Bodega On Main

Nosh and Nibble came here for an early dinner and we had the following tapas (small shared plates):
Patatas Bravas ($ 5)
Arroz Español ($ 8)
Chipirones ($ 10)
Mejillones Picantes ($ 7)
Lengua Estofada ($ 8)
Albóndigas ($ 8)
The Patatas Bravas were described as dad’s famous twice-​fried potatoes with zesty dressing. I’m not sure if these are just hard to get wrong, but I loved these just as much as the ones from Cabrito. It must be the twice-​fried potatoes giving them that crisp skin and fluffy interior that just implores you to swirl it in the dressing.
The Arroz Español was a seafood rice pilaf with saffron. The only pieces of seafood I found were overcooked niblets of scallop. Maybe it’s the style to only include a few pieces, but I’d rather have just had this rice pilaf on its own than pretend it was full of plump scallop. Not my favourite dish, but the rice was delicious.
The Chipirones was sauteed baby squid in a garlic and wine marinade. These were delicious! This was a recommendation from our server and she nailed it. The squid were juicy yet satisfyingly chewy. Try not to think about dead babies when you eat this because the sauce was A+ and made fresh squid taste better.
The Mejillones Picantes was a dish of mussels in a piquant sauce with diced hard-​boiled egg. At first glance, this just looked like a cold stew, but it was actually more like a thick saucy potato salad with de-​shelled mussels. I was scooping around for a shelled mussel to eat out of but I was happy to see that the restaurant already took care of the shell. This was easily my favourite dish of the night for its perceived novelty.
The Lengua Estofada was a dish of beef tongue in a bath of tomato, onion, and capers. The beef was quite chewy needing a little oomph from my teeth, but the marinara here was tasty and made me want to scoop up the leftovers with my spoon. For what it’s worth, our plate came with 3 beef tongue so we had to split one ourselves.
Last but not least, the Albóndigas. These were classic meatballs in a tomato sauce with grated manchego cheese on top. There was very soft and juicy. In fact, they were so soft that after a bite, one meatball fell off my fork, rolled off my lap napkin, and dropped onto the floor. Such a casualty. Don’t let this happen to you and keep your meatballs safe.

I had dinner i that restaurant a few weeks ago.
The concept is interesting: Only tapas, so appetizers or «main course» in small portions, to share. The decoration is nice. Desserts were delicious.
That’s the only good points of that restaurant. Service was absolutely awful, slow, snob, and not attentive at all.
Price are insane for what it is, and expect a huge bill and being still hungry.
Wont go back. Good concept but service and price were awful.

Don’t trust your first impressions is what I’d keep from my experience here.
While the décor looks nice and trendy, the place packed and that the menu looks appealing and cheap:
— food here is not flavorful, but spicy (like a lot), something that wouldn’t happen in Spain ;
— churros were really plain and tasteless (but thanks god the mix of chocolate and mascarpone on the side made up for it) ;
— there’s no dress code and the waitresses look really tacky ;
— the music (which is nothing like you could hear in Spain) is really loud and annoying after a little while ;
— SERVICE IS REALLY BAD:
1/​We had like 4 different waiters!
2/​We ordered 7 tapas, and none of them arrived altogether ;
3/​One waiter spilled our pichet of sangria. One of our 4 different waitresses brought another one… not even HALF FILLED! Plus some sangria also went on my friends’ blue shoes & white pants and none of the staff cared or even brought him any paper to sponge it.
4/​We were 3 people and asked the waitress to split the bill, something she refused!
Coming back? While the food is eatable, there are so many cons, that I’d rather try another place than ever coming back here.

