Sangria Tapas Bar

The night before last, my wife and I had a nice dinner at Sangria Tapas Bar on Main Street in Sarasota (http://sangriatapasbar.com/). My wife had three tapas and dessert. She enjoyed them all very much. I had four tapas and dessert. I really liked two of my tapas and the dessert. I found two other tapas nice, but unexciting.

The tapas my wife ordered were:
1. Tomate Pan y Queso, which was like a tomato bruschetta with cheese for $6.25. It had tomato, manchego cheese, and basil on garlic bread with a basil reduction.
2. Ensalada de Pollo al Curry for  $6.25. It was chicken breast, currants, and apples in a curry mayonnaise.
3. Gambas y Aguacate for $7.25. It involved shrimp, aovcados, and sweet peppers in olive oil.

My tapas were:
1. Tostada de Cabra for $3.95 - Soft goat cheese and caramelized onions on toast. This was one I enjoyed very much.
2. Aceitunas Alineadas for $3.95 - black and green olives marinaed in oregano, thyme, and rosemary. This was decent, but unexciting. The olive dishes I've enjoyed in Spain (and France and Italy) have generally been much better.
3. Manchego y Chorizo for 6.25 - Manchego cheese, chorizo sausage, and roasted red pepper salad. This dish was very nice.
4. Calamares Empanizados for $6.25 - Crispy fried squid with tomato-basil sauce. This dish was decent, but unexciting.

My wife's dessert was Delicia de Chocolate for $6.95 - Flourless chocolate cake with raspberry coulis.

My dessert was Pan Perdido for $6.95 - Warm bread pudding with creme anglaise.

Our wine was a bottle of Spanish red - 2010 Carchelo Monastrell for $26 - with 40% Monastrell, 40% Syrah, and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon. It was nice, but like many big Spanish reds, it took a little while to open up. I tried it once before, about 4 years ago, but did not enjoy it as much then.

During Happy Hour, from 3 to 6 pm, some of the tapas are reduced by a couple of dollars to $4, and there is a two-for-one offering of Sangria.

The service was nice, but one aspect was a bit annoying. Our server kept referring to us as "you guy."

The restaurant is located at 1532 Main St. Phone - 941-955-8272