Segovia

Unfortunate for business’s to close for the employees and such. but this restaurant really never got going… RIP SEGOVIA

I went there a couple of weeks ago on a rebound kind of situation. We first went to Malaga hoping to eat Paella and it was not their season to make, so we ended up at Segovia.
The please is ok, i felt like i was in a regular place, it did not feel like Spanish Restaurant They did have live music which is cool, but you have to have a theme plus my thing is the food. We were hungry and having to strike out on our last place, we were hoping it was great. The Paella was different from others, it had vegetables and meats, that i never knew were in the Paella, now keep in mind i have been eating Paella for many years. It only came with 2 sea food items, shrimps and oister. The meal was ok and it needed more and thats the reason why i give 3 stars.

Segovia is in a strip mall in Oak Hill, OK. That just means that they have much lower expectations and I think they do a good job of meeting those low expectations.
The décor was fine. I’ve seen worse. Has anyone ever been to Dracula?
I thought the service was great. No problems there.
The place has a full bar, wines from Spain and Texas, and sherry. My husband and I had red wine. My first glass, a tempranillo, was vinegar. I’m not a huge fan of the tempranillo, but I know there’s better than this. The next glass I had was the Fall Creek Granite Reserve. I love the whole Texas wine thing and I think Fall Creek is better than many.
I also had a glass of sherry, which I don’t usually do, but I was having a moment and sherry sounded really good. I think that’s one of the first signs of menopause. It tasted great!
The food was nothing special. We may have ordered the wrong things. I thought the fig and goat cheese toast was good. Probably my favorite thing. The calamari was good, too. The clams were really nasty, no flavor, maybe a little old, too. The croquettes were not what I expected. They tasted like hush-​puppies. I like hush-​puppies fine, I just was thinking of something with meat. The meatballs… ehhhh. Nothing really amazing.
I think that the location and the live music give it a certain Southwest Austin style. This could be a place like Evangeline Café, but with a Spanish theme. The guys in the bar played a bunch of Zeppelin and Hendrix on acoustic and it was great! the band in the big room in the back sounded great. We only heard a couple of tunes because we were leaving.
I live in this neighborhood and I will definitely go back again, just not really for a food and wine night.

I went to Segovia in December for my husband’s office party. I was pleasantly surprised! I thought the food was great, and unique… you can’t get authentic Spanish food many places. We sampled a lot of tapas, but my favorite was the pork loin toast (Rebana Cortijera). I had the Romesco Chicken for dinner. It had quite a bit of garlic, but I liked it. The bread pudding was fantastic. The only thing I didn’t like was the strip mall location and lack of ambiance. It is quite a drive for us, but I want to go back.

Someone say paella AND suckling pig? I’m there.
I wanted to like Segovia, I really did. I mean how can someone NOT like paella and suckling pig? I’ve wanted to check this place out for a while now, but seeing how I live on the other side of town I never got around to it. Unfortunately, when I finally decide to make my way across town, one of the chefs on the line apparently quit the same day (more on this later).
We got to Segovia, we were told that the suckling pig was still cooking and it wasn’t ready yet. So we agreed to get some tapas and wait 30 – 40 minutes for what we went to Segovia to get.
We ended up ordering 5 tapas. Our favorite was the garlic mushrooms «Champiñones al Ajillo» — the serving was pretty decent for the price and the sauce that the mushrooms were cooked in was amazing. The most disappointing was the clams saffron «Almejas al Azafran» — for $ 6, you get 6 clams… What’s more disappointing than that was that I did not taste/​see the saffron. The riojana potatoes «Patatas a la Riojana» is another pretty good deal for $ 4. The grilled asparagus «Esparragos a la Parrilla» and the cabrales tenderloin toast «Tostadas de Solomillo Al Cabrales» was mediocre at best. We also got a pitcher of sangria, which tasted like watered down red wine — yikes, not a good start.
When our entrees (2 suckling pigs and 1 paella) finally came, it was very disappointing. For a pig that was supposedly still cooking while we were waiting, it came out awfully cold — it was lukewarm at best. While part of the skin was crunchy and very delicious, there were parts that was chewy like what I’d imagine it’d be like to eat raw hide. I HATE the fact that the suckling pig is served with french fries. I mean, come on, really? French fries in a Spanish restaurant? The meat itself was decent, a little on the bland side for me. The paella was… well, disappointing. Again, the saffron was nowhere to be found — not even a slightest hint of the reddish tint. The seafood looked (and tasted) like it was steamed and just placed on right before making it’s way to the dining room. The rice did not taste like the goodness that paella should taste like. Overall, the entrees were very disappointing and poorly executed.
So normally, I’d rate this 1 star considering the wait time and all. But the waitress did an awesome job at saving the night. She gave us 2 desserts for the wait on the suckling pig. When we told her that the temperature was off and that we didn’t really like it, she offered to take it back and get us something else — but we declined. The manager came by later and told us that one of his line chefs quit earlier in the day and that the kitchen (and the head chef who apparently has been running the pass for so long that it was really difficult for him to jump back into the line) was backed up and in the word of the manager gave «bad service, bad food». We ended up getting around $ 50 in comps.
At the end of all of this, would I recommend this place to any fellow Unilocalers? I don’t think so. Not at the time anyways. But I’ll give this place another try. For what it’s worth, the live music was a nice touch during dinner. We sat in the dining room and could hear the music just fine. For a strip mall restaurant, Segovia has a good concept and perhaps just missed on execution the night I decide to go.

