Tapeo Restaurant & Tapas Bar

Excellant food, great service, unique dining rooms, same owners/menu as Dali which we found out last time we were there.

Two Thumbs up!!

Pros: Food / Ambiance/ Service

Cons: Parking

The food was good but WAY too expensive for what it was. Yes, it was unique but get ready to spend about $50 per person and not even be full and the quality wasn't there in some items. For example, the tiny bowl of beef stew tapas had chunks of fat and tendon in the meat($9.50), me and my friend were so grossed out we couldn't eat it and there were only 3 pieces of meat in it. The tiny plate of shrimp in the garlic and butter was overcooked($9.50) but I was able to dip my bread in it which was yummy because it was garlic butter.
The 2oz of steak on toast tapas was good meat but it had no flavor at all($10)
The goat cheese was great, but the sauce it was in tasted like prego pasta sauce. Kind of pedestrian. ($9.50) The 3 little lamb chops were good, they did not taste gamey ($10.50). My favorite was the chicken balls (don't remember what they are called?) but they were SOOOO tiny, I couldn't believe they cost $10! It was literally 4 bites.
honestly, the quality was just not there for the price. Tasca tapas in Brighton is way better quality and is more affordable.

Also, they are kind of rude here. i ordered a cup of cider at the bar while waiting for my table and they charged me $6 for it and when I asked them why it said $3 fruit juice in the menu the guy said "oh yeah, well, we kind of count it as a virgin drink". What bull. he changed it when I brought it up.

The ONLY way that this place is AT ALL worth it is if you go for the $5 tapas at the bar. THEN you are getting a GREAT deal because of the experience of tapas, but that is still pricey for some of the dishes, but it's the best way to experience things. Plan on spending $50 for two people if you do the $5 tapas, otherwise plan on spending $40-50 per person, not including any drinks. It was the birthday of one of our party, so they brought a small piece of (very tasty!) cake but then charged us $9 for it. nice.
Finally, our server was not good. he kept forgetting to get things we ordered and he brought us tapas we did not order and then acted dumb when we said something, like, "oh yes I brought that, that was the other thing I gave you" and we would say "no, we ordered such and such ( totally different sounding name). it's like he confused us with other tables and couldn't even admit it.

The drinks are way overpriced. nothing for less than $8 and it's tiny and wasn't even good. They are even cheap with their wine portions even though it's $8 a glass. The beer was $5 and it was about a 10 oz glass. Essentially, I just felt like they were trying to rip you off at every opportunity to help cover their expensive Newbury street rent. Tasca in Brighton is waaaayyy better both in taste and prices --AND service, and even has flamenco some nights.
Dali in Sommerville is also the BOMB. mmmm the best!! pricey too, but their food is sooooooooo soooooo worth it.

Pros: location

Cons: the food, drinks and price is not comparable to Dali/Tasca

Was given a gift certificate ($65) to this place and finally went and checked it out. To my surprise, the prices were higher than other tapas places I've been to. My gf and I ordered about $55 worth of food and when I paid with the gift certificate, the waiter said he couldn't give me change. WTF?? He kept saying, "No, I CANNOT give you change." At first I thought I misheard him, but after a couple of minutes of him INSISTING he could not give me change, he suggested that we order another dish to make it closer to the $65 amount of the gift certificate. WTF?? I kept asking and calling him out on it, basically saying, "Uh...WHY can you not give me change??" But he kept going on and on, but not really saying anything different...just kept saying he couldn't. This is the first time I've experienced this!! I've never been to a restaurant where the waiter got into a heated discussion on WHAT I should do with MY money!! I was trying to actually reason with him and kept asking him why it is that he could not give me change. He kinda looked around, and kept repeating the same phrase, "I cannot give you change." Oh, he also finally added that I should pay CASH for the meal and save the gift certificate for another time. Are you kidding me?? I've never been to a restaurant where the waiter got into a heated discussion on WHAT I should do with MY own money!! Why the hell would I want to save the gift certificate for another day??? That's why I went to the restaurant in the first place, so I can USE the gift certificate!! The waiter kept arguing (rather forcefully) his "point" for a good 15 minutes!!!
Unbelievable. So after much hesitation, I did order another dish (about $9.00); we promptly ate it and left WITHOUT leaving a tip. Well, actually, he got a tip of exactly a $1.00, which was the balance of the gift certificate. I hope he feels better now...that his ridiculous insistence on not being able to give me $10 change actually COST him a much more substantial tip I was already planning to give him in the first place.
This was truly unbelievable and left the worst impression of the restaurant as a whole.
I will never go back to this place. And besides, the food was just okay, seriously overrated.

