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14th Street (PATH)
14th St-6th Aves (F, V, L, 1, 2, 3)
14th St-8th Ave (A, C, E, L)
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this place has pretty good food as long as you avoid the free appetizers. they really do seafood well. the marisco with green sauce is great. paella is great. portions are huge!
avoid the appetizers otherwise you'll walk out before your food gets there. the free salad is dressed with something that tastes like barbeque sauce. the free ribs are dressed with something like an oyster sauce. the mussels are kinda tasteless. the chorizo is ok but is a little over fried. although if you don't care what you put in your belly and are just looking for free food to stuff your belly with a few drinks then you'll like it here.
the dining room is a little run down looking. paint peeling off the ceiling. duct tape wrapped around the edges of the air conditioners near the ceiling. too many paintings on the wall. but in the end as long as your meal is good, who cares right?
the staff is attentive, friendly and fast.
I asked my husband to suggest an old school spaniard tapas joint that had lots of locals (old spaniard dudes) shootin the breeze where we could enjoy a low key anniversary. This, I felt would be a good indicator of an authentic place and maybe I could get a real "Ethpana" feel.
This is what he came up with.
The free tapas were inedible. The ribs were old, charred( not in a good way) and SO salty you couldn't taste them.Which I guess in hindsight was a good thing.
The mussels were vinager-y and flavorless. Which paired well with the salt lick ribs...
The chorizo was fine. Cheap but not screwed up in any way.
Now that my taste buds were numbed.....
The paella was just the right moisture level but the lobster tail was horrendous. Dried out. NO meat. A real waste. Hubby had steak that was so obviously the cheapest cut of meat they could legally serve and the fries were sitting in a puddle of oil.
The place is seedy and rundown but not in that cool dive kinda way either.
It was like visiting a poor, slightly retarded cousin who has invited you for dinner in his dilapitated trailer because he just learned to use the propane stove, sort of, and all he has for condiments is salt.Oh and vinager.
Maybe all those old Spaniards sitting around the bar came together to laugh at the gullible customers who still ventured into this place.
Vale?
During my first day of grad school, someone proclaimed, "Let's go to Spain!" I was very confused. Enter Spain Bar.
While I've never eaten non-free food here, I do so love this place. The house red wine is pretty decent and very cheap, along with most of the other drinks. The potatoes are absolutely amazing and addicting. They're very understanding of how free food attracts grad students, and they don't complain about how long you stay.
The decor itself is part of the charm of Spain. Who doesn't love little old men in red suits and Christmas lights all year long?
We love this place. Have been a patron going on 25 years. Decor is nothing to speak about, but the food is just great!
Same staff (and guys hanging at the bar) has been there for 25 years (scary isn't it...).
If you want Spanish Authentic Food - come here!!!!!
i sort of felt like someone kidnapped me a took me to Spain. The cute old men speaking spain-spanish, the free tapas, TVs giving us the weather in Majorca... I loved it!
Didn't have dinner here, so I can't speak for the food, but the sangria and free tapas were delicious.
Just like Dylan aging and yet staying this same, his old haunt in the village has a couple more layers of paint but i doubt the menu has changed much since opening in 1976.
The unassuming awning opens onto a quiet tree lined street. But inside is a trip back to another time and another cuisine. We had drinks first. With every beer or cocktail comes a special (free) appetizer. I first ordered a margarita which was small and not spectacular. The beer is the way to go; it went much better with the sweet meatballs, potatoes, and Tortilla de Patata. These dishes are really well spiced and whet your appetite for dinner.
When we were ready to eat we were led down a dark hallway and into a sky lit dining room. More appetizers and salads were delivered to our table free of charge. Between the four dinners we had one order of paella and one order of chicken-breast campesina plus the snails in burgundy sauce. All of the food was very filling and authentic. Two pitchers of red wine sangria washed down the feast and lubricated conversation quite nicely.
This is where I go when I am not sure about anything anymore. If I am alone, I cross my fingers and hope they're watching Jeopardy. If I am not alone, I just sit back and wait for something amazing to happen, because it usually does. Just everywhere.
