The Iberian Pig

This was an amazing experience and wonderful food. The server took care of us and answered all questions we had regarding all of our tapas.

This place is amazing — the food is exceptional and the service is incredible. Everything arrived so incredibly fast and our meal was coursed out perfectly.

They should definitely make this place bigger. It’s way too cramped and small in there given its popularity. We waited a long time for our table even with a reservation because they had a large party who spent three hours celebrating. The poor host had to deal with all of the assholes who also had reservations but didn’t understand the very simple concept that if an occupied table didn’t get up, they wouldn’t have a place to sit. He was a champion and maintained such great composure even with all of the nastiness directed at him.
I couldn’t help myself but to get everything on the menu. Because we waited so long, the kitchen blessed us with complementary bacon wrapped dates stuffed with Manchego cheese. Absolutely delightful, it was hard to share with my friends.
Rattling the items off of my mind, we got the patatas bravas, broccolini frito, Mac and cheese, rabbit empanadas, lamb stuffed peppers, ravioli, cauliflower tots, and the pork tacos. My battery is dying and I ate here more than two weeks ago so I can’t give an accurate description of each item. My musts though, are the tacos and the broccolini. Actually everything. Everything was really freaking good. And I’d get them all again. Except for the ravioli. It was just a smaller than average portion and I didn’t get much from it.
Eat your veggies. Get the broccolini.

A new favorite of mine! Yum! We first went for my birthday and then again a few weeks later. Awesome cocktails with large cube ice. Charcuterie platter is the best. Staff is all knowledgable and will help guide your order. Over the two trips we tried the bacon wrapped dates filled w manchego, piquillo peppers w braised lamb, pork cheek tacos and rabbit empanadas… and allll was delicious. Such a fun laid back vibe!

Best meal I’ve had in Atlanta, well worth the drive to Decatur. Two people — we started with 4 dishes and had to order 3 more they were so good. The mushroom toast, lamb filled peppers with goat cheese, and albondigas were our favorites. Also, the bacon wrapped dates are a must order, I typically don’t like dates and I loved these. The flavors were just perfect. The drinks were great too — the Cheddar in a Mousetrap tasted like Christmas but was a cold drink, very interesting and enjoyable. Can’t wait to go back!

My single experience with Iberian Pig was part of a large group celebrating a graduation on a very rainy evening. There were only a few other patrons in the restaurant, so our table had the undivided attention of the staff and kitchen. Our waiter did an absolutely phenomenal job juggling the requests of 10+ people and represents what every waiter should aspire towards. At his recommendation, we opted to order the tapas scaled to serve our entire group rather than engaging in an absolute free-​for-​all. Since we ordered way too much food, I’m only going to discuss my favorites:
The Fermin Jamón Serrano is possibly now my favorite charcuterie of all time. The quality of the charcuterie presentation alone almost made me regret devouring it.
Can’t go wrong with the B.W.D. (Bacon Wrapped Dates)! They’re stuffed with Manchego cheese and walnuts.
The Rabbit Empanadas were very tender and I’m a huge fan of their salsa verde.
The «Foiench» Toast is dangerously tasty and probably equally unhealthy. The foie gras paired wonderfully with the stuffed sweet brioche, blackberry, and maple syrup. This definitely qualifies as a super-​dense dessert.

I have been there several times over the 5 year span, and I would say that they are consistent with their food & service, which is a sign of great restaurants. I think the pork cheek tacos continue to be the fave, but I was completely surprised by the wild boar meatballs the other night. The dish was amazing! If I could eat this everyday, I would.
I used the Opentable to make a reservation, and the experience was super smooth (especially on a busy Fri eve).
One thing I noticed from previous visits and Unilocal photos is that they change the plating. I think that’s really fresh & fun…
I have been sticking with beer for the drink selection. Though I understand this is a Spanish restaurant, and the restaurant decides based on the food they serve, but with so many Decatur beer available nowadays, it would be nice to see one in the option!