Whenever I visit Tapeo I feel like I have made a quick trip to Spain. Wonderful food, a relaxed atmospere.....and a super friendly staff. I highly reccomend.

Pros: yummy food, friendly staff....atmosphere!

great place. Love the sangria. The tapas portions are very small though. great place. Love the sangria.

My favorite place in Boston. Would love to visit it when I visit Boston next.

Oh, and they make great sangria.

Pros: a nice bar area while you are waiting to be seated

Came here with my girlfriend for a 30th birthday party. I'm not a big tapas expert but I've visited Spain during college and this place fits the part. The baby potatoes, garlic shrimp and beef tenderloin were awesome. I had 4 glasses of sangria and I was starting to feel the repercussions.

Our server was helpful and very nice. I didn't catch her name though. Another guy from Tapeo came over who helped my buddy out with the group arrangements and shook his hand. That stuff goes along way in my book. I will most def come back soon.

I was really disappointed with our recent visit to Tapeo. In the past, I thought the sangria & tapas were good. However, this recent visit, left me extremely disappointed. I'm not sure if the food was disappointing because the kitchen did a poor job preparing it or was our server one of the worst we've ever had. We ordered a wide range of tapas...empanadas, tortilla espanola, scallops in saffron cream, pork w/ blue cheese, pork sausage w/ fig, beef tenderloin, beef short ribs, etc. Unfortunately, the food was disappointing for several reasons. The empanadas were incredibly bland. The scallops were over cooked. The beef was predominantly fat. On the flip side, the sausage & fig and the pork with blue cheese were good. Despite, two tapas that lived up to expectations...the rest of the meal fell well short. I think our server was bad. The scallops and saffron cream had a thick skin on it (along with the overcooked scallops)...suggests that the food had been waiting for a considerable time. The Sangria was watery...also suggesting that it had been sitting in a pitcher for a while. Along with food sitting, our waitress often disappeared, forgot parts of our order, and had a bit of an attitude. I know that Tapeo has been successful in the past. And I know that we will give them another shot to redeem themselves after our last experience...however, I think I will try to avoid the last waitress we had.

Pros: Outdoor Seating, People Watching, Sangria

Cons: Service

If you drink coffee and expect some at Tapeo's - be prepared. They will serve you about 3 ounces of the strongest "coffee" you will ever had and they will charge you $3 for this. Worse, is if you ask them for some more they will give you another 3 ounces and charge you another $3. I complained about this the first time and they took the 2nd charge off my bill and apologized for the error. I went back a couple weeks later and they did this again - the same female bartender who double charged me the first time repeated herself tonight without hesitation. I didn't say anything this time as it is clear this is their business practice to charge $3 for every tiny cup of coffee served. Instead for $3 I'll tell all of you that this place is a silent rip off if you expect to have coffee with your meal. They don't even tell you they're going to charge you extra if you want a refill on your coffee which is automatically free at just about any other Boston Restaurant except this one....

Cons: Coffee service and business is the worst and most expensive I have ever seen of all of our fabulous Boston Restaurants

My girlfriend and I have been here twice and the food is amazing. Very authentic. I got stuffed after 2 1/2 tapas. Try the solomillo en tostada (beef tenderloin on toast) and patatas bravas (baby potatoes) WOW.

Oh and get the Sangria. We ordered a pitcher and it was amazing. Its not too strong but after a few drinks, I stood up and you can really feel it. The decor is interesting. Big boar head hanging over the bar and red peppers. Its a tradition in Spain I guess and just adds to the authenticity. I would def recommend it and its one of the better restaurants on Newbury. Hate to say it, the others are too boring. Same old american or Italian cuisine. This is a great niche on Boston and its nice for a change to not to get stuffed and fall asleep right away! I want to go out dancing with my girl!