There isn’t much more for me to write that Carla S and Jessica S haven’t already said about our visit. So running the risk of being really lame for the brief review, I will just say that I feel no need to drive down to San Antonio (well it might as well be in San Antonio — it feels that far for a North Austinite!) to repeat the experience. I went, it was okay, but I wouldn’t bother going back.

If you were to imagine what a tapas place would be like in Oak Hill in a strip mall, Segovia is what you’d get.
I gave Segovia the benefit of the doubt, being in a strip mall and all. As we know, some of the best food comes from strip joints – I mean, malls.
I felt it should have been more dimly-​lit. And the tables and settings were so uninspired. It’s a Spanish restaruant – there are so many awesome things you can do with that theme! I was hoping for so much more, just based on décor. I still felt like I was in a strip mall.
There were only a few other tables there, and I think a few came in as we were consuming bottle after bottle of wine (the first was a Borsao Crianza; Debbie S helped pick the second and I don’t remember the name).
The calamaris were good. The fruit and cheese plate was good (did someone say Manchego?!). There were a couple good-​ish plates, but nothing draw-​droppingly good. Hunger is the best sauce.
Carla S was lucky enough to have her first «send something back» experience when the whiskey tenderloin was bad. Seriously, it was awful. It was very fatty. Even the bite I tried left a coating of grease in my mouth.
The little potatoes (there were two different kinds) were alright. Just alright. And one of the clams I had was gritty – automatic turn off. The pork tenderloin toast was good, but the onions over-​powered the thin slice of meat.
The sangria was good, I think. I know we finished a pitcher of it. The bartender-​turned-​waiter also made me a margarita. By that time, it could have tasted like anything and I would have drank it.
Since I don’t eat bread pudding, I ordered the flan. Nothing special; nothing great. Could have come from the HEB.
I started this review with three stars, but after re-​reading what I wrote, I don’t think it deserves that. Our waiter was good, even though he didn’t do what he was supposed to do – let one of us sample the wine before pouring a full glass. The chef (?) came and checked on us (but did more of a drive-​by asking). I’m sure he was seeing who the table was that sent the food back.
Anyway, wine was cheap. I’d go back for fruit and cheese and calamaries and wine.

So the other night, two hot Unilocalers accompanied me to Segovia.
Initial reaction «Oh sh-​t, it’s in a strip mall?!? This does not bode well»
We park right at the door because it is practically empty at 7 pm on Sunday.
Hot Unilocaler 1 was with me Hot Unilocaler 2 was waiting for us.
The bartender was our server. I never really got that, but okay.
So here is the food break down.
The scale Hell Yeah!!!, Ehhhh, & Hell No!!!
Hell Yeah !!!
Calamari
Bread Pudding
Razzrita or something like that (raspberry margarita)
Ehhhh (not saying it was bad just in the middle)
Clams Saffron
Pork Tenderloin Toast
Garlic Mushrooms
Fierce Potatoes
Hell No !!! (Hot Unilocalers 1&2 made them take it back {I’m a shy flower})
Beef Tenderloin (it seemed like the meat went bad)
I have labored over this review (meaning I periodically thought about it yesterday). I say 3 stars. The waiter was cool. The chef was cool. We made them stay all the way to closing because we were drunk. Ohhh yeah. We drank A LOT of red wine. Hot Unilocaler 1 will know the names (so read Jessica S’ review whenever she decides how she will rate this experience).