I’ve heard some good things about this place and decided to come try it out Saturday night. This place is on a part of Sycamore st that is not drive-​able. I was able to find parking in front of the MARTA station — paid parking for downtown Decatur is only enforced until 6pm so I didn’t have to pay for parking (yay!).
We arrived right around 6:00pm and was able to be seated right away without a reservation. I can definitely see this place getting packed during the peak dining hours. Our waiter was exceptionally helpful and made sure to explain each part of the menu to us so that we could decide what we wanted to try. The Charcuteria is a type of cured meats. Since I’ve never had anything like this, I tried the Paleta Iberico De Bellotta out of our waiter’s recommendation. This meat had a nutty flavor and was really delicious. Although they brought us bread to go with the meats, I enjoyed just eating the meat by itself since the heavily oiled bread takes away the meat flavor.
For the tapas, we ordered morcilla and mushroom toast, huevo con trufa, and braised veal shank ravioli. A waitress helped us mix in the egg and truffle in the huevo con trufa which helped add flavor and texture to the whole dish. The meat was very tender. This dish is on the saltier side, so you definitely want to pair it with bread (comes with bread, if you ask for more bread it is a dollar extra). Although we ordered the mushroom toast out of the waiter’s recommendation (it was his favorite dish), I thought it was just okay — mainly because it was way too salty. The veal ravioli came in two pieces. I personally liked the sauce because it was a little sweet, which contrasted the two saltier dish we had prior to this dish. Overall, the food was delicious and I would say we were pretty full just with the huevo con trufa and mushroom toast. I recommend ordering two or three tapas to share among two people.
Surprisingly, my favorite part of the meal was the drink special my boyfriend ordered. It was so good I stole it from him so he ended up ordering an old fashioned. The drink I got was a drink with gin infused with beets (if I heard our waiter correctly). It was so smooth that I could barely taste the alcohol in it. It actually reminded me a bit like the Asian Plum wine I like, except without the strong alcohol after taste. Yum!
Overall this meal was pretty pricey, around $ 70 dollars without tax and tip, but we did order two drinks and more food than we really needed. I would definitely come here again during a special occasion!

I can’t believe I didn’t review Iberian Pig after my first few trips. So this review is going to include quite divergent experiences. I used to love this place. Sadly, I do not anymore. Has their menu changed or something? Must have. I don’t recall wanting a ton of the items on the menu during my most recent trip. I have always loved their bacon wrapped dates. Still do. But let me tell you a bit more about my most recent trip here…
The sole reason my friend and I went here because the restaurant chain was doing a restaurant week. Yay! I believe it was $ 25 for 5 tapas. Great deal. I confirmed with the staff over the phone earlier in the day that we could share the tapas. Cause we didn’t think that we would be able to eat 10 between the two of us. So we discuss this with our waiter when we arrive. He then informs us that the fixed price menu tapas are of smaller portions and meant for one person. What?! The whole reason why we came is because we thought we were getting a deal. I did the math before making the reservation. That threw everything off. Bait and switch. None of the advertisements said that it would be smaller portions. So we just ordered off the regular menu. On principle, we were now pissed off. My friend was also annoyed by the fact that their wine prices had increased.
I ordered the bacon wrapped dates, broccolini, and lomo de cerdo (pork). My friend also got the dates (cause we do NOT share them lol). I can’t recall what else exactly. But I recall one other item that she really wanted was out. We found out after ordering. Sad. The dates were good, but not as good as I remember. The broccolini was great. The pork was weird. It wasn’t cooked all the way. Is that even safe? The waiter confirmed that was how it was supposed to be prepared. I just prayed that I would not get sick. I was gonna eat it since I was paying for it But I didn’t eat it all. Thank goodness, I did not get sick. Since my friend was out one of her dishes, I shared my broccolini with her. Thankfully, it was quite the big portion size.
So…sadly, Iberian Pig is no longer one of my favorite restaurants. I have no desire to come here for dinner. If I am in the area, I may stop by just to get the bacon wrapped dates. I am just miffed about our whole experience really. 3 stars cause at least the dates and broccolini were good.