Check it out.

Pros: Great food, drinks, staff, interesting decor

Cons: Kinda dim downstairs

I am a Spanish person from Spain, and I can tell you that THIS IS NOT SPANISH FOOD. The dishes only have a spanish name, but neither the ingredients, neither the way to be cooked and mostly the flavour is from Spain, so I will suggest to the restaurant to don't try to appear like they are Spanish because this is not true, and they only have one beer from Spain, one of the worst, byt he way.

Pros: Teh situation

Cons: This is not Food from Spain

cozy spanish environ, some outdoor seating. good tapas, good drinks... there was a bit of a wait (was it past 9pm?), but less than a drink's time. wouldn't go there for the bar though, bit too noisy and sport bar-like.
:)

Pros: great ambiance

Cons: bar area doesn't quite match rest of the restaurant

Husband and I made reservations here. We didn't make many on our trip but this was one place worth checking out during Restaurant Week. Our waiter was great - attentive, helpful recommendations, good with explanations. We each had one cold tapas, two hot tapas, a personal order of paella and dessert. We had Egg/Potato/Onion omelette and anchovies on crostini. Both were very excellent. I'm not a big anchovy fan. The garlic seasoning blended well with the anchovy. For hot tapas, we chose: pork tenderloin, beef short tib, pheasant and lobster/crabmeat ravioli. The tenderloin was good. Short rib fabulous. Phesant had a great sauce, worth dipping bread into. Ravioli was good with a nice sauce. Paella was good, but after all that other stuff - we were overwhelmed with all the tasty flavors and textures. It was great timing to be visiting during Restaurant Week. We had a taste of a lot of dishes for a couple, making it a great full evening. We had sangria - a bit light on the wine but good nonetheless. Our almond torte and flan were fantastic way to end the evening. We enjoyed Tapeo and would recommend it to anyone. Yummy!

Pros: Service, food, ambience

Cons: Needs to make a bit stronger sangria

As a Back Bay resident I can admit that I frequent here many a times a month, I'm a huge fan of anywhere where I can get a great meal (a hard find on Newbury Street. as we all know), good service and a fun environment. Tapeo hits the nails on the head every time. They have a great collection of tapas, that I try and mix up every time I go- try the garlic shrimp though, its one I get almost every time. The point of this post is that I am excited to let everyone know that last time I was sitting at the bar grabbing a quick bite to eat after work I was chatting with the bartender and he told me that they are renovating their bar and adding a martini bar! The way he described it was they were going to bring in a lot more liquors and construct a martini ice bar right in the middle of the current bar. I personally can't wait. Thought you should all know too.

Pros: a great variety, update menu every 6-8 weeks, great sangria

Cons: can be a long wait on weekends, but they do take reservations

This place is one of our favorites. Great food, great drinks, great atmosphere, and great service. We have been here many times over the last 10 years, and never had a bad experience. A great place for a date or a dinner party.

Pros: Pitchers of sangria

Cons: I can't get there every week!

This is mainly in response to the 3 star a couple slips below me... Learn what tapas, is! It is supposed to be "small" portions... If you are a true ?foodie? you would never write such a review! As far as the restaurant goes, the food is FANTASIC and the wait staff is very friendly and knowledgeable. I have been to Tapeo a number of times and I would recommend it to anyone looking for great tasting food and an authentic atmosphere.

Pros: Great food and cool place to hang out

Cons: NONE

I've been to Tapeo at least 5 times now and I've never been disapointed with the food. The wait however can get quite tedious. They do not accept reservations during a certain time period I believe from 6:30-8:30 because it is ALWAYS crowded. Usually when I go around 7:30-8 I wait about 20-30 minutes on average for a table. There is usually space to sit at the bar where they have fabulous drinks! Their sangria is delicious but I definitely have to say that their pomegranete margarita has and always be my favorite! Though the bill can come out to be quite expensive, it is definitely worth it. The ambiene is romantic for the lights are dimmed. However I do have to note that it gets quite loud with so many people talking and such. The staff is attentive however not as much as I would like it to be. Sometimes it is hard to get their attention because they are so busy with so many tables. In regards to food, there are some good tapas that I've had and some amazing tapas! Hands down my ultimate favorite is the garlic shrimp! YOU CANNOT MISS THAT!!!!!! another regular is the scallop with truffle sauce as well as the lobster ravioli. These are a couple of my favorites that you should definitely try! I'm not a big fan of their chicken because it isn't as moist as I would like it to be. Everything else is fantastic. Their dessert is also delicious, try their flann! IT IS AMAZING!!!!!

