Taberna Arros y Vi

Came here for date night because we heard they had paella and amazing stuff. If you’re going on a first date, this is definitely the place. Dark, romantic and sweet service. We got the paella and it was delicious. We actually took some home. The pig ears are delicious! You should definitely try it!

We were celebrating my promotion and I found a Living Social deal here, so we decided on an evening on Santa Monica. We both have Spanish ancestry, which is why I think we always go with tapas. And I really like sangria.
Taberna Arros y Vi is tourist-​trappy in the prices, but not in the quality and uniqueness. Very sexy ambiance with dark wood and dim candles; very date-​worthy but the happy hour/​bar area was poppin too.
We ordered:
Honey Grapefruit Sangria — Our waitress highly recommended it, but it was a little weak for me. Definitely sweet and refreshing, but I was hoping for a little more.
Cherry Lime Sangria — Much better!
Mushrooms with Burrata — My FAVORITE dish! I love anything with burrata, even if it’s a spoon… and these mushrooms were just bursting with flavor. $ 16 for mushrooms is a little ridiculous, but I was glad we ordered it. I needed that experience in my life.
Paprika Shrimp — Boyfriend’s favorite dish. A small plate, but excellent seasoning and huge, juicy shrimp.
Brussels Sprouts — These were just eh. They were loose, chopped brussels sprout leaves, which I never like as much as the whole version. A little boring.
Paella — This was delicious! We got the mixed paella with chicken. I honestly don’t have much experience with paella, but we loved this one and cleaned the dish.
Our waitress was friendly, kind, and sociable. Sad news… she told us that this place is closing in 2 weeks. I’m not sure whether I’m writing this review too late, but we were disappointed and would have been back.

Came here for dinner for the second time last night. Both times were amazing, we had seafood paella and salmon last night, with the meatballs and mushrooms to start.
The mushrooms were delicious, with a great truffle flavor. The meatballs were seasoned really well, but were a little cold when they came out.
The paella was warm and rich and flavorful, and the salmon was perfectly seasoned and the mashed potatoes were perfect.
We enjoyed a glass of wine each.
The restaurant has a warm feel, not too fancy, but great for a date or even a group dinner.

What a great place for tapas!
My friend and I were both in the mood for tapas and this place came up in our search. Everything was delicious –especially the beef carpaccio and beef balls. We also tried their paprika shrimp and beets salad which were also yummy. although the beets salad would have been better if it contained a little more beets.
The wait staff was attentive and checked on us frequently each time. Their sangria selection is a must try as well. I’ll be back here again to try their other small plates.

If you don’t like to drink but like something sweet and tasty there was this drink here that I had which contained Sugar Cane SOJU (Korean Sake) and Passion Fruit, plus one more juice.
It was tasty !!!
I forgot the name of the drink ‘tho, I think it started with the letter «A» and it was around $ 9.00.

I always leave Taberna satisfied. I used my LivingSocial deal this month and ordered lots of tapas that left me and my friend feeling happily full.
We got:
Cauliflower frittas — get
Spicy potato skins — pass
Croquette balls — get
Mussels — must get
Paprika shrimp — must get
Bread pudding dessert — must get
The food has loads of flavor and you really can’t go wrong with any dish here.
Also Bernadet (te) is the best server ever! She remembered me from 10 months ago when I came to celebrate graduation with Unilocaler Lara D. Her service is spot-​on. :-)

I came here with my 2 friends with a living social deal! $ 35 for $ 60 which is an awesome deal considering the prices here.
My friends and I ordered the honey grapefruit sangria, croquettas, Paella Valenciana (bomba rice), Squid Ink Pasta, and the Chocolate/​Caramel Bread Pudding. I have to say that my favorite were the sangria, croquettas, and the dessert. I was not all that amazed by the entrée’s, and the squid ink pasta is something you’ll have to get used to as the plate is completely black, and just doesn’t look as appetizing. However, the sangria is amazing, and the bread pudding was made fresh, and it was delicious! (note: for the bread pudding, my friends and I waited roughly 25 minutes, not sure if it took that long, or service was slow)
Overall, the place had a great ambiance. Our server Ali was super sweet and comical! He always made sure to check up on us, which was greatly appreciated! :)

I don’t get the name of this place but I don’t need to. I get what they serve. Food. Tapas food, actually. Or maybe tapas style tapas. Or maybe neutral tapas. Or maybe just food. Or maybe tapas again.
Vi looks like the lazy way of writing the Roman numeral six, but you can’t really decide to write in Roman numerals and then decide to be lazy. It already is harder. Why did you decide to go that route in the first place? Just back out and go regular-​numbers style.
Sangria here was very good. Paella was bomb. The mussels in the paella were gigantic and that made them not taste good. Other than that, solid place. I’d come back.