For the sake of an honest assessment of good/services and an almost maliciously selfish wish to keep this place as spare and dusty as it is, I am giving it 3 stars. They do not know how to serve scotch straight. It is either on the rocks, or a shot. There are only 3 beer choices. The tapas is bad, but you goddam better eat it because it is free and you do not make old Spanish men sad. Can't you see they are on their way out? I mean, way out. The other side.
But, o, how I love you. And mine is a good love, I promise.
After the restaurant closes and it is just a divey little bar, the back room dims and is this big, ghostly cavernous place with ceilings that go on forever and odd painted walls and that is where my thoughts pace back and forth back and forth all through the barren drunken night.
This is a quaint little spot that has looks like a dark bar when you first walk in, but has a nice and bright atrium type room in the back where the larger dining area sits. Two long rows of commune-arranged tables easily accommodate large groups and tables placed along the side of the walls allow for smaller. It's rundown decor and artwork that were probably acquired in the 70's give this place a certain charm.
The complimentary ribs with mole sauce, mussels topped with ceviche, slices of chorizo and bread almost tempted me not to order any food. Almost. I had the broiled pork chops and sampled my friend's seafood paella. The pork chops were seasoned just right with garlic, but was slightly too dry. The paella - not too bad, but had better. The big portions will probably feed you for weeks, especially if you indulge in the complimentary appetizers.
Overall, I loved the red sangria - it wasn't too sweet as a previous reviewer wrote. Maybe I picked a good day? Their thick homemade potato chips (patatas fritas) were addicting. I would come back for the sangria and sample more of the tapas on their menu.
NOTE: bring cash because they do not accept credit cards!
Venga aquí si usted comer y ser tratado como mierda.
Don't be surprised if you get mud butt. The food tastes about as fresh as the dreary joint and the cranky pants prehistoric waiters look.
I've been coming here for 4 years and it's my favorite Spanish restaurant in the city. The atmosphere is rustic and homey with cute old Spanish men! You can't say no to free tapas-seared ribs, chorizo, muscles and salad when other restaurants are charging 10 bucks for tapas.
My bf lived in Sevilla and tasting the chorizo brought him back to Sevilla! The staff is so polite and I had a pleasant conversation with one in Spanish and he told me his life story.
Ask for Tortilla Espanol (potato and egg omelet), it's not on the menu but sometimes they have it in the kitchen. Make sure to get the potatoes (like thick potato chips but better), paella (potions are huge and are great leftovers), and any sort of chicken dish. All are tasty. The sangria is fantastic, if you order the smaller pitcher it comes in a cute pitcher perfect for 2 people.
This is place is great. Very accomodating.
I was here with 17 guest and the wait staff made everyone very comfortable. the food was awesome.
I ordered the chicken and rice, they brought a pot to the table for 2 that actually fed 4. this place is a classic.
Oh Spain. You can't say no to free appetizers, no matter how mediocre they may be. The potatoes and meatballs go very well with beer. And everything goes well with the curmudgeonly bartender who never wants you to stop ordering more drinks. You will be his friend until you ask for the bill. I'm glad that I've been introduced to Spain because it's now my go-to place in that neighborhood.
I read a great review of this restaurant from the New Yorker and decided to try it. They recommended the seafood paella, saying it was delicious, plentiful, and authentic.
Have you ever been to a restaurant where you are expecting to like it, and then you realize it's crap? Like when someone recommends a great movie and it turns out to be Father of the Bride 3?! Well this place is Father of the Bride 3, or appropriately terrible film I didn't see. The food was atrocious. Squirt cheese on crackers would have been more "traditional" that this over cooked concoction of ancient frozen seafood medley over packet yellow rice.
The back room is great for groups.
We ordered almost every dish on the menu for everyone to share.
Mussels were sandy and fishy.
The steak reminded me of the Applebee sirloin.
Paella was decent, but bland and very small compared to what other Spanish restaurants serve.
Shrimp and lobster in green sauce = salty but best items on the menu.
Towards the end, I found a looong strand of hair wrapped around my shrimp.
Food is subpar. I am never going back.
This place was sooooo strange. When you walk in it looks like a small, dark, dirty bar. As they lead you back you pass these little rooms with nothing more than one stool or something similar in them. What are those rooms for????
