Lizarran

I am very sad to discover this place right before it closes. I am not an expert on Spanish cuisine, but I did frequent tapas bars in both SF and LA, so this place can compete with the best of the Bay Area and Los Angeles when it comes to the food – I’m talking about taste rather than authenticity. (I happen to be a fan of fusion cuisines.) Since we live near Watsonville, it’s a bit of a hike to Gilroy, but we go every so often on weekends. We have seen Lizarran and wanted to try it out, but we were always in Gilroy on weekend afternoons, and they were primarily open for dinners.
I finally looked up the phone number and found out that they were open for lunch on a Sunday, so we went and had tapas. It was a little early for me to start ordering alcohol, so I didn’t bother with drinks and concentrated on the tapas. We ordered the setas la plancha (mushrooms grilled in olive oil, garlic, and parsley), patatas bravas (potatoes in spicy tomato and aioli sauce), calamares andalusa (fried squid tossed in garlic), piquillo relleno (little peppers stuffed with ground meat in a spicy tomato sauce), and the pintxo platter (a selection of meats and cheeses, including the bacon-​wrapped dates). My advice: skip the pintxo platter and only order the bacon-​wrapped dates individually. In general, the food we tried was phenomenal. I can’t believe that this level of food exists in Gilroy. The last time I had tapas this good was in Southern California. Unfortunately, because this place is closing, I’ll have to go to the Fullerton location for me to keep eating this good stuff, or possibly try out the other 200 franchise locations, including locations in NY, Miami, China, the UK, Dubai, and Russia. I am unsure why it had such mixed reviews. Perhaps different people are cooking in the kitchen to produce such different results?
The prices are a little out of range for most people in this area. As another poster stated, most people just want a quick burrito or inexpensive meal, especially in these economic times. I noticed that many quality restaurants also cater to keep their businesses going. I hope that the owner continues to cater even as the restaurant closes at the close of the year. The food is fantastic! It’s a shame that so many quality places are closing their doors or going through a terrible time, but as people continue to suffer through the bad economy, they do tighten up their belts and stop eating out as often. Service was friendly. We had a waiter who loved his job and was sad that he would be losing his job at the end of the year. Even sadder was that when I visited the Lizarran website, it announced the opening of the new location in Gilroy, CA. It opened and closed so shortly that the website hadn’t even been updated yet.
I’m hoping to make at least one more visit before they close their doors. I’m giving it 5 stars for the food and ambience. What a shame to lose such a great restaurant in Gilroy.

My wife and I went to this restaurant on a Sunday and I was hoping to try the brunch which I’d read so much about in the recent In-&-Out Gilroy magazine which promoted this place on a 2-​page spread, but the brunch was discontinued and I hear the place is closing its doors in 2012.
Menu Selection:
My mother is from Spain so I grew up eating this type of food which I love; so I knew what to look for on the menu and found it a bit light on selection. It’s mainly 5 or 6 entrées redone a few times, depending on if you want seafood or meat. It was not bad but could be better.
Portion Control:
The food is authentic and tasty, yet having grown up on this type of food gives me knowledge about all the different dishes which a «Spanish» restaurant should have. Many are available, but they are tightly portion controlled to a point which goes against how persons eat in Spain which is usually with bigger portions. This is more of a «taste» of Spain and not really a «Spanish» experience.
Location:
The building for the restaurant is wonderful but the location is not very good. The owners should have done more research before picking this location. Having lived around this area for many years, aside from the occasional Gilroy effort to spruce up the central part of town, most folks in this area are not interested in spending more than a few bucks for a quick burrito made with grade D beef. This area is practically a sanctuary city.
Prices:
I had the Seafood Paella which was tasty and relatively large in size given the American tendency to synonymize ‘international’ with ‘exotic’; I would expect a specialty restaurant to have slightly higher prices for special dishes; but not when you can get Latin style dishes around every corner, since 90% of the people in this area are already ‘international’.

