La Plaza Tapas Bar

I don't understand all the negative reviews. I really enjoyed a meal here with a friend last week: meatballs, croquettes, lamb kebabs, garlic prawns and a selection of spanish cheeses (particularly recommended) all freshly prepared and as good as any I've had in Spain. I really recommend this restaurant for a good value, tasty meal.

Lou (Unverified), 28/07/08

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I echo Gmac's sentiments.
I found my lunch there today most agreeable.
My 3 tapas deal was far too much for one person but I enjoyed sampling all that was on offer. The decor and ambience were light and appropriate and I felt briefly transported away from Oxford. The tomato accompaniment to the bread was wonderful, very fresh and flavoursome.

Juan Stubbinguez (Unverified), 17/06/08

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My partner and I recently visited La Plaza and we thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience. I felt I had to submit a review as I was quite shocked by the ones already posted.

The atmosphere was great and it was extremely busy. We were treated to a live Flamenco performance which added to the evening. The food and wine were faultless, and I was very impressed by the cost of both. All in all a lovely place to go for a meal in a great area of Oxford. So nice in fact I have already made reservations to go again.

Gmac (Unverified), 04/06/08

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Me and a friend were in the mood for some tapas and having never been here before, decided to give it a go. The experience was something of a let down. The food filled a hole but i'd be hard pushed to recommend it above the more established middle class chains that line Little Clarendon Street.

We decided to share 5 hot tapas dishes from the fairly extensive menu. To drink we shared a small jug of very average sangria which seemed suitable considering the cheesy Gypsy Kings-esque music that was being piped into the dining room, and also each had a bottled lager (San Miguel and Estrella). The waitress brought bread upon our request very quickly but we were saddened by the quality of this as it was very cold and was accompanied by an even colder passata-like tomato condiment. If they'd heated the bread it would have been so much nicer, or perhaps even ditch the tomato stuff and just give some butter or infused oil.

Our main tapas dishes were very inconsistent. The highlight was a kebab of peppers, beef, bacon and dates which I thought was lovely and there was also an ok asparagus wrapped in ham, but the standard of some of the others was quite poor. There were some not very garlicky garlic mushrooms and a messy dish of goats cheese, meat (not clear what type!) and tomato, but far and away the most disappointing was the vegetarian balls ( I do not see fit to make them sound any more appetising). I see someone else has commented on their poor quality in a previous review and I have to agree. They were essentially mushed up aubergine, courgette, onion, etc formed into balls and coated in breadcrumbs. It was like eating deep-fried baby food! The portions were of reasonable size but you'd maybe have to question the freshness of the ingredients.

The pudding menu looked ok but we skipped this and went for a spirit each from the bar. I fancied something a bit more unusual to the normal Drambuie i'd normally plump for so chose a nice anis which brought back nostalgic memories of a mis-spent school trip to Paris, and my companion had a very interesting Spanish spirit that smelt unpleasantly bitter but had an amazing sweet depth of flavour which was really quite unusual and very nice. I never saw the bill as my friend was paying (I shouldn't sound so ungrateful in this review!), but it wasn't that expensive. Overall, La Plaza is ok, but thats not really good enough when you've got so many other restaurants within spitting distance which are all far more reliable for a decent meal.

Joe B (Unverified), 08/03/08

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The food here is terrible. I went last night and it really did seem like they'd just bought in a load of frozen food, heated it up and smothered it in poor quality mayonnaise. We ordered the semi-vegetarian party menu, from which I think the most disgusting dish consisted of some mysterious 'balls' containing what tasted like a mixture of spinach and wallpaper paste. Everything was drenched in far too much oil, too. By all means go there for a drink and to take in the atmosphere (though it was dead on the Tuesday night we visited, it can be lively on the weekends), but if you're hungry in this part of town I recommend you try any one of the several other restaurants close by.

Not Becky (Unverified), 27/02/08

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Went to La Plaza last night (26 February). Very unfortunate experience. Think it might actually be the worst food I have eaten in Oxford (well, apart from the late Smollensky's). Lumps of cold potato and frozen prawns. Can't think of anything positive to say about it I'm afraid.

Richard (Unverified), 27/02/08

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We visited two weeks ago and were informed that the menu was new, which may go towards explaining why this review is so much more positive than those beneath.

The lively atmosphere and beautiful decor are the first thing to mention. As mentioned by a previous reviewer, the restaurant seems to follow European dining times - we arrived at 9 and the place was still filling up after us, so don’t arrive too early.

The wine list seemed slightly limited and entirely focussed on Spanish wines. We went for one of the more expensive bottles (at £14 not exactly a stretch!) and happily found it to be very fruity.

With four of us dining, we ordered bread and eight tapas dishes, planning on getting more later. However, the portions were so generous and so rich that there was no need. The bread came with a delicious creamy tomato and garlic sauce, far superior to the standard olive oil. We went for the more traditional dishes - garlic prawns, patatas bravas (which, contrary to a previous review, were lovely and not at all "smothered in mayo"), tortilla, albondigas (meatballs), garlic chicken - all of which were excellent examples, especially the huge portion of beautifully cooked chicken. We also went for one of the specials, slow cooked spiced pork belly and grilled cheese on bread. It was probably some of the best pork belly I've ever had. There is easily scope in the menu to try some more unusual tapas.

