05/10/09

Tapas, Sangria and More

by GlenbraeGuitaris

I love Spain, and have visited her a couple of times in the recent past. And I have enjoyed a variety of regional dishes, wines and mostly tapas that have sustained me throughout my travels. And it is my pleasure to report that Ole Tapas Bar is a breath of warm and dusky Iberian air right here in the San Fernando Valley.

From the moment we were warmly invited into the darkly reddish, glowing interior, we knew that the mood and tastes of Spain awaited.

We came specifically for Sangria and tapas. and we ordered accordingly. A pitcher of iced red sangria and the following: Pollo al Sabor de Granada--chicken breast strips with pomegranate sauce, and Pinchitos de Cordero--lamb brochettes in a sangria reduction sauce. We also enjoyed the Placa Caliente, which is an assortment of tapas featuring grilled shrimp, fried goat cheese in honey, patatas bravas, fried calamari, sauteed mushrooms and artichokes. We rounded out our meal ordering a fresh spinach salad with poached pear and goat cheese. Dessert was a lovely dish of sauteed banana carmelized in brandy, introduced into a puff pastry, baked and served with vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce and slivered almonds. Delicious and uncommon.

The dishes were appetizingly presented and satisfying. We definitely intend to return and sample more of the eclectic Spain-inspired fare. We also wish to enjoy the live flamenco show hat is currently scheduled for Tuesday nights.

The geography of southern California is very evocative of much of Spain. A meal and an evening at Ole Tapas Bar inspired memories and visions of our next journey to the ancient peninsula.

• Pros: Ambience, menu selections, table staff
• Cons: None of any consequence noted

04/22/09

Nothing Spanish about this place

by Buke413

Spain is now arguably the top culinary destination in the Western world. Chefs across the Iberian peninsula are transforming simple ingredients into mouth-watering, original fare. Unfortunately, Ole Tapas Bar is anything but original or mouth-watering.

My wife and I started our dinner with a couple glasses of wine. Mine was a Temperanillo that came from a bottle that was probably opened the previous week ... dry, chalky and flat. My wife ordered the sauteed mushrooms and artichokes which, after one bite, was ignored the rest of the evening. I ordered coconut shrimp with avocado sauce (avocado sauce? what is this ... mexico?) and they tasted like they came out of the frozen section of Trader Joe's ... and I love TJ's but I expected more. The final straw was when I bit into the lamb skewers and proceeded to chew for what seemed like days before washing it down with a whole glass of water. It tasted like rump roast ... and not in a good way. All in all, the only thing Spanish about this place were the busboys ... and they were probably Mexican ... so there you go.

Que lastima!

• Pros: Service was friendly but unimpressive
• Cons: Food was horrible

02/23/09

Fabulous place!!!! Just had my engagement party here

by luv2paintthetown

I have been to this restaurant a hand full of times and I really like to food and the staff has always been super friendly. I just got engaged and wanted to have an engagement party somewhere near where I live, some place that was nice but also casual and somewhere that had good food. I thought of this place and boy, was I happy. We had around 50 people show up and we had the bar/ lounge area and a couple tables near the bar just for us. The food was terrific!! The staff, again, was so so nice!! And everybody really enjoyed themselves and just loved this place. Also, the sangria, white and red, is awesome. I seriously could not say anything bad about this place...and by the way, in an economy like this one, if you still are able to go out and eat, the prices here are super. I highly recommend Ole' :)

• Pros: friendly staff, great food, love the artwork, sangrias
• Cons: none!