I had drinks at Lizzaran before, but tonight was the first time I settled in for dinner. I felt inspired to write a review for the following reasons:
1. Ambiance: I love historic buildings and this former Gilroy City Hall built in 1906 is beautifully restored. From its exterior, to the interior, to the shaded courtyard, the place feels special and you can’t help but think of all the stories that have marinated in its walls throughout the years.
2. Service: Admittedly, service started off a bit slow. There was only server, but that’s understandingly reasonable given the light foot traffic that comes through Lizzaran’s doors. Once our server, Tara, greeted us, everything was peachy keen from then on. Tara was personable, charming, and had a great gauge of just the right amount of food for our party.
3. Food: I’m certainly no expert in Spanish food, but everything we ordered was good. My favorites were the pintxos of bacon-​wrapped dates, rack of lamb, and crema Catalana. For garlic lovers, Lizzaran is not shy about adding this aromatic herb to their dishes. I’m always amazed that Gilroy doesn’t have a garlic-​oriented restaurant, but Lizzaran does a great job representin’! Food might be a bit pricey for the Gilroy crowd, but I wouldn’t say that it’s overpriced. One more thing: Sangria pitchers are half-​off on Sundays ($ 28 regular price).
4. Closure: After a two year stint, Lizzaran will be closing its doors at the end of December 2011. Lizzaran, you are a gem in this garlic-​y town and it’s unfortunate that more patrons didn’t support you and downtown. Even though Lizzaran will cease to exist in the near future, if you happen to find yourself in Gilroy, I urge you to skip the chain restaurants and check out local joints like Lizzaran instead. FYI, Lizzaran will be hosting their last Flamenco show on December 11 at 7 pm with Grammy Award-​winning singer Jesus Montoya from Spain ($ 15 tickets). They will also be hosting a New Year’s Eve party featuring a Gypsy Flamenco band. Contact Lizzaran for more info!

We went there based on Unilocal reviews, and were hoping a great Paella.
What a disappointment !
The Tapas were ok, but overpriced.
The Paella (the Mixta one), was a disaster.
Rice overcooked, no flavor at all, I am still looking for piece of Chicken…
The list is too long !
They even charged us for drinks that were not supposed to.
If you would like to taste a REAL paella, definitely not the place to go !

First the positive — the paella and tapas are unbelievably delicious! I loved every dish I had and would recommend the food to everybody. Lizarran is also located in a historic and renovated building in downtown Gilroy that is full of character and stories.
Now the constructive part… the service is just okay, maybe 2 stars — friendly but not all that sterling. The wine selection is hit or miss. Our group had two bottles. The first was a solid temperanillo blend and the second was a merlot blend that we all wanted to forget.
The prices are a bit high given the rough downtown Gilroy location. They just had a shooting nearby a few weeks ago, so I think that $ 15-​$ 25 entrée prices is a bit much.
The owner is cool, but didn’t seem that interested in our table even though were were the only group there for most of our meal. Why bother even being on the floor if you aren’t going to spend time with the group? I think that he was more interested in flirting with his female wait staff then striking up a convo with us.
In summary, the food is 5 stars. The service, location, and prices are 2 stars.

Came here on Saturday night for dinner.
I tried the salad and it was excellent. It was served with candied walnuts that were perfectly done and seasoned with cinnamon. Very unique and good flavor.
The salad dressing was some kind of home-​made balsamic reduction that tasted really good. I’ve never tasted a salad dressing like it.
Also tried the potatoes that came with the steak (that my wife ordered). The potatoes were perfectly cooked and seasoned well. The steak had a lot of garlic on it and the presentation was very nice.
I had the albondigas appetizer (meatballs). The meatballs were cooked perfectly. They could have used more flavor, but the sauce more than made up for that.
For the main course, I had the paella de carne. I recently convinced them to change their paella and add chorizo. The paella with chorizo was excellent. I would definitely return just to have the paella.
I had some issues with the service last time I went here a few months ago. The service was much better this time. I had some very minor issues with the service this time but hopeful that it will improve. I look forward to coming back.