Pros: food, outdoor dinning, drinks!!!!

Cons: pricey after many dishes, waiting for a table!

This place captures the real feel of a Tapas restaurant in Spain. The inside decor is very authentic feeling. We sat outdoors, the space was tight, but it worked. Good services and nicely priced. Not all the tapas choices are great ones, for example the garlic chicken (skip it). The mushrooms and potatoes were really nice. The sangria wasn't all that great either, I have definitely had better. Their wine menu looked very interesting, I would suggest going with a wine. As for dessert, I wasn't impressed by the selection so we had dessert elsewhere. Definitely make reservations, overall it was a good something out of the ordinary. A good date place.

Pros: Food, Ambience, Value

Cons: Sangria

I took my date to dinner at Tapeo on Wednesday night. Let me first say the atmosphere was perfect. It had a romantic feel that made it the right choice for a first date. The Spanish decor gave it a nice authentic feel. We started with a Tropical Mojito at the bar while we waited a few minutes for our table. The wait was about ten minutes. We got a great seat by the front window in the upstairs dining room, giving us a gorgeous view of Newbury Street. We had a Plato Mixto and Pimiento del Rellenos for starters. Next we ordered Paellas Valenciana and a pitcher of Sangria. We finished the meal with 2 cappuccinos and an order of Fresones. The Fresones were these delicious deep fried strawberries. The whole night went perfect. My date and myself had such a great time that we plan to return next week to experience it all over again!

Pros: Sangria, Ambience, Food, Service

Cons: Crowd Restaurant

We went to Tapeo the Saturday of Marathon weekend. The place was packed, but staff was very pleasant and helpfull and guests seemed to be having fun. After a sangria and a not too long wait at the bar, our party of four was sat upstairs in what seemed a very quiet dining room, given how crowded it was. We started off with their "Plato Mixto" which consisted of Manchego Cheese, Serrano Ham, Roasted Red Peppers and Olices. This was served with very moist corn flour bread and chickpea spread. We ordered the house Rioja for $35.00, and thought it a good value. We did rounds of tapas. The standouts were the Saffron battered fried shrimp in a spicy coriander sauce, the stuffed quail, and the specials such as the lamb and rice stuffed cubanele pepper w/ spicy sour cream, the sole stuffed with asparagus in wine & herb sauce and the cod cakes. We switched to a Muga Reserva - a deal at $40.00, and skipped dessert to have after dinner drinks instead. The server was helpfull and attentive, and the manager was seen filling water glasses and clearing tables. Next time we'll go on a week night, when it will hopefully be less crowded. The dining room was very noisy by the time we left around 9.30.

Pros: Great location, extensive Spanish menu & wine list,lively atmosphere, friendly staff.

Cons: Parking, crowded on weekends

when you go to tapeo, be prepared for miniscule portions.
my husband and friends took me to tapeo for my birthday, and i was excited at first glance of the menu. they have a broad array of different cold and hot tapas plates which we (at first) thought was decent in price. i was SHOCKED when the food started coming out and we saw the actual portions. i am not overexaggerating when i say that the $8 empanada was one medium-sized dumpling stuffed with meat. i know tapeo is located in prime real estate, but come on!!
we ordered 6 different tapas plates (lobster ravioli, garlic chicken, empanada(2), chicken croquette, shrimp) and seafood paella and it was just enough to whet our appetites.
the food is mediocre (some of the dishes tasted like microwaved fast-food) and the sangria was nothing to write home about. we paid $120 before tip for 4 people, and keep in mind that we felt like we had just enough food to not succumb to pizza-binging immediately afterwards.
however, our waitress was friendly, attentive and we were seated at a nice table on the 2nd floor right by the fireplace.
overall, tapeo offers nice ambience and good service, but for real foodies, there are plenty of better options in boston.