I brought my husband here for dinner for his birthday. We had such a great experience and want to recommend this place to everyone!
First, our waiter was awesome! He was very polite, knowledgeable of the menu, friendly but still gave us our space. We ended up ordering the mac & cheese, shrimp escabeche, fall veggies, clams, and the lamb chops. Everything was good but the highlights were definitely the mac & cheese, clams, and the lamb chops! That broth and bread for the clams is amazing. The miss for us was the veggies; while flavorful with a spiced seasoning, it didn’t work with the crème fraîche which was overwhelmingly blue cheese based.
We ordered the copa Catalan for dessert and it was delicious! I love berries with bruleed custards or panna cotta so this was one of my fave desserts. The best part was that our waiter actually gave it to us on the house along with 2 glasses of champagne because of my husband’s birthday! This was such a nice gesture and truly representative of the hospitality of this restaurant. It made our whole experience that night perfect! We will definitely be back for another experience soon.

I came here when a friend was in town visiting. It’s a very cute place and has outdoor seating, which I’m a fan of! This is a great date spot and very popular.
This is a typical tapas place so the portions are small with high prices. Everything on the menu was very interesting. Service was really great and I really did enjoy the food, but I wasn’t completely blown away. I really do see it as just another good tapas joint. The one thing that really excited my tastebuds was the rabbit empanadas. Overall, solid food.

Tremendous disappointment: that’s the best way I can describe my experience at The Iberian Pig. After the phenomenal reviews and knowing the other CHG restaurants, I was stunned by my experience there.
My girlfriend and I used our CHG passports to try the 5 dish tapas course because we were able to try all 10 by each partaking in this. We had been so eager to try the Iberian Pig for so long because of our familiarity with the other CHG restaurants.
We went on a Saturday so crowds were expected, but there are crowds and then there are CROWDS! The place is packed tight and you can’t move through easily at all which would be fine if it were just necessary to get to the table, but I sat opposite the banquette and got bumped about 3 times per minute by passers by. Quite irritating when you’re trying to dine in peace.
Parking was difficult, but not impossible. I parked a couple blocks down in a pay lot for 3 bucks. It could have been worse for sure — especially in Decatur.
Accompanying the crowded restaurant was a considerable din. It wasn’t so severe that my partner and I couldn’t hear each other, but it made talking a strain and it became immediately apparent that most of the people around us were only there to drink.
Additionally, there was a very odd smell which was hard to ignore, but hard to identify too. It was sort of a combination of overused cooking oil and general must. What it definitely was, was unappetizing.
Still, we pressed on. The first big strike was the total absence of a waiter after being seated. Water was poured and we were informed of our waiter’s existence, but I was starting to wonder if he had been kidnapped after 20 minutes. In seriousness, we were on the verge of walking out when our server finally came. He was polite and helpful, but seemed overworked. There weren’t many servers for all those tables so that makes sense.
They did manage to space the courses out nicely, but that didn’t remedy the variety of average to mediocre tapas plates.
The first were the dates — stuffed with cheese and wrapped with bacon. They would have been average if they hadn’t been overdone, but the bacon had lost flavor and the dates themselves were decent, but undersized.
The marcona salad struggled too. If there were marcona almonds in that, I couldn’t find them. The «brittle» seemed more like a few pieces of sugared jam candy than anything. The dressing was alright, but the dish was akin to seeing a Broadway show without the lead.
The lamb-​stuffed peppers consisted of 2 heavily roasted piquillo peppers that had been scraped clean of flavor and «stuffed» with a few bits of lamb and what I think was cheese. The dish was terribly greasy and decidedly uninspiring.
The fall vegetables might have been the biggest joke of the night. I don’t know what we were supposed to be getting, but we received a small cast iron with a mix of yams and potatoes masquerading as something else and drowning in butter — very indelicate, very distasteful.
The clams were another mediocre plate — sandy texture, small, and slightly overcooked, BUT the clam sauce was by far the best thing I tasted all night. I could throw a flight of food critique cliches at you (a harmony of piquant perfection bathing in succulence), but I’ll just tell you that it’s a white wine and butter sauce that doesn’t need to be improved upon.
On the other hand, the mac and cheese was among the worst I’ve ever had and my initial thought was, ‘really? how do you screw up mac and cheese?’ But they did. It was somehow dense and watery and there was way, way too much citrus in it. It was a bizarre acid concoction with sawdust sprinkle cheese over the top. Avoid at all costs.
The tacos were totally average. The fried tortillas had a nice texture, but they were stuffed with mushy pork and there was little room for other ingredients. I could think of a dozen better tacos off the top of my head.
Then there were the wild boar meatballs. This was my first foray with wild boar and I’m hoping the next one will be vastly improved. The meatballs weren’t necessarily gamey, but they tasted like poor quality pork and — again — there was a mushy quality going on. The sauce was dreadful — some tomato-​mayo affair that drenched the plate. The sauce didn’t enhance. It complicated and redacted what little goodness the dish possessed.
That’s all I care to recall. As should be clear, cooking temperatures, service, ambiance, and execution were the primary points of failure that we experienced that night. Oh and perhaps what annoyed my Iberian partner the most… the menu is distinctly not very Iberian. Wild boar is found throughout the world. The Marcona almonds were hidden too well. At least they serve octopus?
Do yourself a favor: skip this ultra-​trendy haunt and head to another of the CHG restaurants which are pretty fantastic.

