The Tasting Room TO GO

Great tapas bar… love the ambience. The cuisine is delectable and live music almost every night. Extensive wine list plus pomengrate sangria!

We went to this restaurant Friday night as it was recommended by our hotel valet. Our taxi driver also said she heard nothing but good things about this restaurant. We ordered a number of items:
Marinated Manchego — Garlic, rosemary, olive oil, Marcona almonds and sun-​dried cherries. This was absolutely delicious.
Patatas Bravas — Crispy potatoes with spicy aioli and sea salt. These were so good we placed a second order. When we saw the aioli on the 2^nd order we realized there was none on the first. The server insisted we were wrong. «ok» It didn’t matter because it was better without it. However this was the best thing we ate. DELICIOUS.
Gambas — Fiery garlic and paprika shrimp with sautéed peppers onions and extra virgin olive oil. This was fine but there was no «fiery.» It would have been much better with some heat/​spice.
Pollo al Ajillo — Sautéed chicken with garlic and smoked Pimentón and a touch of lemon. This was disgusting. No taste. We correctly identified it as thigh meat. No taste. The server at least took it off our meal which was not our intent but was nice.
Costillas de Cerdo — Roasted pork spare ribs with membrillo-​pineapple glaze. This was our last item. We were totally stuffed at this point and realized we didn’t need it. Good because it wouldn’t have been missed. I tasted no glaze or actually any taste at all. It was completely bland.
I would have given this 4 stars if it wasn’t for the service. There wasn’t a bit of a warm greeting or feeling when we checked in. Even though our server removed the one item she was without much personality. Other servers gave no special feeling of concern for guests when they brought the food. The restaurant has a cute setting and they had a decent duo playing music and that was a nice touch. My server for some reason gave my friend a bad feeling in that her hair was in her face and that made her feel like she didn’t have a polished clean look.
If they worked on the service and fine-​tuned the food a bit more this could be a home run. But for now it is average and I wouldn’t make a point of coming back if in town. They really need to work on training the servers and hostess.

A local raved about the salted brownies. They were realllly good but not beyond amazing (or maybe I’m just jaded that I’m now a thousand miles away). I did however, adore the bagel chips which were so fresh and thinly sliced. Perfection!
The outdoor patio was so cute and I would love to sit out there with a sandwich!

Hidden. Delicious. Quaint. Got the grilled cheese. So good. Don’t tell anyone about this place. Keep it a secret (for selfish reasons, of course)

THE place to go for lunch in St Augustine. A quiet courtyard with a tinkling fountain and shaded outside tables.
Tremendous selection of cheeses, sandwiches and specialty salads with a great wine list.

We visiting St Augustine in August and were really happy we stopped in for a light lunch. Lots of delicious choices (we shared a vegetable empanada, a stuffed piquillo pepper and for dessert a guava and cream-​cheese empanada). There are a few tables inside for a pleasant spot to sit and eat. When we visited, it was too hot to sit outside, but the courtyard looked so charming and I imagine it is a lovely spot for lingering over some drinks and food when the temps are less oppressive. With friendly staff and excellent food, we’ll definitely be back!

I would never have known this place existed. it’s hidden –which I love– just around the corner, behind the Floridian. Thanks to my husbands curious nature and sharp eyes, we chowed down on some major goodness.
All you really need to know is that it’s completely delicious. The staff was very polite and helpful, the food deliciously creative and they had lots of great drink options as well. I happen to be a self-​proclaimed dry cappuccino aficionado and the one I had here was top notch.
nomnom.