Tasca Brava

Excellent food and service. Can’t wait to go back. Had the seafood ceviche, house made bread with cheese, and pan seared fish. Every ingredient complimented the dish. Very flavorful and delicious.

Awesome neighborhood gem! Owner is so knowledgeable and food was amazing. Very gluten free friendly.

I honestly do not know who is writing these 4 and 5 star reviews. Staff, I guarantee it!
If I had noticed the health rating was 94, I never would have eaten here, but even more unpleasant was my experience here overall.
As other reviewers have stated, the owner runs the place with an iron fist. He persuades you to order things off the menu to upsell you to the tune of $ 40-​$ 60 an entrée. He is very vocal about how authentic this restaurant is, when in reality the food is closer to mediocre. I ordered paeilla, the special he boasted about for at least 15 minutes. My paella was preprepared, overcooked and GUMMY. Ew. I am from NYC and have had my share of restaurant experiences, good and bad and I know to ask about sending the food back. So, when I asked to send the food back the owner came out and told me I insulted him and I should leave. Not without paying my bill, of course.
The service is awful. We had to wait 40 minutes just for everyone’s drink to be at the table at the same time. There were 8 of us, some from out of town, and none of us got our entrees at the same time. We made a reservation and waited at least 25 minutes to be seated and had to wait in a TINY hallway.
The wait was horrible, the service embarassing, and the food was gross. I only mentioned my entrée, but others complained about theirs being gummy as well, and for good reason, on my way to the bathroom, I noticed that the kitchen had a microwave! Do you want to pay $ 60 for a microwaved entrée? I think NOT.
Take your money elsewhere. ANYwhere else would be better and cheaper.
.

I ate here tonight and had a fabulous meal. The octopus was wonderful as was the fig dish on special. We had other dishes as well, all superb. The service was great!
If you have plans to be in Raleigh, I highly recommend this restaurant.

so, yeah, i never write reviews but i felt like i had to since so many here were negative!
i wasn’t even planning on going to Tasca for dinner due to all the bad stuff I read about it but since plans to go to a place nearby didnt workout, i was «left» with Tasca.
so the owner — passionate in your face kind of guy and I loved it. We had a hell of a time talking to him about all kinds of things. We even decided on him choosing the wine for us and he was absolutely spot on with two different bottles. Were they extremely expensive? No! Am I used to that kind of personality when going to a restaurant? never but more people should be like him. If want the traditional service you get from almost every restaurant out there, don’t go to Tasca unless you have an open mind! I read that some people think he is not from Spain but really? Does it really matter? What matters is the dinning experience and food quality, both of which are exceptional!
the food — some items are definitely not from Spain but hell, if they are awesome, who cares?! We literally sat, drank and ate for 3 hours and we could careless that our food wasnt served in 15 minutes, Everything we had was fantastic including the Paella Valencia which does take 45min to make if you go anywhere that knows how to make it!
the price — it is definitely not cheap but it is not ridiculously expensive either. Due to the nature of my job I eat out almost on a daily basis and I can guarantee you that in the Carolinas they are not the most expensive tapas place. I once ate at a tapas restaurant in Columbia, SC where my individual check alone was $ 70 and there were no bottles of wine involved. If the price at Tasca offends you for what you get, then go get a happy meal at McDonald’s!

Juan (Owner) is truly a gift to this city. He is someone that upon my meeting of him last night, I knew that he was incredible. I myself am not a foodie but all of my friends circle is and my boyfriend — so eating at places that are high-​end and flavorful is NOT something I am unexposed towards.
With that said, I don’t understand why people would complain about the prices. get over it. It’s food and the experience. If you are too cheap to pay for food, don’t go out to eat your dinner.
My best friend and I had such a lovely Wednesday dinner and I felt as if I wasn’t in Raleigh. WHICH I LOVED. We plan on eating out here as often as possible and supporting such a passionate restaurant. THE WINE WAS TO DIE FOR, I gave him full discretion to select the bottles and he was spot on.