Once you arrive in the dining room its even more strange. So strange that I like it. I wanna say it must have been a church at one point, but I don't have a clue.
Anyways, the service was great, they were polite and brought everything out very quick. Including the free appetizers- which were not so great. They definitely did not taste fresh. But I can't complain if they're free, right? As an entree we ordered the paella. Apparently it depends on the day, because some here love it while others hate it. I thought it was great. It tasted pretty authentic, the seafood in that was a million times better than the apps, and it was such a large size we split it and still had more than we could finish, all for around 20 bones. Not bad.
Seeing as how there's a recession going on, there actually is a chance I might return. Nothing that I paid for was particularly bad. However I wouldn't count on the freshness of their food, there's definitely something sketchy and dingy about this place.
This is definitely a hole in the wall worth trying.
They have some interesting complimentary appetizers.
Their prices are so reasonable and portion size is huge!
4 girls were stuffed after a few appetizers and 1 paella.
I think this restaurant used to be an apartment. very small.
Bread basket is good.
I would come here again, esp. since they opened a Red Mango across the street.
Went here on a Friday night and we had a group of nine. Only 5 of us arrived on time (8 PM) but they still seated us without the full party. That's a plus.
SERVICE:
Upon seating came the onslaught of service and tapas. The wait staff was great. They hovered over us many of times making sure we had enough water and tapas. The tapas were free which consisted of the fried ribs, mussels, bread, salad and sausages. The only complaint was the salad dressing. It was a bit too tangy for our taste. The ribs were great! We finished off our 2 plates of ribs and they brought back 2 more!
FOOD:
We ordered 3 of the seafood paella and the veal sevillana. The veal was a bit tough but the seafood paella was great! I think there was more seafood than rice in the paella. The clams, mussels and shrimp were HUGE. The sangria was a bit too sweet. We didn't taste much wine in it. I'm pretty low tolerance when it comes to red wine but after having 3, I would usually feel a bit tipsy. I barely blushed at all.
I guess I came on a good day? According to the other reviewers, they had a bad food experience. Perhaps they were looking for something extravagant like a 5-Star restaurant? This wasn't my first time here. I had eaten here before and the food tasted the same: Good.
ATMOSPHERE:
The atmosphere is okay. We're not talking about extravagant but it has its own ambiance. The only complaint was the temperature. It was a bit too hot where we were sitting. And my chair was sort of broken. If I had leaned on it a bit more, it might break on me. So I switched it. No problem.
We didn't smell anything bad. It smelled like a restaurant....which smells like FOOD.
Would I go back again? Yes. We've never had any bad experiences to warrant it bad for us not to go again. If its bad, then of course I wouldn't go back.
Old man bar meets old country rustic restaurant. All of the waiters are characters and dress in fantastic black and red suits.
Oh -- and the food is delicious and simple and fresh. Garlic shrimp: 9 out of 10. Spanish tortilla (basically a potato and egg pie): 10 out of 10. Calamari: 9 out of 10.
I'll be back here as often as I can. My new favorite place.
THE jump off !
But I was there on an off night.
The appetizers, paella and seafood are the big winners here.
Good prices and flavors all around.
The dishes are big too! I am almost certain someone leaves with a doggie bag.
Craving some paella, this is where we ended up.
Pros:
Large groups can be accommodated (there were 11 of us)
Service was above par
The thumbs up: chorizo, fried potato slices, huge and generous portions of paella
Definitely will not break the bank!
Cons:
Don't eat the mussels - totally crunchy with sand - I was worried for my preggar friend. I told her don't touch the mussels.
Sangria - nothing special
The thumbs down: super salty onion soup, paella was bland, our table was tapered to a table where they store dishes and other things, not comfortable.
Other notes, hang your own coat in the front of the restaurant, and make reservations, it gets mega busy at night.
This is a great place - very small and hard to find if you are not looking for it - but well worth the find.
The basic starters - all complimentary - are bbq ribs, fresh muscles with onions and peppers, salad, and usualy some other little things here and there that they have extra of in the kitchen (try the potatoe pie - its amazing)
The paella comes in a large cast iron pot - large enough for two and filled with amazingly large pieces of seafood and veggies.