I came here with a big group of over 30 people for dinner on Friday’s night and it was a total blast!
We had countless pitchers of delicious Sangria and many plates of Tapas. I personally have never been to Spain so I can’t tell if they are authentic but my Spanish friends said the menu is quite authentic. We had the advantage to try as many things on the menu as possible because of the size of the group. They were all good!
The flamenco music was also very wondeful. The singer, Pepe de Sevilla, has amazing voice and personality. He was the highlight of our dinner. I think he was extremely ecstatic to see so many Spanish that night. We danced, sang and clapped our hands. It was a very fun night.
Overall, I would come back again and try their entrée. The tapas is averagely $ 4, great portion. Definitely better deal than what you can get in downtown.
Our friend from Valencia does not recommend the Paella. Other than that, she loves everything there.

How to begin… I read mixed reviews about this place and chose to give it the benefit of the doubt and try it. I do like to support local businesses and I was excited to have something different in Oak Hill.
Right when we walked in we kind of knew it wasn’t going to be good. It smelled a little funky and it was totally empty. We ordered a bunch of Tapas and when the plates came I almost wanted to laugh. I know you get small portions with tapas, but this was ridiculously small! I got the grilled tomatoes which were actually my favorite. There were 3 sliced tomatoes with spinach artichoke dip on top and melted cheese. The grilled asparagus dish has three small spears and was topped with a super garlicy salsa. I mean, all garlic, raw garlic. I like garlic, but this was a little much. We also ordered grilled veggies and it came with one portobello mushroom, a small slice of eggplant, a small slice of zucchini and a sliver of jarred red pepper with a little olive oil and vinegar. The mushroom dish was not very tasty, but we actually got a huge portion of it. We ordered the shrimp and I had to spit it out. I really tried hard not to, but I had no choice, it was really fishy tasting and I didn’t want to get sick. The cheese and fruit plate had 3 pieces of cheese and maybe ¼ of a small red plum sliced really thin. The gazpacho was actually refreshing and nice. The potatoes were not very good and quite dry. When we got the bill it was $ 55. It was a good lesson and I had fun with a friend, but such a waste of money and calories!
I wish I could say they were having an off night, but no, it was just really bad food. It was kind of like diner food trying to call itself Spanish Tapas.
I will definitely never go back.

I have been to Segovia 2 times now. One good, one bad…
The first time was in early July and at the time I thought the food was fairly good. I remember a great tasting olive oil served with bread along with reasonably priced wines from Spain. That night I had the Seafood Paella and remember it as good, but not great. Definitely not bad and certainly not bad enough to never come back. I have actually had paella in Spain near the southern coast, and remember it as much, much more flavorful.
Last night, my GF and I went back to Segovia after work for a light dinner about 6pm. We opted to sit at the bar since we were the only people in the restaurant and we were just going to order tapas anyway. The bartender was extremely nice and hooked us up with some tasty Sangria (for her) and a cold Lone Star brew for myself. We placed an order for some mushrooms, fried green beans, a cheese plate, and the croquettes. So far so good.
And then came the white bread with Olive Oil. For some reason, the Olive Oil didn’t taste very good at all this time and the bread was just bland. Like Mrs. Baird’s. I would rate it as «send it back». Plus there was an awful aftertaste in the Olive Oil that reminded me of a petro-​chemical substance that I just cant place. I asked the manager (he looked like a manager) to try it and tell me if he thinks its OK. He pretty much refused and said he would try some later. OK… We were both getting a bad feeling about this time.
When the tapas arrived, I was pleasantly surprised that the mushrooms were right on and very good. The fried green beans were so so, but the croquettes were greasy and reminded me of a hush puppy. The cheese plate was pretty good, but I don’t know how you could really mess that up.
Overall, this experience was no where near as pleasant as the first. I wonder if there was a change in the kitchen staff or management? I cant say for sure. But I can say that I was really hoping the best for this restaurant as I live just a few minutes from the Y in Oak Hill. For now, I guess Ill have to make the 10 mile drive to Malaga for my tapas. I’ll try Segovia again in a month or two. I hear it takes a few months to get things ironed out.
P. S. I want to restate that the bartender, a taller dark headed female, was extremely courteous and did a wonderful job. Unfortunately, she wasn’t doing the cooking.