I normally don’t write reviews often for Unilocal — and I’ve never written a bad review before because generally I’ve had mediocre, but not truly BAD bad experiences at restaurants. Welp! This was my worst restaurant experience ever and I’d like to warn people about it before they spend their hard earned dollas here. For cred, I should also add I get paid to do restaurant evaluations for a large hospitality company.
I came here with a group of people (it was a planned event and the owner knew about us) and had high hopes, as I like Spanish food and I enjoy tapas when they are done well (holla @ Jose Andres). The owner/​chef/​guy running the place came into the room we were sitting in with such flare and had this whooole song and dance about how all of the food was traditionally Spanish and he sourced all of his ingredients from Spain, and all his dishes are the bee’s knees, blah blah blah. Needless to say, all my expectations/​hopes for the meal set by him were dashed to a million pieces, then set on fire, and then he peed on the flaming pieces to add insult to injury. Sorry for the graphic metaphor, but I HATE THIS PLACE.
We ordered a few dishes, the smelt, pan de queso, chorizo, empanadas, salted codfish fritters, figs with goat cheese, and the paella negra. The owner came to take our order and rushed us through the ordering process and said we had to order everything NOW since all of the food is made from scratch and would take a long time to prepare.
The service was very slow. By the time the (tiny) dishes starting coming out, probably 30 – 40 minutes after we put in our order, I was seriously hangry, but I tried to be a little understanding because I knew they were having a busy night and it was, apparently, just the owner and ONE other poor server doing all of service that night — good planning guys!
The first dishes came out, which were the smelt dish and fig dish (although the server didn’t tell us what dishes were as they were brought out), I honestly thought they were amuse bouche. Hey, I’ve had tapas quite a few times and I know they’re small — I know what I’m in for but this was like MICRO-​tapas. The smelt tapas was literally… five green cocktail olives, each wrapped with an anchovy. I wish I had taken a picture of it because it was SO ridiculous. Also, I love my fishy fish and I know the damn difference between a f***ing anchovy and smelt. Those were ANCHOVIES. And do you know how much it cost for this dish? $ 10! $ 10 for 5 jarred green olives and 5 anchovies!
Then the fig dish came out which was preserved, dried figs (you know, the kind you get in a bag at the supermarket where you pay like $ 4 for like 50 dried figs). There were 4 figs on the plate, split into quarters, with some weird white foam (which was not goat cheese, as specified on the menu). Again — I was shocked this was the dish, and even more shocked when the owner tried to charged us $ 13. $ 13 for 4 pieces of dried fruit! I mean, seriously, if I could put in a gif here, it would be that scene in Loony Toons when Yosemite Sam loses his sh*t, starts screaming, and steam starts to come out of his ears. Needless to say, this dish was so SO underwhelming.
The rest of the dishes that came out were just as disappointing… I would go into more detail but then I would just basically be writing a novel of negativity and hate, which I will refrain from. Calm, Wan, stay calm…
Meal ends and we’ve all had an incredibly underwhelming experience and are still peckish. The bill comes out and it is VERY high — the owner tried to overcharge us on a couple of things, which I went to talk to him about. He agreed to charge us the «normal» price (bless you for your generosity, YOU CHARLATAN). He then ran my credit card and overcharged me by about $ 100. When I got the receipt back, I told him there was a mistake and he said he would correct it. He ran the card again and showed me the new receipt and I asked him, «Are you absolutely sure this is the same invoice and receipt? I do not want to be overcharged.» He said, «Yes yes yes, of course». I signed the new version that had the correct price.
Cut to a few days later, after I’ve cooled down about this awful experience and I check my credit card statement. Hey! Guess what price the owner of Tasca Brava charged me? Yes — if you’ve read the previous paragraphs, you can guess — it is the WRONG price. The WRONG price that overcharged me by $ 100. I’m in the process of contesting it and I hope that my credit card company will just completely wipe the bill because frankly, I don’t want any of my money going to that terrible restaurant.
In sum, if you have the choice between Tasca Brava or Arby’s, save your money and sanity and go to Arby’s (or the like), where the service and food is 100x better and costs 100x less. I wish I were joking, but I am dead serious. I am flipping the bird so hard at this restaurant in my brain.

