the menu items seemed delectable, so we were excited to try the fare. Together, we sampled the chicken quesadillas, spanakopeta, garlic chicken, steamed vegetables, calamari, beef and chicken empanadillas, and hummus.  Everything was so good!  The garlic chicken and empanadillas stood out as the best flavors, but the spanakopeta was also very well made.  We finished our meal with a profiterole, complete with chocolate and raspberry drizzle.  I found the sangria to be slightly less than amazing, but still quite good with the meal. Our servers were VERY available and friendly.  (They were so attentive, at times we hoped they would find someone else to spoil w/ attention.)  The restaurant is really big, w/ a menu that has something for everyone.  I would definitely try Las Tapas again and recommend it to friends.