Last night, we had a delicious meal with four friends at Ceviche Tapas Bar & Restaurant near downtown Sarasota (http://www.ceviche.com/3134).
My wife had two tapas and dessert. I had two tapas, dessert and a double espresso. We shared a half pitcher of sangria. Everything we ordered was terrific. In fact, we liked the dishes more than most of the tapas we'd had in Spain 18 months ago.
My wife's tapas were:
- Gambas Romesco - Sautéed jumbo shrimp with roasted tomato, garlic, almonds, and sweet red peppers for $12.95.
- Solomillo a la Parilla - prime fillet grilled and slice with mushrooms and brandy cream sauce for $12.95
Her dessert was Torta Valenciana - chocolate ckae with vanilla ice cream, raspberry sauce, orange zest, and fresh berries for $8.50. Her dessert portion was very large, as was mine.
I had a very difficult time choosing tapas because there were so many that sounded delicious. I chose:
- Chorizo y Pimientos - five types of chorizo sausage sliced with roasted tomato and sweet peppers for $7.50.
- Piquillos Rellenos - Roasted red peppers stuffed with ground veal and mild chorizo sausage & served with a light sherry sauce.
My dessert was Pudin de la Pan - bread pudding with dried fruits and Spanish brandy served with vanilla ice cream for $7.95.
The half pitcher of red sangria was $16.75. It was very nice.
Our total tab with gratuity was $100.60.
They have an extensive wine list comprising Spanish and Portuguese wines. The Spanish wines are from all the major wine regions of Spain. Bottle prices are reasonable and range from about $19 to $199.
One of the dishes that some of our companions order was Champíñones de Sevilla. It was not quite what they expected. It was described as four types of mushrooms sautéed with sherry over goat cheese and toasted bread. They were expecting slice of toast on a dish. Instead, it was a soupy mixture in a bowl.
One of our dinner companions was unhappy with the cost of his ordinary well vodka - $7.50 a glass. I don't know what such drinks normally run.
I was unhappy with the fact that our waitress did not mention that a 20% gratuity had been added. While she was very friendly:
1. Because the table was small, we did not want all of our orders to arrive at once. All of us at the table asked that the one part of our orders come first and the other part later. She assumed we meant the first part of each couple's order, whereas we meant the first part of each person's order. Consequently, some of us were served our entire order in the first round and some were served none. She then tried to get more orders out and the table was very crowded.
2. She was inattentive toward the end of our meal.
We dined on the second floor. Some nights, there is live music and/or flamenco on the third floor. The schedule of events is on the web site.
There is a roof-top bar that is very nice.
We will definitely return and I suspect two of our companions will because the wife had previously enjoyed meals there with friends and they enjoyed last night's meal.
This restaurant is a part of a small chain with other stores in Tampa, St. Pete, Clearwater, and Orlando.
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