Horrible. What a waste of money. We went here tonight and all we got was one expensive pitcher of overly-​sugared sangria with moldy fruit (that of course we did not finish, because it was nasty), and 2 over-​priced tapas. We had to fetch our own napkins, fetch our own bill, and bring it back in order to get out! Never in my life have I been so tempted to just leave!
So much for date night! A waste of $ 50.

We decided to have an adult night out so we had some friends meet us here for tapas and drinks. Parking was very easy on a Saturday night, we walked in and the restuarant was empty (we met at 6 on a Saturday) — we hung out at the bar for a round of drinks and then were shown to our table.
While at the bar all the friends were having wine or beer, but I ahd read on their online menu about Kalimotxo and since I had seen it on Realhousewives of New Jersey I had to try it! The bartender looked at me like i was crazy for ordering one, but he was actually nice enough to give me a sample first — was odd, but really just tasted like wine, so I ordered one :)
After we were seated we just kept chatting and the waiter would come check on us and finally we ordered some tapas to start us off :) We got the Sampler which was bacon wrapped dates (always a hit), Asparagus in olive oil & sea salt (tasty), green olives (not a fan, but these were actually tasty), Patatas Bravas de madrid (potatoes freid in tomato sauce & another sauce — very good), calamari (YUMMY!) and these really tasty almonds — all were VERY good!!!
We decided to just stick with Tapas since really we wanted to chit chat and taste a whole bunch of stuff so we also ordered
Meatballs in a port reduction sauce — excellent
Green Beans & Serrano Ham — tasty
Tortilla de Patata con Cebolla y Pá amb Tomaquet — always a tapas hit
A Chili Relleno type dish — was really good, not spicy at all
I am sure we got more, but I am drawing a blank (prob too many drinks!!)
Throught dinner the staff was always there to take empty plates, bring new drinks (I also had a margarita wine — which was a red wine floater on a margarita — sounds awful, but was so good!!!) — most of the table stuck to beer & wine :)
For dessert we ordered
Crema Catalana — was like a crème brûlée, but the texture was softer, flavor was good
Molten Chocolate Cake — ws really tasty with all the melting ice cream and chocolate — the guys devoured it!
We will be going back — wish the list of tapas was a little longer as we really enjoy going out and just having tapas, but it was still really good and we were still able to spend $ 200 :)

A chain tapas restaurant… interesting! Luckily for most people ‘you don’t know what you don’t know.’ Sorry if I confused you — here is what I mean.
The tapas are not that good! But if you don’t know what good tapas are — you have no idea. It’s like trying to convince your grandmother that you should go to the local Italian restaurant instead of Olive Garden. :)!
In Gilroy, I just don’t think there is much of a food scene to speak of, so relative the area, it’s probably a ⁴⁄₅. But this is a real scale, not a relative one.
The atmosphere is fantastic. Exposed wooden beams run accross the ceiling supporting a variety of antique styled chandeliers. Open and noisy — it’s fun.
Food — ³⁄₅
Service — ²⁄₅
Atmosphere — ⁴⁄₅
Value — ³⁄₅
Overall ³⁄₅

Last night my friends came from Santa Cruz to celebrate my birthday, so we decided to go to Lizarran since it’s supposed to be one of the nicer restaurants in town. Unfortunately, our experience was anything but classy.
There was 9 of us and when we approached the hostess booth, the hostess didn’t look that happy that we came. There was a party going on in the patio and another large group inside, so we had a feeling service may be a little slow but had no idea what was to come.
We got seated and after 30 – 45 minutes we did not have one server come to our table. They didn’t even get water on the table for us.
In that time frame we saw the hostess/​server/​useless employee clean tables and talk to some boy rather than offer us service. We also saw the manager (I’m assuming) have an argument with a smaller group of patrons and they didn’t seem that happy with what she was saying. After the manager walked away from them, she passed by us and said «Watch and learn, kids.» Our group did consist of people in their 20s, but why say that in the first place? Unprofessional, uncalled for, and where is our water?
After that we decided to leave and go to a different restaurant. I will never be returning here. I have a feeling that if there is more than one group in the restaurant, they don’t know how to function.
Our experience at Lizarran was Liza-​lame. Corny? Yes. True? Very.

