Devotay

The drinks were fantastic. I ordered a smoked salmon salad and I have to say, it was drenched in vinaigrette to the MAX. it would have been an otherwise excellent salad. The cheese plate was divine! Good atmosphere.

Love this place! Been there many times, food is always good, service usually good but it is a small place and when it gets busy wait staff can get overwhelmed. That’s the price you pay when you go to a very popular place. Love the atmosphere and tapas, if you don’t like the tapas style of restaurant, this is not the place for you, stay away so we can enjoy it. We love sharing the different dishes and wine they offer.

My biggest takeaway after dining at Devotay is that the ownership and staff here have a meticulous attention to detail.
Arriving before the other guests in our party, I had the chance to thoroughly sort through the drink menu and ultimately decided to go with the Devotay Cocktail since it was so highly recommended by other Unilocalers. It was a pleasantly strong drink and sitting on the streetside patio in the heat of summer, I enjoyed the subtle citrus flavor coming from the sweet orange liqueur and orange twist. I can also envision this cocktail transferring well into the winter months though thanks to the caramel flavors coming from the sweet vermouth.
We were pretty excited to be dining tapas-​style. Because really, who doesn’t love to eat their meals in the form of multiple small plates, each packing total different flavors?! Out of the tapas we tried, the Gambas and the Beet & Tomato Salad topped my favorites list. But the star of the night? The Devotay Paella. Oh man, that paired with a glass of rose was worth it’s weight in gold x2.
While Devotay is not your «I’m too full to eat anything for the next month» type of restaurant and although it can certainly become a big-​ticket meal quite quickly, I was pleasantly surprised by how affordable it is to enjoy a glass of wine and light pairing if you’re looking for a nice place to enjoy drinks and apps with friends or a date. Overall this was an excellent dining experience from the sommelier-​trained staff, to the locally-​sourced ingredients and classy yet relaxed atmosphere indoor and out.

I always think it’s tricky to go to a tapas restaurant with more than 2 people.
But we had 6 and had to get to the airport, and it worked sort of okay.

What a great restaurant! Tasty food (though not the same Spanish food I am used to when visiting Spain), but a nice fusion of local with Spanish. Generous servings, fresh ingredients, nice wine and beer selection. We had great service, and a great time at this little gem of a restaurant.

While the food taste good in general, they take themselves way too seriously. Ambiance is dark and «romantic». Personally, it is too dark and I had difficulty reading the menu.
I am not an expert in tapas so I can’t tell you how authentic it is but most items on the menu tastes good even if some look like glorified comfort food. Patatas bravas is tasty but kinda like a potato salad. Other good options include chorizo, dates with bacon, spiced almonds and when available locally made flatbreads.
Sangrias are pretty weak. I have a better recipe.
Biggest gripe I have is about the pacing. The owner is big on «slow food» where you are supposed to enjoy everything at a leisurely pace. But the food while tasty is not worth 3 plus hours of my time. Sometimes the wait staff just ignores you. They will drop off the food and disappear. No checking to see if we are enjoying the meal or need the water filled. There is slow food and then there is plain neglect.

Go on a full stomach. You will be starving by the time you get your food, and your meal will be just adequate. It is also possible that your server will have no idea what is in your food.

If you go in expecting tapas, then I am sure you will not be disappointed. No they aren’t huge servings, they are tapas. Yes it costs a little bit more, but it is a nice place. Server was prompt and attentive. Cocktails were exceptionally good with fresh ingredients (you can see the bartender mixing which I really enjoyed). Overall a great date night, if you plan and budget knowing you buy 2 – 3 tapas per person.

We like going to Devotay for a number of reasons. The food is delicious. The atmosphere is very romantic and eclectic — it feels like you are in a Paris bistro. And the north side neighborhood is delightful. When guests come we often take them here.
The menu is not really «Spanish,» and when we first went there the owner told us they’d never been to Spain. But it doesn’t really matter since the food was delicious.
My only criticism is that the portion sizes are way too small for the price. It’s nice to occasionally have a meal of tapas. But it would be prohibitively expensive to do that here.

Great atmosphere, service, and food. Yes this is tapas style, it will cost around $ 10 for a small plate of good food (don’t expect machine shed portions) go with a date or a group of friends and take your time and enjoy.
Others mentioned poor service but our experience (group of 4) was very positive the meal was paced well and our server was attentive. The food was very good however there were items that I’ve elsewhere that I’d prefer. If I lived in the area this would be a regular spot for me.

Best in Iowa city. Perfect cozy spot on a cold night. Never been disappointed. Cocktails are excellent and service is always warm and fun. Don’t skip the specials.

This place was bad. No other way to put it. From customer service (which was slow — we had to call her over multiple times and there were only 3 other parties in the entire restaurant. She also did not let us know of the happy hour specials) to the subpar food taste, the entire experience was just a let down.
We drove in from Cedar Rapids for a special celebration night. We ordered the Veggie Paella, and couldn’t have been more disappointed. We should have followed the MULTIPLE other reviews who noted the subpar flavors and bad quality of the dish, but we chose to try it out on our own. Again, large mistake.
The rice was more like a thick stew, with lots of liquid. There were a lot of vegetables, which was nice, but some of the vegetables were undercooked (the eggplant, carrots) while some of the vegetables were done right (mushrooms). The flavor was overpowered by tomatoes (which were stewed and not even fresh) and the peppers, which covered up all the other vegetable flavors. There was probably no saffron, which is basically the whole thrust of paella, right? Completely over-​spiced and yet under seasoned.
I could not finish the paella, so I had to order a gravlax monadito in order to get something to fill my stomach — I will say it was really good. Would definitely get that again.
We are both very easy when it comes to good food and service (as you can see from
My other reviews) so when I note something is subpar or bad quality, it’s definitely something. Heavy on the meats and very few gluten-​free options.
I support their idea of farm-​fresh dining, and applaud their focus of sustainable and locally-​purchased ingredients. I just wish they did something good with those ingredients. It saddens me to rate this 2 stars.

