La Viña

This was my first visit to La Vina, having made my booking and seen the restaurant on the Open Table app. Aside from it offering Spanish fare, I did not know what else to expect.
I booked my table for 8pm, arrived in a torrential downpour and was greeted by a very friendly hostess. Initially I was invited to sit at a table with high stools, but as I have a leg problem, I explained this was not suitable for me. I was shown to a table towards the back if the restaurant in a slightly quitter area. This was fine by me as I was dining alone.
Once seated, I was brought food and drinks menus, and was able to see there was a wide choice on offer, as well as several daily specials.
If you want to practise or improve your Spanish, then this is the place to do it as all of the staff are Spanish speaking. Should you have children trying to learn the language, let them practise. It will really be a good experience for them. Let’s say that I tried, and succeeded, and managed to get all of the food I originally ordered!
Staff interaction was brilliant and I received superb service throughout my meal.
With a Spanish menu, you’d expect a wide range of Tapas. You would not be disappointed by any means as there was so much to choose from. Main dishes, as such, were fewer in number, but they all made up an excellent list.
The following comprised my meal.
Starters
Fuet Iberico
Slices of spicy pork sausage
Queso Manchego
Slices of Spanish cheese, served with honey
Main Meal
Paella Mariscos
Seafood paella
Desert
Crema Catalana
In basic terms, a Spanish version of crème brûlée
My two starts were very tasty, and were served with slices of bread, dipped in olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
The paella for one, was extremely tasty and although it took longer to serve (you are advised that there is a waiting time of around thirty minutes whilst it is cooked — fine by me), was worth every second, as it tasted amazing. It was packed with seafood and included calamari and mussels.
My desert arrived and it was still alight (in a good way). In the candlelight it looked very impressive and I have to say, tasted delightful.
My final bill came to £33.00, with a tip as extra.
Having had a mix of great service and superb food, I was well and truly delighted with my experience at La Vina.
Would I return?
Without question I would. A definite thumbs up from me.
Would I recommend to others?
For certain I would, as you get a really good overall Spanish experience and great food to match.
To the staff of «La Vina», I have this to say.
Gracias señores y señoras en «La Viña» por la excelente comida y excelente servicio. Voy a ser volver a verte pronto.

When I first visited La Vina almost many moons ago, I’ll be honest, my occasional (ok more than occasional) instinct to be thrifty was part of my reason for visiting. However, the reason I went back over the May Bank Holiday weekend was simply based on reputation and high quality.
If you sign up to the restaurant website, you will be entitled to offers such as the Menu del dia, which includes the choice of three tapas and bread for under a tenner — so there is an little excuse for those on a budget to not enjoy the tapas menu on offer.
Although the menu has changed significantly, the standard of food has not. It may sound boring to talk about olives and I know it can be a love it or hate it food, but they were so tasty that I was looking around the table in desperation for more and not every restaurant can get diners to say that and I won’t mention any names (I’m trying not to mention Salt House Tapas under my breath).
Many Spanish tapas establishments have cropped up around Liverpool and there are some excellent places worth visiting such as Esteban on Lark Lane and some less worthy eateries like Portico in the Albert Dock, which had a food offering comparable to most things found on Watchdog or Holidays From Hell based on my last visit. La Vina is certainly one the best to visit, something emphasised by how busy it is at weekends.
The service was excellent although I can’t say I remember much of any encounters in that respect the food seemed to appear by magic, which is either an incredible feat David Blaine would try when not sitting in a block of ice or a reflection of how easy the sangria went down. If you’re wondering, it went down alarmingly quickly like drinking Ribena with a kick to it that would make Chuck Norris proud.
Essentially, La Vina is summed up by a great atmosphere, good food and worrying good booze. You shouldn’t be disappointed… unless you go somewhere else perhaps.

I’ve tried the Manchester branch of these restaurants with my girlfriend and we loved them so we thought we’d try the Liverpool restaurant for valentines day. We had a lovely meal with fantastic service, there was not one meal we didn’t enjoy. The atmosphere left nothing to be desired for a romantic valentines day meal.

I have dined at La Vina once for a friend’s birthday. I am not a huge fan of Tapas but this is where my friend wanted to go, so we obliged.
When we were finally shown to our seats the table was still dirty from its last occupants, and we had to actually ask for it to be cleaned, as the staff had failed to notice its disgusting state. The staff also seemed a bit offended when we asked for the table to be cleaned.
Once we had placed our orders service was slow. Dishes started to come out after about 30 minutes, but they did not finish coming out for a further 30 minutes. We also noticed that some of the plates were not completely clean, having stains on the outside of the plates.
The food at La Vina is not cheap, so you would expect an extra effort to be made to provide a good service for customers, but this was sadly not the case. The drinks are also expensive but are nothing special.
The food seemed to be quite tasty, but its difficult to appreciate a dish which is served on a dirty plate.
We complained but we were not really listened to, and only our service charge was removed. I will never go here again.

I’ve eaten at La Vina on two occasions and was thoroughly impressed on both of them! The last time I went I took my mum for her birthday and the waiter made such a fuss of her that it really made the day special and we were both delighted!
The food was amazing, the first time I went i tried the seafood paella, which was one of the best I had ever had! The second time we shared about 6 tapas dishes, all of which were amazing. When you join La Vina’s mailing list the email over 50% off food vouchers which are great and valid Monday through until Thursday! It’s a true bargain and washed down with a great bottle of Spanish wine leaves you thoroughly stuffed and delighted!
There’s a great atmosphere in here, especially on a dark and cold night outside, there’s a real warmth in the restaurant that really lures you inside!

Rafa’s in Manchester is probably the best Spanish restaurant I have been to outside Spain. How does La Vina hold up against it, was the question I had in mind on my first visit. The owners have ventured out of Manchester where they have two restaurants in the city centre and in Hale. This one in Liverpool for those not familiar with the city is just off Victoria Street and around 5 minutes’ walk from Moorefields train station. For those of you fortunate enough to have a car, you can normally find a space outside the restaurant on pay and display or in the Liverpool one Q Park underground car park.
In general I’ll be honest, it is rare I do chose the Spanish cuisine option. Not usually a big fan of paellas I did surprisingly tuck well into their Paella Mixta. My goto dish here is the patatas bravas, those deep-​fried potatoes, served with a spicy tomato sauce and garlic mayonnaise always gets me going. My tapas of choice which I’d recommend would be the Pollo al Chilindrón. Yes, its chicken and yes I love it. The prices are reasonable also with my recommended tapas under $ 5 and paella under £11. If you have got the Spanish holiday blues.

La Vina is a fantastic spanish tapas restaurant that is always busy, providing a great atmosphere for a romantic meal for two, or a large group of friends celebrating.
Whatever the group size, i cannot recommend more the tapas selection, share several dishes between your party and you can not go wrong. The staff are well up on the menu and will happily advise you on choices,
however I prefer to randomly pick a few dishes of the menu and see how it goes. Definitely tapas at its best and much cheaper than some of the more central alternatives such as las iguanas.