I went to Tasca Brava a week ago. First, I am originally from Spain so I definitely know HOW the plates are supposed to TASTE and LOOK like. Second, there were dishes in the menu that are not originally from Spain (they are from South America), which intrigued me at first since the owner kept mentioning how everything he has on the menu is originally from Spain.
DISHES TRIED:
1) Tortilla Española (Spanish Egg Omelet with Potatoes)
This plate is supposed to be a «pie» looking dish made with eggs, sliced onions, and potatoes. The taste was ok, but usually in Spain they give you the entire «pie», but at Tasca Brava we got served a small slice of the «pie.» We paid approximately $ 8 for a slice of Tortilla Española? When in Spain you can order the entire Tortilla Española for 10 or 11 euros, which is approximately $ 17. This was definitely not worth the price. Also, what kind of Spaniard serves Tortilla Española with Marinara sauce on the side?! That was a complete joke.
2) Pulpo a la Gallega (Boiled Octopus with Sprinkled Paprika, Olive oil, salt and pepper)
In Spain, they serve quite reasonable chunks of boiled octopus, in a reasonable dish (good amount of food). At Tasca Brava, they served SLICES of boiled octopus. The taste was ok, the octopus wasn’t over cooked but we paid $ 14 for a small plate. Not reasonable. Also, you can google this dish and you will NEVER see octopus served with mashed potatoes.
3) Ceviche (Raw fish marinated in a citrus marinade)
–Ceviche is NOT from SPAIN. This dish is originally from Peru! (
)
–How can you charge $ 12 for CEVICHE, when you are serving FROZEN SHRIMP with fish. If any person from Peru comes to this restaurant I feel very sorry for them.
–The portion size was not reasonable for the price.
4) Gambas al Ajillo (Prawns baked in olive oil with garlic and parsley)
In Spain they serve this dish in a clay pot with approximately 8 – 10 CLEANED and DEVEINED prawns. But we got served 4 prawns that were NOT deveined not cleaned, nor they came with olive oil and parsley. This dish is a STAPLE of SPANISH FOOD, but at Tasca Brava they serve you something that is NOT gambas al ajillo. Very disappointed.
5) WE GOT CHARGED $ 12 for 2 BOTTLES of WATER!!! How is it possible that everywhere else in the United States water is FREE, but you do not inform your clients that WATER costs $ 6 per bottle in your restaurant?!! This is infamous!
Final SUGGESTIONS/​COMMENTS for FUTURE CLIENTS:
1) Google the name of the dishes on the menu, and compare them to the pictures posted in Unilocal. Please do so before you come to this restaurant. You will see that the dishes are NOT SIMILAR at ALL! (SIZE AND PRESENTATION wise)
2) If you have ever been to Spain and tried the food there, DON’T come to this restaurant AT ALL! it is a JOKE.
3) THE OWNER FORCES YOU TO ORDER STUFF YOU DON’T WANT. This is not pleasant and it feels like someone is putting pressure on you! He also speaks in SPANGLISH, which is very confusing for people who don’t speak Spanish (like they people I went with).
4) THE OWNER is NOT ORIGINALLY FROM SPAIN! He keeps repeating that he is from Spain but he is NOT. If you are either from Spain or from somewhere in South/​Central America, you will know that this guy is 100% COLOMBIAN! His expressions and the NON-​SPANISH dishes on the menu explain this.
This owner is 100% COLOMBIAN, and he is lying to his clients about this place being 100% Spanish.
PLEASE DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY IN THIS RESTAURANT. IT IS NOT WORTH IT, AND IT IS WAY TOO OVERPRICED FOR THE QUALITY AND SIZE OF THE FOOD!