Who’d expect world class tapas in the middle of downtown Gilroy?
And yet, here they are!
We ended up at Lizarran after being pointedly ignored by the server at Carnitas Michoacan down the street, a blessing in disguise.
The weather was magnificent and the spacious, shaded patio let us take full advantage. We ordered a couple of sampler trays, a salad and the grilled chicken for the table to share. Everything was tasty and prices were very reasonable.
The desserts were quite nice (molten chocolate cake & raspberry cheese cake), but the star of the show was the coffee– we ordered a cup and the server delivered a freshly brewed carafe of Lavazza which was strong and perfectly brewed, a genuine surprise. After dinner drip coffee, even at nicer places, generally fails to inspire. Lizarran came through with flying colors.
Another Gilroy institution we’ll be patronizing again.

My friends and I love Lizarran! The restaurant is beautiful. Their staff is awesome and their food is AMAZING! They have redone their menu and it is really tastie. Once you familiarize yourself with the Spanish Cuisine you will totally enjoy your experiance. I like their chicken breast and I have heard nothing but RAVE reviews of their steaks. The appetizers are fun and different. Their bar is fabulous and their patio area could not be more beautiful.
This is a great place for going for a cocktail with friends.
I brought some business associates in for a lunch and now they want to have most of our corporate lunches there.
I strongly endorse this resteraunt.

My husband and I went to Lizarran a few months after it opened and we were disappointed with the food. The atmosphere is beautiful. They did a great job decorating the place and it has an old world charm right in downtown Gilroy.
The tapas concept kind of fell short — because instead of having these various, delicious tastes of different flavors and combinations (which is the whole idea for tapas) the tapas we had (about 8 different ones) lacked flavor and innovation. Many of the same ingredients and sauces were used in the different tapas.
Our main dishes — big pieces of fine meat — where over cooked, dry and again lacked flavor and spice.
The service was lacking in enthusiasm and we received no explanation of the different tapas trays and how the concept worked in the restaurant.
it’s definitely expensive compare to the value received.

Down in Gilroy for a major high school track meet, I truly was not thinking that we’d find anything memorable to eat after the races. So I was blown away by Lizarran.
This place is truly good. It’s in a historic building and was redone nicely, it’s a fun place to walk into. If at all possible sit outside – the outside seating enhances the casual tapas experience.
The menu is laminated plastic which is usually a bad sign, but the food was fab. We had a nice series of tapas appetizers and a couple nice wines by the glass. The paella was outstanding, though. Perfectly prepared, very flavorful, plenty to share among two people. I can’t recommend this enough!
Nice service too.
I’m not sure I’d say this is a destination restaurant, although as I think about it, I can’t remember any better paella I’ve had from Palo Alto to Monterey. So maybe Lizarran is a destination restaurant if you are jonesing for paella. In any case, it’s worth having Lizarran on your radar if you are anywhere in the neighborhood.

Ambiance was very nice.
There was live music and helpful staff.
The owners personalized the experience by getting everyone involved with some Spanish wine guzzling. This part of the experience was great!
The food was not very good at all. It seems like it was frozen food heated in the microwave. The Paella was not prepared properly and all the food lacked flavor and freshness.
The food was also very over priced for what you get.
Unforunately, we won’t be visiting this restaurant again.