As someone who was visiting Atlanta just for the weekend, I greatly enjoyed my visit here. Dim lit but Excellent décor, especially the outside patio. Food here are mostly tapas, so I would recommend sharing a few dishes. My favorite was the bacon wrapped dates, but the pork tacos and huevo con Trufa was good as well. Menu is fairly pork heavy, since the name. Pretty large wine menu and cocktail menu too. Overall, food was good but nothing was particularly mindblowing .
Our server, Emily, was wonderful and was very accommodating throughout our dinner. This was a solid place for dinner.

Came here for a date night with le boy and I was really looking forward to it, considering he grew up in Spain.
We tried a ton of tapas and the truth is, nothing wowed us. I don’t really think this is a «Spanish» restaurant but more of a Spanish flavored place that’s really popular with a good real estate location. That is not to say that the place isn’t adorable and the cocktails were great.
We very much enjoyed the meatballs and the potatoes. Everything else was just ok. I was very embarrassed because the very nice hostess asked how everything was and I said «good» but I guess my eyes gave it away, as she kept insisting if I was sure.
I’ll give this place another try one of these days and see what shakes loose.

The food was decadent. I was surprised I actually liked the rabbit empanadas once Jabari convinced me to try them. They weren’t gamey and actually tasted great. Don’t tell him, I said that though! lol
Our waiter Jeremy was awesome! He knew the menu inside out. He was extremely attentive and helpful with us picking choices.
We started off with the pork cheek tacos. I have to say these might have been the best tacos I’ve ever eaten. The corn on top had me craving more. The corn gave it a little extra something. Some sweet but it set the taco to new levels. After that I believe the Iberico Mac and cheese came out. This was tasty but not what I’m used to so it wasn’t my favorite of the 5 or 6 tapas we shared.
I believe the braised pork came out next. Some parts were a little too tough for me, so I wasn’t too fond of this. Jabari also got ravioli that I didn’t try but he said he liked it.
Everything from the ambiance to the food was great hut I had to knock a couple stars off because I ordered some juice or a «mock tail» as you’d call it and I made the waiter aware that I was 8 months pregnant, so I couldn’t get any alcohol. My mock tail came but the woman who brought it over told us incorrectly. I tasted the drink and could tell it had alcohol in it. I was so mad! She gave me Jabari’s drink and had I been really thirsty and drank the entire thing like the lush I used to be before pregnancy, I’d have had to speak to the manager.
All in all, this place is fabulous!