Having been to Spain, I was very excited to have dinner at a local tapas/​spanish restaurant. We were sat in front of the window and were asked if we wanted flat or sparking water which I replied «tap water.» We brought bottled water despite our request for tap. About 15 – 20 min later the owner/​chef Juan came over to tell us the specials and take our drink order. Juan insisted we get the pan de queso to which we said «no thank you» several times. We ordered the croquetas de jamon y pollo for our appetizer and the antelope and the prime rib for entrees. We were served by the busser/​hostess the incorrect appetizer. When we asked what this was she did not know, went to the kitchen to ask and never came back to tell us. Juan came over about 10 min later, we let him know our appetizer was incorrect. We were later served bread and the croquestas de jamon. I thought the bread was complimentary like most restaurants, but after biting into it, I realized this was the pan de queso, which we did not order. We asked the busser/​food runner what our appetizer was to see if she knew this one, sadly she did not. Again she went to the kitchen to ask and never returned until she brought our dinner. She served my husband his prime rib, which did not look like prime rib at all. She severed my dish and when I asked what it was she said the «mushroom» something. I had ordered the antelope and saw no mushrooms so I knew she was incorrect but was disturbed she had no clue as to what she was serving. At this point I was not even positive if my dish in front of me was the antelope. The food was incredibly over priced, below average taste and by no means fine dining quality. Juan came over and asked how our food was, we mentioned the food runner had no idea as to what she was serving. We stated that we received 2 incorrect appetizers and she never returned to answer our questions. My husband asked for the check after we took a couple bites of our dinner because we wanted to get out of there. Juan did not like this and said to stay, my husband proceeded to ask for the check several times until it was brought by Juan. Juan said that he is now out front waiting tables because he has not been able to hire staff that could explain his food correctly. I told him he needs to hire staff that knows what they are serving because it is a disservice to the customer. He said he knows but he cannot find anyone that can. The prices were wrong on the bill as to what the menu said. We were charged for the pan de queso that he wanted us to order but we specifically said we did not want. We ate a quarter of our food, paid and left. Worst fine dining experience. We will never go back.
If you have food allergies, don’t risk it… bring an epi pen because the staff does not know what they are serving!

Hands down, the worst fine dining restaurant experience I have ever had. We had reservations for two at 8:00 on New Years Eve. Upon arrival, no one greeted us or inquired about our reservation until a man we later found out to be the proprietor rolled his eyes at us, ostensibly annoyed to have more customers at his already busy restaurant. We stood awkwardly in the small entryway for another few minutes when I spotted a small bar. I let him know we would be there, but he said «there’s no room for you there.» On the way back, an employee mouthed the words to us, «he’s an a**hole!» The other party there kindly moved down to accommodate us. We asked them how long they’d been waiting, and they said 20 minutes — with not even a glass of water, wine, or any attention from the owner. We waited with them another 20 minutes until they finally made another reservation elsewhere and left.
At long last, this man asked if we wanted something to drink. I ordered a bottle of wine (knowing he would likely not be back to refill anytime soon). Another 20 minutes later, no wine, no water, no acknowledgement from this guy.
Finally, we decided to walk out. The food did smell good, but the whole experience had left a bad taste in our mouths that wasn’t likely to go away no matter how good the paella might be.
On our way out, he interrupted taking another table’s order to yell, «are you LEAVING?» which we ignored and walked away to find another restaurant at which to spend New Year’s dinner.

Truly one of Raleigh’s hidden gems. I’m frustrated we haven’t been here before now. The food is delicious and the owner couldn’t have been more sincere. He came by to check on us with recommendations and stories. Can’t say enough about our experience! Brought us right back to our trip to Spain, where there is an emphasis on real conversation and intimacy not a bunch of people starring at their phones. Enjoy!

Phenomenal! I noticed this place had some mixed reviews, but from the recommendation of a close family member we went for it.
My opinion: two thumbs up! Granted, it is VERY expensive but it is also a unique experience. I have not been to Spain yet, but I imagine it is as close as I will get to the decadent flavors of Spanish cuisine. We ordered the daily bread special which included two types: a bread with cheese and a coconut bread. The coconut bread was tasty while the cheese bread was good but the cheese was a bit too mild for me. We also ordered two small tapas: the Ceviche Bucanera and Truffle Empanada; both bursting with flavor. For my main entrée, I ordered the Grouper Alcaparra Negra. The grouper was okay but unfortunately it did not compare with the other dishes of the evening. I ended up not regretting my decision because it did go extremely well with the saffron rice and spinach salad and it is rare to find such a mix of flavors put together so perfectly. My date’s entrée was the Solomillo Extremeno, and let’s just say, I went back for four bites. When I think of coming back to Tasca Bravo, I imagine that I would not get what I got before but only because I want to try all the other flavorful dishes.
The ambience is wonderful with décor and music befitting the theme of Spain. I really like the home to restaurant motif; it provides a cozy, intimate atmosphere.
The owner was very loquacious and friendly. He makes your dining experience memorable.