It is not that often that I will give a restaurant 5 stars but Lizarran really has earned it.
Considering the quality of the food and service my wife and I feel that this place is about as good as you will find.
We started out with a variety of tapas, which will all delicious along with drinks and wine out on their patio. Yes it in the middle of winter but with the outdoor heaters and lighting it is a delight. I could have continued with the tapas as the rest of my meal but wanted to try one of their main courses.
I had one of the specials of the night: Stuffed Salmon. This is the best I have ever had. They really should add this to their menu.
My wife decided to have the scallops special that were mouth watering. We topped it all off with homemade apple crumble.
The owner stopped by to greet us. Not the usual «Hi, everything OK, fine, bye» but was really interested in our thoughts. He really knows Spanish food and it was great to learn more about it.
The service was outstanding.
We ate delicious food and drank for a good part of the night and it was just a little over $ 60???
It is a pleasure to go to a restaurant that does everything right.
Consider us regulars from now on.

Too soon to give this a 4 star since yesterday was my first time.
The restaurant is nicely decorated but the inside stayed empty even at 8pm on a Saturday night. We sat at the patio, listened to the flamenco being played at the background.
The food: pintxos were pretty good. The hot ones were spot on, bacon wrapped dates were a little overcooked. The Paella… thumbs down. It could use more chicken and seafood (pricey for $ 22) maybe add some shrimp in the mix. We got about maybe 4 – 5 mussels, and a few chopped up chicken.
The price: at $ 1.75 a pop it adds up super fast. It gets very expensive if you’re not careful. We spent $ 71 for two people…14 pintxos, paella, and 2 drinks from the happy hour menu. Well it would’ve been 12 pintxos but we got suckered in by the guy carrying a tray of pintxos asking us if «we want to try»…of course we’ll try (we thought it was a sampler) but ended up getting charged for it (newbies!). When we asked the waitress about the charge she came back to us and said.“well it was my fault I guess I was suppose to let you know that there’s a charge for those”…she didn’t remove it from the bill. Minus one star for that.
Service from that particular waitress prevented me to give the ½ star I was going to give. She failed to give us the basket of bread, we had to ask for the oil/​vinegar dip, spent too much time talking to other tables, forgot to apply the gift cert we had after we reminded her to apply it. She was nice though… thank God!

Lovingly stacked Basque pintxos (on a slice of bread) were delicious and excellent values for $ 1.75 each. We tried a few and they were all interesting and varied in taste especially the Boqueron with Anchovies and Smoked Salmon with Baby Eels.
Patatas Rjojanas soup (lunch $ 5) was hearty and choke full of potatoes, chistorra and chorizo.
Molten chocolate cake (with ice-​cream, strawberries, cream and caramel) oozing chocolate delightful.

Stopped here on our way out of SF on the way to LA.
Great service and recommendations in line with what we described we were looking for.
The atmosphere is wonderful. Cool architecture. Nice patio. Check out the scratched names in the wall from when the bathroom were holding cells in the city building.
We did hot tapas and dessert. Very tasty. Good blood sausage and patatas bravas. Dessert wasn’t the best art of our meal but it was nice. Good sangria. A bit expensive for how much food but we’d go back.

This beautiful Spanish establishment is a delightful addition to the otherwise vastly one-​note, sub-​standard dining scene in Gilroy. I love that they’re able to incorporate much of the historical charm throughout the restaurant.
My friends and I started with a few pintxos, which are tapas served on toothpicks. I’m definitely a visual eater, so it was nice that we were able to see the various pintxos before deciding which ones we wanted. The cold ones are displayed in a glass enclosure at the bar, and the hot ones were brought to our table on a plate from which my dining companions and I could select. After finishing each pintxos, you deposit your toothpick in a ceramic cup on the table, which they collect at the end of your meal, count and charge accordingly ($ 1.75 per toothpick).
We also got some other appetizers (generously sized) and a cheese platter, all of which were solid except for the croquetas. Those deep fried morsels of bechamel sauce with chicken, mushrooms, ham and cod (each separately) all tasted essentially the same and its flavors paled in comparison to everything else we had.
I’m still pretty new to Spanish food so I’d definitely like to come back sometime to try some other tapas (which are discounted 20% after 6pm — only weekdays, I think) and their sangria.
It was pretty empty when we visited so I’m hoping business will pick up once they have their grand opening later this month, but I have a sneaking suspicion this place will be packed once word gets out!