Las Tapas: Fully-Vested

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Tapa (noun): a Spanish hor d’oeuvre typically served with drinks

There. Now that we all know what the hell a Tapa is, I can get on with this review.

Located in historic Old Town Alexandria, Las Tapas is probably the best place to get authentic Spanish tapas in all of northern Virginia. If you’ve never had them before, tapas are a basically small portions of food that are usually ordered in groups according to the particular tastes of the diner. As you can probably imagine, this offers a diner lots of options as far as flavors and doesn’t force a single constant taste on your palette during the course of a meal. Tapas ranging from vegetarian, seafood, beef, etc. open up all types of avenues that can cater to the tastes of practically anybody that seeks to indulge, and is perfect for the adventurous foodie looking to try something new.

Locally, when people think ‘tapas’ there’s generally one place that comes to mind: Jaleos. Aside from being part of a large commercial chain of restaurants, Jaleos falls short in the ambiance factor being as that most of the locations have massive floor layouts that are often crammed with people. Las Tapas remedies this perfectly, with personal seating on a spacious, but modest, main floor (which includes a fireplace which they light during the winter months). In addition to this, the main dining area is directly adjacent to the bar and performance area, where live Flamenco bands frequently offer live music to the attendees.

Speaking of bars, by and large my favorite thing about this place is the Sangria. Being as that I am a whiskey man, I’ve always been very indifferent when it comes to wine as I feel there is something inherently effeminate about it. Nevertheless, I HIGHLY recommend you partake in their red sangria should you ever visit. It makes the sangria at Jaleos taste like grape juice, and is served in the traditional manner using pitchers. Servicemen graciously refill your glass

for you should they spot it running low, a thoughtful gesture likely to never happen at a larger establishment. The waiters, chefs, and host/hostess crew are excellent, and are very much worthy of such a fine mom & pop restaurant. They pay prompt attention to your needs and are very knowledgeable of the extensive menu. If you want any suggestions, I recommend the Spanish omelet, croquettes, white fish, and lamb.

Atmosphere: Intimate

Food: 8.5/10

Service: 9/10

Price: Moderate

DB Threat Level (see chart): Guarded (Las Tapas is directly across the street from Murphy’s Irish Pub, one of the most famous bars in Old Town, which is known for it’s bar-wide singalongs and unusually high douchebag index) – udothedishes . . .