I had an initial good feeling when we walked in. Dim lighting, candles flickering on the tables, and a classical guitarist in the corner. My first impression was positive.
The waiter was initially very interested in helping us and offered some suggestions. He brought out some yummy olives, and then later some bread and olive oil with what I think was anchovy paste in it. This stuff was good. The bread was just OK. Basic HEB white french bread variety. OK, slather some of that good olive oil on it and anything will taste good, right?
I had been jonesing for gazpacho ever since the temperatures hit triple digits and was already looking in my cookbooks for a recipe. Well, low and behold I see «chilled tomato soup» on the menu. Score! I had a cup before my main entrée. It was delicious.
I saw some tables getting pitchers of sangria that looked really, really good. Big slices of oranges in it. mmmmm… I was wishing that I had ordered a glass of that, instead of my just OK Spanish wine.
Well, after completely ignoring my waiters menu suggestions, I decided to order Seafood Paella. This is where our experience quickly went south. When ordering this dish, I noticed that the dish had smoked sausage in it. Since I am a Weight Watcher, I was OK with a reasonable amount of sausage, but I definitely didn’t want overkill. When my waiter shook his head and said no it doesn’t have a whole lot. OK fine then, Seafood Paella it is.
First, the food that was brought to our table was not correct. My husband got his dish but they brought me the pork loin. After mentioning it to them, they quickly whisked it away. No biggie, right? Well, after my husband was into about his third rubbery, overcooked Piri Piri Shrimp, I got my Paella. It was basically a big bowl of rice that tasted like it was cooked in chicken broth (and nothing else), more rubbery shrimp, and a ton of oysters. It was so bland. I was about halfway through my meal and I thought, huh, this doesn’t look like it has any sausage in it. Well, after inspection, I realized it didn’t. Then my husband proceed to mention «wasn’t it supposed to have clams too?»
I’m a pretty easy going diner. Even though the Paella would have been a lot better with sausage (because it needed FLAVOR), I thought I’d just mention this to the waiter just so they got it right for the next diner. When I brought it up, the waiter told us that the seafood paella didn’t come with sausage or clams. I sat there, befuddled, «I could have sworn…» Oh well, OK… maybe that wine affected my head!
We did share the peaches marinated in brandy and wine, with a scoop of vanilla. This was fantastic. I got over my meal disappointment to a degree.
Well, after paying and leaving a decent tip (cringe) we walk out and I just so happened to notice on the menu posted outside that we were right all along about the paella mishap. So, my hubby thought he’d go back in and just mention it to the manager. Apparently he acted nervous, but didn’t offer us anything more than an apology, chalked it up to the fact that they were «still working out the kinks.»
If you are going for the tomato soup and/​or perhaps the dessert, I’d say maybe. But for the price (we spent around $ 60 for 2 meals, a cup of soup, 2 glasses of wine and a shared dessert) I don’t think its worth it.

Okay, so Segovia is not the best Spanish food I’ve ever had. As other reviewers have pointed out, the paella is basically rice with some seafood (or vegetables) thrown on top. Some of the tapas, like the spinach dip and the croquetas, leave much to be desired. But Segovia does have some strong points that make it worth stopping in. The garlic mushrooms, tomato toast, and grilled vegetables are light and tasty. These set us back about $ 3 each. My husband raved about the beef stew that he ordered. And they also make a yummy mojito and some darn good sangria. Dessert was an amazing bread pudding served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream (this may be their best dish!). If you’re looking for some authentic Spanish tapas served in cazuelas and all, Oak Hill probably isn’t the place. But if you’re in the neighborhood and want to try something different, it might be just the thing.