We came, we dined, we conquered! We ate from the Gluten Free Menu due to allergies from a party member. I have to commend them for creating a menu where I can still have the Iberian Pig experience. So many places offer GF menu’s with just salad and soup, not cool, would rather stay home at that point.
If you can’t find parking, park on Trinity Street. They have cheap court house parking there.
FYI do get the small plates, you want a taste of everything. Here are a few of the highlights we had:
House Wine-​this went well with all their meats. I heard that their drinks all come Martini Style which I hate. Also, the waiter had no clue about the cocktails since they had just started a new menu.
Idiazabal cheese $ 5.5– This was firm, raw, sheep’s milk cheese. This was great. I knew I’d be able to count on them to have great cheese selections.
BWD $ 7– Bacon Wrapped Dates– These were amazing. Probably the highlight of my night. Crispy, sweet, and wrapped in delicious bacon.
Tocino $ 9– this was their Pork Belly. It was ok. You can’t go wrong with pork belly but this wasn’t my favorite way to prepare it. It had gigantic beans and orange coriander spices that just didn’t blend well for me.
Huevo con Trufa $ 12– braised pork cheeks with a poached egg and truffle pâté. Every waiter at this place raves about it. It was pretty good. It had a nice delicate flavor and the egg/​truffle pâté melted in your mouth.
Vieras $ 16– The scallops came out nice and delicate. I love it when they melt in your mouth.
Desserts:
Sherry and blue cheese +honey– amazing! This was our birthday treat. I never knew blue cheese tasted so good with a drizzle of honey. The Sherry was the perfect accompaniment.
They also had a chocolate fudge dessert that I devoured.
Overall, great place for a date night. Great ambiance and energy. Expect to spend about $ 50 – 60 per person.

The Iberian Pig, located in the heart of downtown Decatur, has become one of the staples and go-​to locations for food lovers not just the area but I would even go as far to say the entire state.
The menu ranges from all sorts of different dishes. You got your tapas, steaks, pastas, and even cheese. Of course their specialty as you can tell is pork. If your’re looking for something to quench your thirst feel free to browse their diverse wine and alcohol menu, the staff tends to give good recommendations, so don’t be shy to ask. The menu does change every now and then, so you won’t get bored too easily with what they have.
Now if you’re going here be prepared to spend some cash if you want to truly experience the Iberian Pig, this place is not cheap but you definitely get what you paid for in terms of quality, taste, and even presentation.
Excellent from all aspects, I can’t wait to go again!
P. S. make sure you call in or go the website for a reservation.
My Recommendations:
–Lomo Iberico de Bellota (assorted dried meat dish)
–Pork Cheek Tacos
–Rabbit Empanadas
–Vieras (scallops)
Menu:

I can barely freakin’ contain myself writing this review! All I can say is that my fellow Unilocalers were right about The Iberian Pig… not that I had doubts, but I don’t even eat pork for goodness sake!!! So, why the heck would I LUV this restaurant… kind of ironic, right? Well, the «food gods» aligned for me and The Iberian Pig has just become one of my Favorite restaurants in Atlanta :-)
Please…if you were like me and had this restaurant on your «Must Try» list, find a reason to get over to downtown Decatur and give your tastebuds a nice treat, ok. My husband and I had an early dinner here because we didn’t have a reservation and wanted a nice table, with NO wait. So, we arrived around 6pm on Friday and the atmosphere inside was super cool. But, we opted to sit outside to enjoy the gorgeous weather. There are about 10 tables out front that are nicely shaded, so it’s enjoyable if you like to dine outdoors with a little hustle and bustle (and interesting characters LOL) going on around you :-).
Now, our wonderful experience started with our server, Gabriella, and continued the entire evening with the manager, Aaron and one other manager whom I didn’t catch his name. Nonetheless, let me just say that the service was impeccable! The recommendations were spot-​on, save for a minor mishap with my Moscow Mule (which did not come in a copper mug, which tastes better, or maybe it’s just psychological), which i exchanged for the White Sangria. But the food, mmmmmm… it brought out my inner «greedy girl» and lets just say that I had to consciously stop myself from ordering more and save it for the next visit (ummm, don’t be surprised if you see my Check-​In next week HAHAHA). I have like 12 other dishes to try! Here’s what we had:
*Pulpo Frito: the spanish octopus, which we asked to be grilled instead of fried… it was amazing!
*Vieiras: scallops with saffron risotto… perfectly cooked and wonderful flavor!
*Eggplant Chips: my fellow Unilocaler, D.K. said these were the Truth… and they were! Could have ordered another, for real.
*Lamb Chops: these are prepared with pearl onions and roasted red peppers, which are not my fave, but the chops were fantastic
As we dined, the restaurant got a lot busier, so keep that in mind when you visit and try a reservation if you’re coming during peak times. Also, they’re not open for lunch. Because we arrived early, we got street parking for $ 1.50. FYI, metered parking is free after 6pm and there are decks all around for about $ 5 or so. Hope you enjoy and Happy Eating!