My dad's personal fave is the pork chops - grilled to perfection and complimentary to the side of fried potatoes.
Great place - give it a whirl!
It was a good sign when everyone in the place spoke Spanish (except for the Japanese tourist pair). Then they piled onto the table some ribs, sausages, bread, mussels, and salads for both my friend and myself. We were full even before our gazpacho, paella and fried calamari came. Unfortunately, the ribs, gazpacho and marinara sauce were all very salty and the water service was slow. Granted, it was hot and humid and we were thirsty anyway, but the saltiness detracted from the tastiness of it all.
The seafood in the paella was fresh and plentiful. My favorite part of the meal was the fried calamari. Though the batter was soft, it was perfect for the soft calamari.
I'll probably go back although I'm a bit weary of the salt.
I love going to Spain for a beer. They keep you well supplied with fried potato slices with plenty of Frank's Red Hot. Sometimes they give you this chicken part dish which is basically a plate of garlicky fried bones <sick>. Stick to the potatoes and the meatballs. I also recommend avoiding the sangria. If you're a fan, just watch them make it once. SO MUCH SUGAR! You better damn well respect the staff or you'll get the death stare and
A meal at this restaurant was the worst meal of my life. I am trying as hard as I can to erase this experience from my memory because honestly it was the worst 60 dollars I ever spent. I went to this restaurant because it was recommended to me by an out of towner and I should have known...because this meal was disgraceful! The minute I walked into this restaurant I knew I should turn around and walk out....it was disguisting and looked unsanitary. In fact the main dining room looks as though cows were slaughtered there an hour ago and they tried to mask everything with ugly artwork. It felt as though I was in another country....a third world country to be exact. The food was nasty, flavorless, and honestly places like this should not be allowed to exist. I found a hair in my paella, and the sangria was like fruit juice. And to top it off the restaurant doesnt accept credit cards....which is not stated anywhere! So we had to run out to get cash to pay for this disguisting and attrocious meal....i wish I could have walked out....anybody who said that this place has good spanish food is on something, because it was the worst, nastiest meal of my life. I would rather give the money to a bum then to ever step foot into this establishment EVER again! Somebody call the dept of health on this one?
As soon as we got there, they gave us free ribs and ceviche. From then on I loved this place. As a Catholic, I wasn't supposed to eat on that Friday, but I really didn't want it to go to waste. While everyone ordered lobster (which they loved), I ordered the shrimp cocktail, which tasted pretty good.
And who doesn't love a few glasses of sangria with their meal.
I like the atmosphere of this place. Walking past the crowded bar you enter a single large room that looks a bit on the tattered side, but in the same way a bit charming.
I enjoyed the chicken liver appetizer, but others, such as the ribs, were too salty for my tastes.
For the main course I shared a pot of paella which was had lots of good ingredients such as lobster, but overall just average tasting. I personally found the rice a bit on the watery side.
In the end, the place looks like a nice hang out spot, and I'd consider coming back here again to share a big pot of a paella and a pitcher of sangria with friends.
meatballs and potatoes, cant beat these with an estrella for 4 bucks.
Incredibly authentic (almost dive-y) place. The restaurant is really bare bones and only takes cash. The menu is quite simple and they bring out complimentary mussels, bbq ribs, and salad. The portions are huge so we only ordered the broiled lobster which came with some fresh homemade silver dollar fries. Both were amazing. We thought it would be a small lobster instead it was 1.5 lobsters that they brought out with some drawn butter- amazing. We tried the flan for dessert and it is probably one of the best in the city. This is not the greatest place for ambiance, but the servers are really nice and the food is great. I would go back.
5/9/05-tried finding an inexpensive place for spanish food since we were in the mood for paella and i found Spain Restaurant. 1st of all, when you walk thru the door, it smells like damp towels. the tables are in the back and the ambience was less to be desired. right after sitting down before ordering the waiters brought out free appetizers: ribs, salad, and mussels...the ribs were really salty and so was the salad? the mussels were tasty tho but still pretty fishy. we ordered the paella valenciana and it was pretty bland. dont think i would ever go back
looking for a kick back joint at no frills? spain is the place...julio & the other waiters rock. i heart spain.
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