I’m going to start at the odd phone call to the restaurant, which should have tipped me off something was odd about this place. It’s to the right of Brooklyn Heights bar if you’re looking at that side of Glenwood Avenue. Having passed the black bull, interesting sign outside I always wondered about this Spanish restaurant. Read on…
I called to ask if they had room for 2 on a Saturday evening, last minute. I called… a man answered and I listened as he spoke Spanish to other people. Did I call the right place?
I called again. Voicemail. I called a third time… and he answered, again speaking Spanish to someone else and then asked, «Yes?» And I replied, «Is this Tasca Brava?» It was. They had room.
We arrived and were seated at a table for two with about 4 other tables occupied in a restaurant that probably had 20 – 30 tables. The man who looks like the owner comes over and schmoozes — asks us if we’ve been to Spain. (I have.) He goes on to say this is THE MOST authentic Spanish food we’ll ever eat. A waitress comes over to ask him a question. He says, «Excuse me one moment.» About 5 – 10 minutes later he returns. Everything he recites (at a mile a minute) he claims, is «the best you’ll ever have!» Not knowing what the heck he just said (and he basically glazed over our menu questions) we gather this is what we just ordered:
* Pan du Queso (or whatever the cheesy bread was)
* Octopus with mashed potatoes (tapa)
* Ceviche (tapa)
* Portobello mushrooms with egg and goat cheese (main dish)
Cheesy bread was delicious. They give you sliced sweet potato chips too when you sit down so we had these two things before the other dishes were presented. The octopus and mashed potatoes was really tasty. The ceviche (which the guy INSISTED was the best we’d EVER have) was fine — FAR from the best I’ve ever had. Main dish? Meh. It was fine but a little odd. We were so full by then we didn’t even think it was tasty enough to finish.
Service: I thought the guy who’s the owner apparently was SUPER pushy and a bit odd. I’m from NY — so I know pushy people. He was friendly but in an odd way. The other woman waitress was nice but where the heck were the both of them when I wanted water refilled for 20 minutes — I’m not exaggerating. 20 minutes. I finally had to get up and find one of them to ask for a refill. They seemed to «forget» about us several times.
Ambiance: good. BUT it was really disheartening to see a MICROWAVE in the kitchen when I passed it to use the restroom. And a bedroom lamp illuminating a room that looked like it had a door missing with the vacuum lazily out. Cute house though, overall, that the restaurant occupies. And btw — when I passed the kitchen it was CLEAR the owner’s not back there putting his heart and soul in the food. Fine, I get it — maybe he teaches other people how to make his creations. Not a huge deal.
Price: overpriced. Our dishes came to something like $ 60 plus tax. The kicker was the main dish, at a whomping $ 20 or so and it was a vegetarian dish too. (You can get it with goat cheese or chorizo — we opted for the cheese.)
I would say it’s okay to try once — it’s not awesome but not bad. Maybe on a busier night (whenever those occur? who knows?) they’d be more attentive and quicker on their feet? No idea. I’m not dying to go back. The paella looked really good but at $ 25 per person we opted out of it. It’s fun to try something new and a good story to tell with the experience of such a «vibrant» man who owns it running the show.

Owner Juan is eccentric but very warm. Always greets you a smile and hug if he has seen you there before. He’s not afraid to steer you in a different direction than what you may have planned. On occasion i have gone along with this and never been disappointed. Pan de queso is unreal. All of the tapas plates are delicious. Humble beginnings in a few failed locations but always the same food. Finally found his prime location and seems to be doing well!
Note: If you show up and think this is going to be a typical experience, guess again. I have seen him confiscate cell phone abusers phones until the meal was done. And not just for using it obnoxiously in the restaurant, if your ignoring your dinner partner for your phone he will say something!

