Taberna Tapas - Durham

I want to start with some positives. Our waitress was excellent. Her name is on the receipt, Beatriz A. Thanks Beatriz for your efforts to make our time and mea... read more I want to start with some positives. Our waitress was excellent. Her name is on the receipt, Beatriz A. Thanks Beatriz for your efforts to make our time and meal enjoyable. Next, the Spanish wine she recommended was very good. You can see the pics of thewine label. Yes, this is a Tapas bar so the portions are rather small, but the food quality was average, nothing special. Youcan see the current food prices on the menu pics. That last pic was the sticker shock when we saw the receipt. We were stillvery hungry and decided to get a pizza on the way home.

We only had a short amount of time before a show we were going to at the Carolina Theater, so we figured this would be a good place to check out for a quick bit... read more We only had a short amount of time before a show we were going to at the Carolina Theater, so we figured this would be a good place to check out for a quick bite and a drink. We sat down at the bar right away, which was great. We were handed menus bythe hosts, looked through the drinks and the food options and had decided on everything all before we were even greeted by ourserver. Our server/the bartender seemed to be more engrossed in conversing with other employees than acknowledging us, which wasdisappointing. Once she did come over, we told her we were in a hurry and wanted to order everything. She got us our drinksfairly quickly and the food came out not too long after that. But she didn't follow up to ask how we were doing and if we neededanything else, which we did. The Beet Salad was decent, but lacked flavor. They could've done a lot more with some spices, oils, and/or vinegar blends to bring out the flavors of the salad more. I was excited to try the Patatas Aioli, but wasn't thatthrilled with what we got. They were also fairly bland and lacked anything noteworthy to make them memorable or worth theprice. Overall, because the service and food were both fairly subpar, it's not a place we plan to try again. However, theatmosphere was nice and they did a pretty good job of labeling things on the menu if they were Gluten Free or not.

Great options for tapas. We loved everything that we tried but especially the octopus. For 2 people to share, you may want 4 plates. The staff is very cordial a... read more Great options for tapas. We loved everything that we tried but especially the octopus. For 2 people to share, you may want 4 plates. The staff is very cordial and polite. A great place to grab a meal if you are in the Downtown Durham area or attendingan event in Carolina Theatre or DPAC! Plenty of city parking options nearby.

Please order the paella. It's incredibly good (probably one of the best that I have had) and reasonably priced. I would say the appetizers are fine but a little... read more Please order the paella. It's incredibly good (probably one of the best that I have had) and reasonably priced. I would say the appetizers are fine but a little expensive given the sizes.

Mediocre to bad experience. Food was okay. Nothing special, and I left unsatisfied. Our waiter was absent for most of the meal. He seemed to be overworked. Stil... read more Mediocre to bad experience. Food was okay. Nothing special, and I left unsatisfied. Our waiter was absent for most of the meal. He seemed to be overworked. Still, we had to wait a long time for water, menus, to get our order taken, etc. Stopped coming toour table halfway through the meal, and we were left waterless. Very rushed experience for such an expensive restaurant. Orderedthe patates bravas, croquettes, empanadas, calamari. All of it was extremely heavy and oily. Not the best experience. You couldnot pay me to go back.