We came here on a buzzing Sunday night for dinner and drinks. There was a slight line-​up but we were offered 2 seats at the bar until a table freed up (which turned out to be less than 10 mins).
The Winners:
* Championes — mushrooms ($ 8)
⁴⁄₅
Sauteed mushrooms, garlic, sherry, manchego
* Chipirones — squid ($ 10)
⁵⁄₅
Sauteed baby squid, garlic and wine
* Costillas de Res — short ribs ($ 16)
⁵⁄₅
Braised short ribs
* Smoke on the Water — cocktail ($ 14)
Quarter cask laphroaig (whiskey), aperol, lemon juice,
gomme, orange & juniper bitters, lemon twist
⁵⁄₅
WOULD DRINK OVER AND OVER AGAIN FOREVER!
The Okays:
* Ensaladilla de Rucula — salad ($ 8)
3.5÷5
Baby arugula, apples, dates, red onion, goat cheat, almonds, white balsamic
* Paella negra ($ 26)
3.5÷5
Squid ink rice, prawns, calamari, baby squid, mussels, clams, and cuttlefish
Overall, really great flavours in every dish that we tried. The Paella negra was probably the least spectacular dish of the night.
Pricing/​value is pretty standard for tapas dining in the city (meaning, it’s a bit of a $$$ splurge). It took all that food listed above to fill hungry two ladies. $ 140 bill split between the two of us.

I really loved the original location on Hornby St. It took two weeks to get in. finally we found a parking spot (which is a task) .we ordered the brine chicken which was under whelming. In addition we ordered the prawns in garlic (excellent) misto salad (good) beef kabobs (ok) garlic mushrooms (excellent). The service & ambience are great.

Walked in at 530p and got seated right away (it was a Sunday night). There were plenty of tables, but we chose to sit at the bar. The place filled up quickly after that. For cocktails we had the cava negroni and the «Smoke on the Water». We ordered the caesar salad, garlic prawns, sauteed baby squid, beef tongue, and tripe. Also added bread for mopping up sauce. I enjoyed all the dishes, but my favourite was probably the garlic prawns: simple ingredients, perfectly executed. Will be returning for the paella.

I saw this reviewed on the front page of Unilocal on November 24^th and decided to book mark this for future reference.
Within walking distance from the Main street train station.
This is an $$$ small plates tapas joint that is heavy on the sea food, therefore, there isn’t a lot of other meat options aside from the meat and cheese boards.
The flavors are close to what my bestie and I had in Barcelona. It was a good trip down memory lane food wise to do this.
This place is always packed, therefore, even arriving right at 4:30 pm is of no help. We tried calling the day before for reservations, however, had no luck.
If you’re hungry this place won’t fill you unless you dish out some serious $$$, however, you will be left satisfied. This is more of a light bite and drink sort of situation.
There are lots of gluten free options with the menu indicating as such.
The advantage of doing this eatery alone is that getting a seat was easy as I didn’t mind sitting at the bar.

So after booking tickets to Cirque and a hotel on the 16^th, we phoned to see if we could make a reservation on the 16^th for after the show. We were told that they didn’t take reservations (fair enough). Asked what the chances of getting in around 10:30−11 after the show… oh no problem we were told. So after the show we walked over from the venue and in the door. Stood waiting a couple of minutes before the «hostess» came over and said I’m sorry we’re closed because the owner was at the other restaurant. Really? The website and door said open till midnight… we were told when we phoned that they would be open on the 16^th but no. We live on the Sunshine Coast and were looking forward to something to eat and a few drinks at this raved about restaurant. Not to be… put a damper on an otherwise great evening… definitely will not be recommending Bodega. As a side note the hostess did say we could come in and have a drink, but that offer came across as «under protest» when we voiced our unhappiness.

I came here based on a friend’s recommendation and also the fact that every time I passed by this place the place was packed… even on cold and rainy weeknights.
I have a soft spot for Tapas so if you are offering that you’ve already half-​won my heart. Upon entering I noticed the vintage look and feel of this place… the metal chandeliers, vintage wine glasses used as candle holder give the place a more vintage/​romantic feel.
We started off with a jug of Sangria which was recommended by my friend and didn’t disappoint; with the right amount of wine and fruits.
We shared four items, a salad, the lamb chops, the Brava Patatas and Saffron Rice with seafood. Each dish was ok but none of them managed to impress me. I think overall the seafood used wasn’t that fresh as had a rather fishy smell. The ambiance is nice so I recommend this place for drinks.

So yummy! The old La Bodega started going downhill a bit before it closed but the new location seems to have a fresh new take on the classic dishes. Nice modern atmosphere, good drinks, lots of gluten free options.
The only negative is that the no reservations thing is a bit annoying so you can’t really go on a weekend unless you want to wait a long time (we had 6 people in our group and two of the guys in our group offered to wait while the others went to Boxcar for a drink — they waited over 2 hours!); They should take a few table reservations each night like almost every other restaurant does.
Looking forward to going back!