Tasca brava is like attending a Spanish performance that is both you in the bull ring and you watching a classical dance. Juan does everything but cook, and he certainly puts on a show with tidbits of information about food and will confiscate your cell phone if you use it during the meal.
–everything we ate from the cheesy bread to the tuna caparccio to the ungodly delicious trio of sorbets was fantastic. I highly recommend the sorbets esp if they have the soursop flavor. Oh and the sherry selection is excellent as well, the amontillado is the best we have ever had. You really can’t go wrong because the quality and attention to details is so high.
–Despite Juans flamboyance he is clearly a lovable teddy bear if you can break through, like going to dinner at an extended family members house.
–none of the food can be altered, so I wouldn’t recommend the place for picky eaters or vegans.
–you have to place all of your orders for dishes at once and right when Juan demands it so be prompt in figuring out what you’d like
–be prepared to dine for a few hours and pay a very healthy amount for a super unique Raleigh experience.

Where are all the amazing food reviews coming from? Maybe the restaurant had an off night tonight? Idk! We ordered our food to go as no sitter = no adult meal. We ordered the paella (for two) and three chicken empanadas. The bill came to $ 65, I was expecting an orgasmic paella experience! Hell for that price!!! What did we get? Crunchy rice (undercooked) and a weird strong after taste on the seafood. I get that paella is a dish that it’s either perfect or not and in this case they failed miserably! I do have to say that the chicken empanadas were very good (little) but good so that’s why I gave this place two stars instead of one. Oh and they only gave us two empanadas when we ordered and got charged for 3 but there’s no point in driving 30 one way for 1 empanada.
I’m so disappointed, we haven’t had paella in forever and last time it was in ironbound section of Newark, NJ where they serve the paella with crusty warm bread. I thought it would at least come close! Nope! Epic failure!

Everybody has their story about Tasca Brava, so I’ll go ahead and add my own.
My in-​laws were in town, and staying in a hotel on Glenwood South. They didn’t want to walk far to get dinner, so, we decided to take a chance on Tasca Brava.
Well, it was interesting.
Here’s the real quick review:
It’s good, expensive, slow, and the owner (Juan) is a pushy oddball.
Do you know what Tasca Brava translates to? I believe it means something along the lines of «Argument Pub.» And why would that be? Because the owner is bound and determined to argue with everyone who is brave enough to eat at his restaurant.
We first entered the cozy dining establishment, and were seated by a anxious looking hostess.
After about 10 minutes the owner/​head chef/​waiter/​bartender/​critic of any who enter his realm came to greet our table of 4.
Quick side note, through the meal, Juan progressively switched to more familiar terms for my wife and my mother in law. First they were «my lady,» then «my dear,» by the end, they were «my love.» I’m not the type to get all pissy about that impropriety, but I thought the presumptuousness of it was pretty hilarious.
Anyway, Juan came bringing the heat, and the first thing he let us know was that he can’t find good help for his restaurant, so he would have to be serving the table. From all the reviews I read, this is the norm, not the aberration. I guess it was his way of letting us know that we could expect slow service.
After that diatribe Juan asked us what we want to eat, my picky vegetarian wife had some questions, and when she said this, Juan responded «you need more time with the menu.» and turned tail, not to be seen again for another 10 minutes. Lesson learned: You order when Juan is ready for you to order.
When he came back, my wife asked if she could order a White Sangria. Juan’s jaw dropped, and he said «There is no such thing as white Sangria, this is an authentic restaurant, and if you have eaten that somewhere, it was inauthentic.» Okay, no white Sangria. We ordered some booze (including the proper, red sangria) and a round of the cheesy balls as appetizers. At this point my mother in law was unsure of what she wanted, so Juan went off to make the cheese bread.
Once the time came to order, my picky vegetarian wife asked if anything is Vegan friendly. Juan glared and said «no, my dear.» Upon finding out that she would just not eat anything in that case, Juan thought of some corn empanada dishes he could improvise that would be vegan friendly. I decided to get the Paella with my in-​laws. Here’s something weird, you can’t order the paella, unless at least two people are ordering it. Why? Beats me. Juan’s rules. When we made the order Juan started to storm off again, and I asked if he needed to know what meats we wanted. Juan didn’t even turn around, he just blared «all the meats, or not authentic.» Well, I hadn’t been too keen on squid, but nevermind…
The cheesy ball bread was really good. But I made a mistake. I picked one up with a fork. Juan caught site of this from across the restaurant, and came over to instruct me not to use a fork. At this point I just wanted to push his buttons a little bit, so I took a big bite off my fork, and Juan proclaimed (without the slightest hint of irony or humor) «You are killing my food.» Oh, the poor artiste! When the appetizers came out Juan gave the empanadas to my wife, but looked at me and said «no forks with the empanadas.» Sheesh.
My wife asked the poor anxious hostess (god knows how often Juan fusses at her) for a salt shaker, we saw her cross the restaurant, and ask Juan. And then we saw Juan simply shake his head «no.» No salt shakers allowed for Juan’s perfectly seasoned food. She enjoyed the vegan friendly food, but wasn’t blown away.
The paella was great, I’ve never enjoyed Paella nearly as much. Every last bite was phenomenal. It was a really nice portion size, and there was plenty of each of the 10+ meat varieties to try.
In the end, the food was mostly very good, the Sangria was much enjoyed, the bill was pricey, and we all had a strange experience to talk about.
If you go to Tasca Brava, you’ll probably encounter some of the same weirdness that was the highlight of our meal.
The food and ambiance was 4 stars, but I’m taking a star off because it seemed a bit over-​priced, and well, Juan.