The service throughout was excellent, although the food did arrive in one bloc without the potatoes, which came about 20 minutes later. Overall, the bill came to about £12.50 each including wine - amazingly cheap for what we got! I would highly recommend this restaurant to others.

Katy (Unverified), 18/11/07

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I visited here recently and was a little disappointed. It's certainly a lovely place inside and had a nice casual friendly atmosphere but the food was a little lack lustre. We had fresh anchovies which were very salty and seemed to be just the same as canned ones. Some dishes came with cheapo catering mayonnaise on the side. The patatas bravas were luke warm with a strange red sauce which didn't seem to taste of chilli, tomato or peppers so I'm not sure what it was. It just seemed like they have a inexperienced chef or someone with no idea of how the food should taste.

On the plus side I thought it was good value on the whole, the staff and service were efficient/polite and the food could have been a lot worse. Come on La Plaza, get it together: you've got a great little place, it would be a shame for it to get a bad name!

bacon lover (DI User), 27/12/06

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We have been to, and enjoyed, La Plaza several times before, and our recent visit on Saturday night was no exception. Service was extremely friendly and prompt, and our tapas dishes were fantastic. The specials (meatballs in spicy sauce and pork in white wine) were wonderfully tender, and the tortilla and chorizo/goats cheese toasts were delicious too. Our favourite, however, must have been the hot prawns in garlic, which came close to being as delicious as those that we had in one of Madrid's oldest bars specialising in sizzling prawns earlier this summer.

For 7 tapas, plus bread and olives, and 2 bottles of wine and water, the bill came to a very reasonable £65 (mostly inflated by our chosen wine). The atmosphere was fantastic and all of the waitresses were extremely pleasant, and we will continue to come back here as it is one of Oxford's most special restaurants.

ALS (Unverified), 28/11/06

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I am a great fan of tapas, so was pleased to discover La Plaza - sadly, I was incredibly disappointed. I went here with two friends for dinner and there was honestly nothing good about the experience. The service was brusque, slow and the waiting staff seemed more indifferent than any restaurant I've been to. The tables are jammed together so one is uncomfortably squashed and there is absolutely no privacy.

However, the worst thing was the food. Rather a pathetic excuse for tapas, unimaginative, luke warm (when they were supposed to be hot) and brought out with such enormous gaps between them that three of us were sharing only one small dish at a time - by the time another dish arrived, we'd finished! As with a previous review, our last two dishes (which we thought they'd simply forgotten - and we couldn't remind them as we were steadfastly ignored by the waiting staff)arrived 30 minutes after we'd finished all the previous food and drink. We said it had come too late and we didn't want it, and were subjected to the ire of the waitress (with no concession that the gap might have been unacceptable).

I am generally quite easy going about restaurants - so long as the food is quite good and I can have a good conversation with my companions. La Plaza, amazingly, failed on every single count. If you're looking for Tapas, the one just opened in the Castle Complex is far superior.

I will certainly never go back to La Plaza.

Persephone (Unverified), 09/07/06

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This restaurant is, I'm afraid, an absolute disgrace, and I would strongly urge you not to go. The food looked like it came straight from Iceland, the service was dreadful, and our group were subjected to the most horrible abuse when we tried to query the price given to us (over £700 for only 30 people). Save your money and go somewhere else.

Ed - This review does not reflect the views of Daily Info. We'd also like to point out that £700 divided by £30 makes only £23 per head. Perhaps an opportunity for a DI staff review?

Ben (Unverified), 20/06/06

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I recently visited La Plaza with my partner for a quick bite after work. We were the only ones there at the start so had plenty of time to choose from the disappointing menu. Most of the dishes seemed to lack any imagination.

We ordered about 4 dishes of which only three came out - the last dish was presented casually to us after we had finished our meal.
We ordered the Patatas Bravas which was completely smothered in mayonnaise. The croquettes were presented with a side dish of....mayonnaise.

If you want tapas and see La Plaza - keep walking!

notsixseven (Unverified), 16/05/06

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Situated among a number of great places to eat in Little Clarendon Street, one might easily miss this little place, but it is definitely worth a visit, especially if you have visited Spain recently and are feeling nostalgia for the food or culture. It seems the evening starts late here, as you might expect from a properly continental establishment, and people will be arriving to eat until after ten. Tables are packed in fairly tightly, but this is probably because of the popularity of the place, which has been bustling every time I have visited, whether with large family parties, people visiting the bar for a jug of sangria and a plate of olives, or couples enjoying an intimate meal together.

The wine list is fairly extensive, featuring Spanish and other wines and sangria by the jug, packed with fruit, and it covers a range of budgets. There is a large selection of both hot and cold tapas dishes, with a wide range of meat and vegetable options. Dishes include garlic mushrooms, ham and cheese croquettes, roasted asparagus and spicy Spanish sausage. The mussels in particular are delicious. The dishes are priced at around £3-6 each, which means you can sample a variety of different plates even if you are a small party and are fairly generous. There are also main course dishes at £9-12 if you fancy keeping your plate entirely to yourself. The ambience is really authentic, from the flickering candles and Spanish staff to the spontaneous outbreaks of flamenco between the tables at regular intervals. This is a really good place to go for an evening‘s entertainment.

Victoria Head (Unverified), 16/11/03

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