La Bodega

[ This reviewer is the manager of La Bodega. In our defence, we still enjoy going there.. just because it a good bar -- not for the tapas. Definately better places in HK for good solid authentic tapas. :) ]

I see that both Shri and paul did not enjoy the tapas in la bodega, well like fatjack said tapas are not supposed to fill you up like a steak.. Tapas is supposed to be small mouth teasers that you enjoy while drinking your wine, sangria or any other drink. I am not saying La Bodega is perfect but probably the closest to a real tapas bar you will find in HK. Otherwise why would all the spanish comunity go there... why would the spanish chamber of commerce host their monthly get together there.. if the tapas were not good then why would they promote them...of course if you a tourist or never been in spain then you will not know.. Even in Spain tapas bars are totally different on the style, food served and ambiance if you go in the north, central or south.... Paella.. well like fatjack said no tapas bar would serve paella on a regular basis.. maybe a promoriton or so.. and if they do the quality is probably not there...

To Shri's comment about the price.. don't judge a restaurant or bar for the final price.. you had a btl of wine.. how much was it? 2 jugs of sangria and bunch of tapas (how many)... enough to fill 4 people.. I don't want to say it's right or wong everyone is allowed to have their opinion but if complaining or putting down a bar or restaurant please make sure all the info is told... not just half of the story..

Indeed I was with Shri on the night in question. I haven't spent enough time in Spain to know what is truly authentic, but I agree entirely with Shri's review that La Bodega was not a great experience. I would rank it two stars at best.

Far better tapas at roughly similar prices is available at Rico's on Robinson Road, which also does full-blown spanish meals. I had never thought of Ole as a tapas bar - I see that as a full restaurant, certainly in price.

Actually Shri, you got it the wrong way round. No self respecting tapas bar in spain WOULD serve paella. The whole point in a tapas bar is to serve tapas, paella is not TAPAS. In spain paella is typically eaten at lunch time, tapas bars are busy throughout the day and usually just feature a selection of fresh mostly sea food based snacks which you order by individual piece.

In the same way no self respecting SUSHI bar would serve up a full scale Teppan Yaki meal. It's usually just one or the other, unless you go to some mass market tourist trap that serves up every Japanese / Spanish dish under the sun, but then again that's the kind of place you want to avoid right?

I think La Bodega is OK, the taste of tapas depends alot on the quality of the produce, and in Hong Kong we are quite limited by the local markets. You don't really get good razor clams, fresh baby squid, fresh anchovies or decent chorizo so you just really can't expect too much..

I think OLE! on ice house street is better generally as they import alot of produce fresh from espana, of course the flip side there is the $$$$$

We were a bit disappointed when we went to La Bodega the other day for some food and a couple of drinks.

-- The place is not designed for eating. Its more of a bar which happens to serve a few tapas. The waitress was a bit patronising trying to explain what a tapas bar was to us, but then we don't blame her, probably the standard "counter the customers disappointment" training.

-- The variety of tapas was not that great. Some standard items were missing.

-- There was no paella or a main dish. No self respecting tapas bar in Spain would go without a paella or a filler dish.

-- The Sangria was a bit too sweet. The bar chose to use syrup as their sweetener. When we asked them not to add syrup I think they added water.

-- The cheese plate was awesome. Good value and great selection. Definately one of the best we've had.

-- We ended up ordering a couple of dishes from Stormy Weathers and ended up returning one of them which was fairly unedible.

The total for 4 people for a bunch of tapas, two jugs of sangria and a bottle of wine ended up being about $250/person. A bit pricey for the quality and variety, but not overpriced for the location.