Have been to Spain countless times and what I love about the country is the love of life, the dedication to culture, and the food, my god the food. Spanish tapas is one of the greatest inventions of man.
Juan at Tasca Brava loves this and pours his heart and soul into each dish. I have loved every visit here and will continue to dine here as long as there are amazing spanish dishes getting churned out. While some patrons are see Juan as pushy or intense, I would suggest you see your dining experience as a piece of performance art. Just sit back, trust, and enjoy. He will likely bring you something amazing. The pulpo gallega is one of the finest dishes in the triangle in my opinion.
Thank you for bring a taste of Espana here to us in Raleigh!

I’ll simply say, I went to Spain without a passport. The food was authentic and well executed. This is the typical European spot where you sit down & expect to be there a couple hours. No rushing. Enjoy your meal and even get a story (or 3) from the head chef. Great experience. But bring your wallet fat because your gonna leave a little light, it’s not cheap.
My brother & I took my mom for her birthday, bottle of wine, soups, cerviché, hand made cheese bread, another app, chicken kabobs & the black (squid ink) paella. Well done!!!

Oh Juan, you’re such a nut! Yeah, that’s what all the Unilocal reviews say, it’s either a one-​star or five-​star review and there’s usually mention of Juan, the chef-​owner. You know why? Because the experience at Tasca Brava is different. VERY different than what you’ll find at most of the restaurants in the Triangle. Think excellent Spanish food with an energetic chef and host and you’ve got a pretty good idea of what’s going to happen here.
I came back after a long hiatus and of course Juan asked why! It’s certainly not because of the food, we had a great meal ranging from chewy, pao de queijo, tasty marinated octopus to a huge paella. Delicious desserts from flan to sorbet, all in an intimate setting, we were nearly dining solo in the cozy Tasca Brava dining room.
So what gives, why all the schizophrenic reviews? Well they are all accurate so what really matters is what YOU are ready to handle and enjoy. If you come to Tasca Brava expect certain things: great Spanish food, great setting and a very personal and intimate experience. He will push you to try out his specials, order certain items and yes, the bill will not be cheap. Think Second Empire type pricing and you’re on the right track. And you better not be in a hurry, it will be at least a 2+ hour meal.
But if you’ve got a sense of humor and aren’t feeling cheap, Tasca Brava is a nice splurge and enjoyable experience. If you’ve got a track record of only doing places like the Raleigh Times, Mellow Mushroom or wear a dragon shirt, this place is probably not for you. In the end, I’ve got Tasca Brava at 4 to 4 ½ stars and depending on what your expections are you’ll have them at either 1 or 5 stars.
Not for the timid, Tasca Brava delivers if you’re ready to handle her… :-)