I went to Spain for the first time last year and fell in love with the tapas culture.
Although Main Street is a far cry from Barcelona, these guys are putting out some comparable dishes. The Jamon Iberico de Bellota is worth the price. Pollo Frito, albondigas, grilled chorizo, patatas bravas all hit the mark.
Service is always friendly, and the drink list is plentiful. Plus they are looking to open a Flamenco cave downstairs.

Since I used to be a big fan of La Bodega, I decided to check out Bodega on Main and I was not disappointed. The atmosphere was great the food excellent and the service perfect. I would recommend this restaurant to anyone.

When they call menu items «small plates» these folks dont joke around — so 3 stars for honesty. Nice atmosphere and décor, but between 3 women and 7 dishes, i still left feeling like i had a snack. The food was good, esp the champinione. The most generously portioned and delicious item we ordered were the churros, which were warm served with mascarpone cheese and chocolate sauce — amazing. The small plates are between $ 5 – 15 so its not too bad, i would guess you order 3 per person to make an actual meal out of it.

La Bodega on Main is a bit hidden. When we arrived we were promptly greeted and seated. They have a nice wine selection. We ordered a bottle of Tempranillo, which was nice and smooth. For starters we ordered a mixed salad. We also ordered a couple of tapas based on the waitress’ recommendations. We ordered the Salchichas de Cerdo and la Costillas de Cordero. For the main entrée, we have the Seafood Pallella. For desert we had the cream brûlée. All of the plates were well proportioned. The service was nice and attentive. I rated 4 out 5 stars because they were out in f said me items on the menu and wine list. I would definitely return to this restaurant. Love the décor.

This is my second attempt to try this place, my first try was at 7 PM on a busy Friday night. We were told to wait for at least an hour and 45 minutes. So for this time, we came on a weekday at 5 PM. We got seated immediately.
We ordered their Paella Negra ($ 25) to start with since it took 30 minutes to prepare. Since this is a tapas place, the majority of the items are approximately $ 7-​$ 8 with a small portion. For a group of 5, we ordered Paella Negra with 7 different tapas: Patatas Bravas i.e. potatoes ($ 5), Champinones i.e. mushroom ($ 7), Pollo Frito i.e. fried chicken ($ 7), Montaditos de Lomo i.e. pork loin ($ 8), Chorizo A La Parrilla i.e. pork sausage ($ 8), Gambas Al Ajillo i.e. prawns ($ 8) and Melnes A La Marinara i.e. mussels ($ 12).
The paella negra was pretty much fried rice with fresh seafood, not as tasty as I would have wanted it to be. There are some highlights and some misses here. The potatoes, mussels and mushrooms were delicious. Mussels were so tender and plump and served with soup that you can dip bread into. The chorizo was tasty but a little bit hard to chew. I feel that the prawns were a little bit overcooked. Fried chicken and pork loins were nothing special.
I would probably go back here again, it was a nice place to hang out with high ceiling and friendly servers. And with the bill per person coming to a total of $ 25 including tips and tax, the place was decently priced.

I’m giving them 3 out of 5 stars because like many others I’ve been waiting for Bodega to open again since it closed down last year. Its been a tradition in the family to go there, we even surprised my uncle for his 50^th at the old restaurant! We know their food really well so we expected to enjoy the same tastes and quality going back.
The first time we went (we came back a 2^nd time for dinner) we had the sangria and it was off and they adjusted it as my parents know what it should taste like. They weren’t consistent with what sauces went on each plate because the 2^nd time we ordered the food it had a different sauce for the fried chicken wings and calamari. We also ordered the paella and it was so salty we couldn’t eat it. It’s like the chef thought they forgot to season it and then overseasoned it… But the lamb was tasty and the potatoes were tasty as well, and the prawn were to die for!
If you’re expecting the portions like the original La Bodega it is not as they have condensed a part of the portions of the food like the salad.
The 2^nd time we went they didn’t put the right sauces for the calamari, and also they somehow ran out of chickpeas supposedly… I ordered the caesar salad which had roasted chickpeas (delicious with the salad!) and was disappointed to not have any.
The service was average the 2^nd time, but excellent the first time as the owner was there the first time and would come back to check on us.