I have only complained about 2 restaurants in my life, including this one. This was the worst food I have ever had and I have had some tasty food in strip malls before. I completely agree with Lindsay C, I was VERY Angry that I spent any money at this restaurant. I agree it is cheap, but I would rather spend my money and enjoy my meal.
We decided to try this out and just have a few tapas. We sat down to get some cold sliced up bread with some nasty garlic dipping sauce. That was not a great start.
We ordered the jamon serrano that on the menu said had shredded manchego cheese. It did not come with any cheese and when we asked the waiter he dismissed us. So, the manager stopped by and asked us how we enjoyed our meal and I told him about the cheese. He stated we should have never had cheese, I showed him the menu and he had no idea. He said he would, «talk with the chef.» Next, was supposed to be grilled beefsteak tomatoes. Well, they weren’t beefsteak tomatoes and if cooking under a hotplate counts as grilled then I must be missing something.
The Croquettas were burnt to a crisp and tasted nasty. I happen to love croquettas and they are hard to mess up, but this place found a way to mess it up. It is never a good sign when I need to rush home to get a pepto because I am sick to my stomach.
Overall.horrible service, horrible management and even worse food. It is a shame because I was so excited to see some Spanish food come to the Austin area. but this place needs some serious help.

great food for the price. loved the sangria and the bartender jake.
no need to go downtown. i will stay in the hood. oak hill needed this place.

Don’t you hate when you wake up the next morning after going out to eat and are pissed off about spending your money there? That’s what’s happening to me this morning as I recall my experience last night at Segovia.
The service was terrible. Though my husband and I decided that we liked our waiter’s demeanor, he was clearly over-​worked, and not very experienced. We even noticed him struggle for the better part of 5 minutes with opening a bottle of wine at another table.
The décor is a joke: silly, Hobby Lobby-​bought fruits and vegetables in glass jars and Spanish-​related prints line the walls.
The wine list was disappointing– tapas restaurants are supposed to have bad-​ass wine lists to pair with the tapas plates. Duh. One positive note, the sangria was yummy, but at $ 5 a glass, it just wasn’t worth it after having dropped $ 40 on mediocre food that I could’ve made myself.
Oh! And we giggled with a sigh of relief as we passed the teenage drum-​circle «band» who was coming in to perform for the unsuspecting patrons. Whew!
I had high hopes for this joint, and they were quickly extinguished. Guess it’s back to Malaga downtown. Sigh.

Tapas were delicous and very well prices! The FRESH sangira was delightful too! The sucking pig was good and was the real deal! The Beef Stew was awesome, bursting with different flavors! In response to other reviews saying that the place «was dead,» come on folks… its a new resturant! Its gonna take a while for others to find this gem!
I definetly suggest you give Segovia a try! It’s great for a romatic dinner, family dinner or happy hour… with yummy tapas!