Ahhh I wanted to like this place.
So this is a «tapas» place, I have mixed feelings on these types of restaurants. I love trying as many dishes as possible, I like sharing, but I don’t like paying $ 10 for a side dish/​entrée or whatever it is called that day and When I share, I like to share portions of which I am not left with Costco sample sized portions. Needless to say there is a love/​hate relationship/​
The stuffed dates I had were good, might have been the best thing I had there.
The pork I had was on special, wasn’t to special to be a special. Kinda dry and lacking some flavor, this wasn’t their regular menu so maybe it was something I shouldn’t judge everything on?
Desert was a let down, I ordered bread pudding. It was some bread that was lightly basted with the pudding/​sauce. Bread pudding is something that should be delicious and also make you go to the gym after you eat it. Load up on the sauce and send it out of the kitchen.
I spent a lot here when all said and done, didn’t feel the value of my meal. They have other options that may be good, not sure if I would return.

I first struggled a bit with giving three or four stars but I want to like this place so I’m giving them the benefit of doubt.
First, we had a large party that took up about half of the very small restaurant. We also stayed for about two hours (knowing the person that took care of the bill — I’m assuming the server was compensated well for that). She kept a smile but I felt like she had written off her night.
We ordered a round or two of cocktails and lots of appetizers. The kitchen did well to keep up. With such a small space and so many things needing to come out at once, it’s clear we pushed the limit.
The thing I’m struggling with is my meal. I ordered the vegetable paella and I’m pretty sure it had chicken in it. That would be a bonus for a lot of people but since I’m a vegetarian, finding it meant the end of the meal for me.
So I’m giving four stars because I think in a smaller table setting, they’d do great. And had I not been with a large group with clients, I’d have been able to say something about the paella.

I really wanted to like this place, especially for the price we paid for an unsatisfying dinner. I was still hungry when I left, even though we had 4 courses. The waiter was very nice, and got the 2 stars, but food gets 0 stars for being wayyyy overrated. I think someone needs to tell the chef here that less is not always more.

I’m reading the negative reviews and am totally shocked. Perhaps these people experienced Devotay during an off night.
My one experience with the restaurant was certainly note-​worthy. Not only was the food great, the ambience was lovely as well. I look forward to my next trip to Iowa City and stopping back in at Devotay.
My favs were: meatballs, lamb skewers and the ceviche. Delish!

I really loved the gravlax, which is a new seasonal item on the menu. The vegetable paella was also delicious. Food: A+
The downsides are poor lighting, noise level, and servers who stop by your table every 2 – 3 minutes to ask if you’re still doing okay, making conversation difficult.

My wife and I have been here a few times now, and consistently have enjoyed our meals. Devotay is probably one of the best places in Iowa City and surrounding areas to enjoy tapas-​style dining. Looks out over Northside Marketplace, with a nice ambiance inside playing to Spanish themes.
Food: The Spanish omelette and patatas bravas are good, comparable to what we’ve found at other tapas restaurants around the country. The farm-​to-​fork philosophy behind the menu is admirable, and consistently leads to at least one really memorable dish. When I visited Iowa City last winter they had a winter squash soufflé that was just amazing. This summer, they have been doing flans with either spinach or other local greens, also great.
Drink: Apparently the «Devotay» cocktail has been rated as one of the best in the city. Templeton Rye, blood orange liqeur, and bitters make for a really tasty beverage. They also make a good Sazerac, and their Ginger Peel is also really interesting. They tend to have local Iowa beer on tap, one of which tends to be a well-​crafted IPA from Toppling Goliath. And a fair amount of Spanish wine, which makes my wife and I happy. Maybe one of the best places to get mixed drinks in town, especially with happy hour specials.
Service: We’ve always had attentive, but relaxed service that’s never pushy.
This will probably become one of our go to places on this end of town. As always, tapas dining can get pricey quickly… but we think it’s worth it, and the quieter surroundings compared to downtown Iowa City make this a romantic spot.

Sangria: Good
Arugula salad: Great
Ceviche: OK
Bacon-​wrapped dates: Excellent
Meatballs: Fantastic
I was there on a not too busy night and had a quiet spot to myself. Pleasant service. Would definitely visit again and try some things I didn’t have room for this time.

Stopped in Iowa City for lunch on the way to Des Moines from Chicago. I had found this place on Unilocal and thought it would be a great option instead of fast food and also a location in the Iowa University area. It is not far off 80 at all, so good option close to the highway.
The restaurant itself was cute and the staff was pretty friendly. The menu was a little difficult to understand (not because it was in Spanish) because they used words like ragu and caviar, but totally different than the dictionary description. I believe something on the menu referenced olive caviar… but this dish did not have caviar. I wasn’t crazy about this naming practice and had to ask the waiter several questions to make sure what we would be getting.
In the end, we ordered a few small plates as they were somewhat expensive for the amount of food that you received. It seems that the restaurant skimps on bread, which doesn’t make sense. We ordered the market cheese and bread plate and it came with just a few tiny slices of pita bread, but a lot of cheese!
We also ordered the pintxo with grilled beef, olive and blue cheese. This was delicious and worth the price. It had a nice sauce with it that rounded out the flavor well. We also ordered the mushroom ragu on bread. This was nice but a little too small for the price.
Overall, everything tasted great and was very original… different sauces came on each plate that matched well with the food and the sauces became topics of conversation as we were trying to figure them out.
A good place to go and try for a light meal.