Pros: ambience, service

Cons: portions, value, food quality

Tapeo is one of me and my girlfriends favorite resturaunts in Boston. The dishes are excellent. We love the Tapas especially the Garlic Shrimp and Spanish Sausage. Tapaeo has a wonderful wine selection that also compliments their dishes well. When the weather is nice I enjoy the outdoor seating amongst the tempo of people passing by on Newbury street. I recommend to anyone seeking tasteful delights, and great wine selections in a livley and social atmosphere!

This restaurant is wonderful. The portions of the Tapas are very appropriate to the prices. The atmosphere is comfortable - albeit a little bright and sometimes a little LOUD. Everyone is very friendly and the service is fast and efficient. The food is wonderful - especially the scallops in saffron cream and the shrimps in garlic oil. The paella is nice as well, but I'd recommend sticking to the smaller dishes. I can always find a nice Spanish red wine by the glass. I will definitely go back again.

Pros: Good portions, friendly staff

Cons: Noisy room

I love Tapas so when my friend suggested to visit Tapeo sister restaurant of Dali I was quite excited. The location is excellent on Newbury St. My fiance and I did some shopping and decided this past Sunday to stop in for some early afternoon dinner. The tapas were fabulous loved the garlic shrimp, and the pork in blue cheese but that was about it. We sat at the bar since it was such a great flare and we love to get to know local bartenders. Our bartender was quite aloof and spent most of his time chatting with other staff members that hovered around the bar than to even check in with us. Loved the food and atmosphere but the service lacked and was disappointing.

Pros: great location, great ambiance, delicious food

Cons: self-involved staff poor attention to detail

This restaurant was recommended by a friend so we gave it a try for lunch. We were told before we were seated that there was a $$$ minimum which I thought a little rude. Waiter was slow. We waited for bread, for our drinks, our food, our check. Our waiter was gone so long that I thought maybe there was a shift change. The food was good. Really enjoyed the broccoli cauliflower cheese puffs. Service was slow to say the least. I did not feel overly welcome at this establishment.

Pros: Sangria & broccoli puffs

Cons: Service

The restaurant itself is nice, I liked the decor, very "spanish", the sangria was good, but the food, ... dissapointing... The lamb was undercooked, the pork was too salty and the phaisan was at best so so... Prices are standard, and service could have been better (waiter came to our table only 3 times, to ask what we wanted, to bring our food and to bring our check)...

Pros: ambience

Cons: food

The food was the highlight of this trip. We ate a ton! Three tapas a piece proved to be a bit much for the girls, the boys had no problem helping out. We tried a good variety of tapas, both cold and hot, and each dish was big enough for all of us to try. The quail was quite noteworthy, seasoned perfectly and expertly broiled. The octopus was slightly bland, thankfully not fishy as octopus tend to get though so it's worth the mention, and the vinaigrette is a perfect compliment. Plenty of bread, so we never ran out despite the amount of food on the table.
The wine flowed easily and never interrupted the different flavors of the dishes. The server was great, answering all of my questions easily (I'm an inquisitive diner).
We'll be back, there's too many dishes for one trip, and we look forward to it!

Pros: unique cuisine, sangria, hospitable

Cons: Newbury Street

Tapeo is a great place to meet up for Sangria. In the summer beware there is a minimum order to be seated outdoors. Had the gambas (too small) and the scallops (overcooked and hard). The worst tapas I have ever had. Like the heading says - great sangria/horrible tapas.

You haven't been there yet? you don't know what you missing! It's all about sharing great food and enjoying the moment. The smooth sangria , garlicy shrimps, goat cheese with tomato and basil, scallops in a creamy safron sauce, and the pork tenderloin with blue goat cheese is to die for. Don't forget to try their tarta de chocolate! great dessert to share. I warn you the portions are small, you need at least 3 tapas to be satisfied. Great atmosphere! Fast and attentive service. Excellent tapas and Spanish wines!
Highly recommend

Pros: tasty tapas, fast service, great wines!

Cons: crowded at times