Bodega on Main is really great.
Went there with two of my friends and we were treated like gold from the hop.
The manager Katie was super sweet, funny, and made us feel like regulars even though it was our first time. The vibe in there was fun and unpretentious.
The stand outs from the bar and menu were the sangria (best I’ve ever had), the lamb tapas, cheese plate, and I actually forget the other item. But it must’ve been awesome because we all loved it.
The food here is seriously tasty.
Highly recommended. I would definitely go back and it would probably be a great spot to bring out of town visitors.

My wife and I had great evening sitting at the bar and being served by the AGM/​Bar Manager, Katie Parkinson. The hostess was friendly and helpful even when we decided to stay at the bar instead of taking a table.
I started with a drink called La Loba. I enjoy bourbon and this was pure joy. It was a cross between an Old Fashion and a Manhattan. You must try this libation if you like this type of drink – it’s sublime!
We had a fine Bottle of red from La Rioja in Spain with our tapas. We had a number of dishes, my favorites were the tongue (stop saying bad things about tongue until you’ve tried it) and the muscles. I did find the paella a little to salty for my tastes. I hope they tweak the recipe to reduce it.
The place was busy and full of smiling happy people. We had a great deal of fun talking to the staff. They were attentive and yet not in your face. I will definitely be returning again to try some of the menu. Maybe even for just the La Loba!!!
My food blog is:

Went here for dinner last night with some friends. Restaurant just opened this week so they have some kinks that need to be ironed out.
We had a major problem getting a table for a party of 4. Was told 1 hr at 8pm, at 9:10 pm they were finally clearing a table and we found out that the manager was giving it to his friends. I told him we had been waiting over an hour for that table but he lied and said these 2 guys were waiting for 1hr 45min. All of us knew it wasn’t true, the guy hugged the manager and thanked him for doing it, it was quite ridiculous when we were really hungry. Those guys called their friends and then they had a party of 10 so the next table to open up next to them of course was given to them. In all we waited 1 hr 45min for a table. The manager wasn’t apologetic and did not even come up to us, we had to stop him, despite us being quite angry. We would have walked out right then and there if it wasn’t for the bar tender Katie. She has excellent customer service skills and was really apologetic, and brought out lots of appys once we finally got a table. She really should be the manager because the other guy has no idea how to run a restaurant.
Pro’s — Katie the bar tender, food was quite good, wine prices were decent, I would recommend the Juan Gill. We tried an assortment of food: the popo (octopus) was probably the standout and I don’t like octopus. It was incredibly tender, not chewy and the sauce was very flavourful. Braised beef was also very tender and delicious. Paella mixta was pretty good, the mussels were huge in it but some were over cooked. Meat and cheese plate was good, stuffed peppers were light and flavourful, mushrooms were excellent as well. Albondigas were pretty good.
Cons– the lamb chops were way over cooked and the beef kabob was nothing to write home about. It’s a small restaurant so they need to learn to turn tables quicker. They are losing lots of money with each party sitting at a table for over 1.5 hrs.
Overall 2 people in our party will not go back unless they get a new manager. I would go back but not any time soon and only with a reservation. The food was good but it’s hard to enjoy the whole experience when you are so hungry and angry.

I’ve been waiting for this place to open since the original La Bodega on Howe closed down. This place has only been open for 3 days so there’s a few service issues that needs to be ironed out. The manager was nice and accommodating but we didn’t know who our server was. We just assumed it was the lady helping everyone else except for us. A hostess took our order because we flagged her down but she wasn’t familiar with the menu and didn’t know how to pronounce the dishes. The food took about 20 – 30 mins to arrive and they gave us the bread (starter) last after we asked for it.
Anyways, on to the food. The Gambas Al Ajillo was delicious. It is small (4 prawns) but tasty and garlicky. Pair it with the bread and olive oil and it’s yummy!
The Albondigas (meatballs) were not bad.
I thought the Paella Mixta could be better. It looked amazing but it wasn’t as tasty as I thought it would be. It was not that flavourful.
The décor was nice and interesting but it was super bright in there for a dinner. There was no mood lighting or ambiance. Just bright lights.
I had high hopes for this place to be the same or similar to the original but I’ll give it another few months to get better and try it again.