I hate to harsh a melllow Austin vibe by farting in the Unilocal hot tub about Segovia, but this place is *HORRIBLE.* Yes, the sangria was good but there is so much to more to tapas and Spanish food than an easily made wine drink. I’ve had more authentic Spanish tapas in a backwater village in Japan (!).
First of all, major thumbs up for a good list of Spanish wines (worth one star).
OK, I started off my less-​than-​memorable experience at Segovia with a selection of 6 tapas in the bar area. They were all served on standard white plates, not in the ‘cazuelas,’ the terra cotta cookware for which Spain is famous. A minor gripe? Well, cazuelas used for hot tapas keep food really hot, a really long time. So the patatas bravas (or «Fierce Potatoes» at Segovia) were lukewarm when they arrived on their stupid white plates and COLD (with congealed sauce) within 3 minutes of their appearance. Same with the 3 lonely, dry gambas a la piri piri (shrimp in a piri piri sauce — supposedly) — almost minimalistic on the same oversized ‘yacht club’ style Sysco plate with no garnish or the promised piri piri. The spinach and artichoke dip was likewise cold and unmemorable. The croquettes with a filling of chicken and cheese were not too bad, unless you dipped them in the chipotle mayonnaise stuff (Costco?) that accompanied the dish. Chipotle? Yeah — I was thinking the SAME thing — «not something seen in Spain.» Maybe this is Segovia’s Mexican «Fusion» interpretation of the dish? The marinated button mushrooms were also edible but certainly could have been better in taste and presentation.
I finished my meal with the grilled chicken salad. The salad greens were from a bag, I’m guessing. The chicken was served warm but pretty bland. The avocado dressing sounded good but was less than a ‘taste sensation.’ Mixed together it was ‘more or less’ (as they say in Spain). I did have plenty of sangria to wash all of the above down which helped A LOT.
I should also say: The interior looks more like a run of the mill Mexican place: dark wood, some generic artwork (OK — one painting was of a flamenco dancer…), barely competent waitstaff — nothing to give one a sense of «Spanish-​ness.» Generally, when you enter a tapas place or restaurant in Spain, you see Serrano hams (sometimes the entire leg) sitting on a holder for carving, you might hear some flamenco piped in (or not) and see colorful Talavera ceramics as a decoration or as a serving piece. Segovia misses the mark in recreating such an atmosphere.
I really wish the BEST for the owners of Segovia. I hope they will upgrade the cooking, presentation, ingredients and atmosphere of their restaurant (they could start by firing the cook.). Although the prices were reasonable, it’s not enough to just be known for ‘cheap.’ I used to eat on a regular basis at Jaleo and the (EXCELLENT) Taberna del Alabardero when I lived in Washington DC. Both serve excellent tapas and entrees that were very close to what one would encounter in Spain. It would be great to have something similar here in Austin.
One star experience. Root sapping, negative Yang energy. Confusing «Guadalajara meets South Austin» décor. Better than the McDonalds in the same strip center, however. Unappealing at this juncture — will keep spinning a prayer wheel that Segovia can improve and ‘get it right.’

I was sorely disappointed in our recent try-​out of Segovia. We had heard good things about it from our next-​door neighbor and Unilocalers, so we went with a couple of foodie friends at around 9:00 on a Friday night. The bar had a small scene going on, with a guitar picker/​singer making some nice music for the crowd. We sat in the almost empty, cavernous dining room, excited about having tapas in such an unlikely spot. Our server was very knowledgeable, esp. about wine. The tapas we ordered just didn’t live up to the hype we’d heard and read; everything was salty yet bland, with the exception of the mushrooms, which were great, as was the cheese on the fruit and cheese plate. The wine our server recommended was very nice as well. I was a litte disconcerted that the manager didn’t bother to come to our table and ask if everything was ok. After all, our plates of tapas were going back to the kitchen barely eaten, and most managers are on the floor, talking to customers, making sure everybody’s having a good experience.
We had inquired about the owners and were told they were out of town or something. Perhaps if the atmosphere had been more inviting we would’ve had a better experience.

I LOVE tapas and was so sad when I moved to Austin 8 years ago and had to leave my beloved Holas Tapas Bar behind in Dallas with nothing even close as a substitute here in Austin.
So, a couple weeks ago a friend who lives near the Y in Oak Hill calls me hysterically screaming into her cell phone «There is a new f**king Tapas Bar in the HEB shopping center at the Y, get here right now. I already called the hubby and told him I decided not to shop at HEB so he must cook for himself and that I would be out for a couple hours. So, hurry up.’ Good thing that I got her message about 5 minutes after she left it and live less that 10 minutes away because she had already downed 2 glasses of wine at the bar and she is a light weight without food.
We have been back twice since they opened the first week of June 2008 and it is still June 2008 if that says anything about how much I love this place.
I have met the owner Landon who told us he buys from local Farmers and plans to use the large back room for reserved parties and live music and Flamenco dancing on Fri and Saturdays.
They have a full bar with wine only from Spain and Texas. It looks like they are trying to focus on Spain and keeping it local, supporting local farms and vineyards. Bonus stars for that alone!
I highly recommend the Suckling Pig (the outside is crispy and the inside is very tender and juicy) and the Pork Loin that is slow smoked over hardwood chips.
I will update as I explore more of the menu.