The Iberian Pig is in my favorite list for long. The visiting experience was always a blast. Couldn’t find a flaw.
We were going to Cake & Ale, but it was closed in Sunday:(After strolling down Downtown Decatur street and Unilocal reviews, we decided to go to this Spanish restaurant again.
There’s no wait for Sunday brunch! The nearby art festival and food stalls probably should take some credit. As we sat down and looked at the menu, I immediately came up with most mentioned items in Unilocal,pork cheek tacos and eggplant chips. It was a mistake to forget to order ham and cheese. But ordering was effortless, since I knew everything would be tasty.
Pork cheek tacos had too much meat. I love the cilantro on top, and the pork cheek was tender, but just too much… Eggplant turned out great, better than any sweet potato chips and potato chips for sure. But the real highlight for the lunch was the entrée, lamp chop. I was BLOWN OUT by the tenderness and subtleties of the lamb and the sauce. I’ve never had a better lamp chop than that. Looks like I need to order more entrees next time. The dessert was churros, the cocao sauce was to die for.
This is a must-​visit restaurant in Atlanta, also something I’ll miss if I left ATL.

«That’ll do, pig. That’ll do.» — Babe (1995)
I heart the pig — in so many ways. Problem is, I am not a Decatur fan. There is not an easy way to get there from my house any day of the week, or time of the day. So you know I love the place when I brave the commute to eat all the yummy yummy treats IP has to offer. And I will eat it all — well, all that I can. It pains me that there are tree nuts in some of the dishes that look quite appealing. There is not a single kitchy thing about this joint — and that makes it even more fabulous. Killer craft cocktails get you ready for amazing bites… and the décor is gorgeous. But don’t eat for a day before attacking this menu.
–Pork cheek tacos
–Asparagus with hollandaise and poached egg
–Manchego Mac and cheese
–Huevo con trufa
–Lamb ribs
–Patatas bravas
–Bacon Wrapped Dates
–Braised veal shank ravioli
–Albondigas
–Churros
I cannot eat the dates — nuts. Boo hiss. But damn if the rest isn’t amazing. Pork cheek tacos and the albondigas are two of my top dishes — you cannot go wrong with either. My problem is this is a place to share, and I don’t wanna. It is all lip smackin’, finger lickin’ amazing. The lamb ribs are succulent and you don’t care that you end up sucking on the bones. The huevo con trufa is tender, smokey, eggy greatness in a not seemingly enough of a bottomless pan and the asparagus with the rich hollandaise plus a poached egg? Decadence at its best.
But leave it to the 3 mini pork cheek tacos — with the tender pork meat, the zing from the toppings, the crema to cool and the crispy shells — I just love it all and could eat 3 plates of them all on my own. Little pockets of goodness. Then bring on the albondigas — little meatballs sent from the heavens above. Rich and tender and full of so much flavor — again, who wants to share? Certainly not me, but I do. My mamma raised me right.
Now you cannot leave without having the churros — I really don’t care how full you may feel, there is always room for an order or two of these sexy donuts with the spicy dark chocolate sauce. They seduce you with their sweet and sultry cinnamon sugar and then you dip them into that rich dark chocolate with that spicy kick — and WOW what a show in your mouth. Bring it Iberian Pig — every time.
I come for the drinks and I stay for the food. My service is usually pretty great, but when I end up in a large group upstairs, the service is always slow and spotty at best. So I actually recommend not coming in a group larger than 6 so you can be downstairs and in the thick of things. Your service will be spot on every time and it will never sour the rest of the experience — atmosphere and all.