My barcelona buddy and I were meeting up so naturally, we chose a place with tapas.
Ironically enough, we ended up getting only one tapa plate, the croquettas, and got two entrées instead. The croquettas come in 3s and are filled with rice and potatoes, I believe. There wasn’t too much breading and it wasn’t heavy like many croquettas end up being, so we easily finished that quickly,
We also got the paella seafood, of course, which took about 25 minutes to make since it’s made fresh. It was flavorful but the seafood sort of tasted cheap and frozen. Hard to explain but next time, I’d definitely go with the meatier option, the Valenciana paella. The portion was great and was easy to share.
We also got the squid ink pasta since it’s difficult to come across restaurants that make it. It was interesting how the pasta was made with macaroni, but it was still good nonetheless and they top it with cheese and lemony zest that really makes the flavor pop even more.
Also can I just say-​the waitresses are frkn hot. and nice. but hot. ;)
You can park in any of the public parking garages to either side of it-​90 minutes free and then cheap thereafter.

Overall a decent place. We decided to come here Bc Misfit told us it was 1.5 hr wait for the 6 of us. When we walked in Taberna had no wait and they had a booth for the 6 of us available.
We decided to order some drinks and just share bunch of stuff. Their mixed drinks were just ok I thought. But i ended up getting a glass of their red wine (Tempranillo) and I loved it! Plus it was on their happy hour list so it was $ 4! Yay!
Honestly the food was just ok (solid 3 across). We ordered their buratta and mushrooms, brussel sprouts, flank steak fried rice, seafood paella, seafood stew, and their cheese/​meat platter (we chose 5 items). Everything was just ok and nothing really stood out to me.
The service was good. No complaints there.
I don’t really see myself coming back here…

Holy mother of mussels!!! That broth is boldly flavored and crazy addictive so definitely ask for a heaping pile of bread to dip in the goodness. Also had the paella valenciana which was awesome – but pouring that mussel broth on top of the paella puts in on ANOTHER LEVEL.
A definite winner in my book!
EDIT: Tried visiting again last Friday (7÷10÷15) at 7:30PM and they were closed! No note saying that they’re closed… confused???

my boyfriend and i wanted to have tapas tonight and decided to choose this place because they had a lot options on the happy hour menu for only $ 5! i was stuck between a beer or a sangria and the server pointed out that they had a beer sangria! it was pretty good but more on the sweet side.
we ordered:
fried artichokes: (⁵⁄₅) this is a must! each artichoke was perfectly battered and the sauce complimented the artichokes.
chili flank steak with pan fried rice: (⁴⁄₅) it was good enough to share for two and tasty too !
spicy potato skins: (⁴⁄₅) the skins were so good! i liked the undercooked skins and the best part are the fried peppers that are mixed in. a great appetizer to share!
paprika shrimp: (⁴⁄₅) i liked that the shrimp was a little undercooked and the spices and sauces
croquetas dias: (³⁄₅) lightly battered potato and chorizo balls were just okay. nothing really special about it.
morcilla pinxto: (²⁄₅) blood sausages with crispy bread was all about presentation but lacking on taste.
we over ordered because it was a good deal. i would only recommend this place during happy hour but not in a hurry to come back. keep in mind that only the special prices only applies in the bar section.

We went last night around 8pm. Food is eh. Nothing amazing. The servers/​service is impeccable, funny waiter.
We had the seafood paella which was eh. Apz where just ok. I would not come back I don’t think.

There seems to be a lot missing at this restaurant.
Here is my brutally honest review:
Let’s first focus on what’s going well.
The servers/​service is impeccable. Each employee checked in, made suggestions, knew the menu and truly went out of their way to satisfy.
Also the ambiance is not half bad.
As long as you’re willing to slouch in your chair when eating dinner.
Which I don’t appreciate much, but I’ll let that pass because the décor is pretty awesome.
Let’s now focus on why I give this restaurant 2 stars.
The two positives are listed above.
Cons:
The menu is all too. BLAND. Nothing pops out when reviewing tapas or dinner options.
For this reason we tried to order the most intricate of options.
The chili shrimp– tapa– 2 stars because the shrimp actually existed, except minus three stars for flavor and lack of proper cooking technique: half the shrimp were almost raw.
The ribeye steak– dinner entrée– 2 stars because the steak was far too fatty, and had little to any flavor except for a giant morsel of butter. Also, the squash was under cooked!
**I had a few bites that tasted okay until I bit into a giant raw piece.**
I mean in all fairness the food looked beautiful (5 stars for presentation), but WHAT IN THE WORLD IS GOING ON IN THE KITCHEN?
Sorry Unilocalers, but I do not plan on returning unless it’s for a drink in their beautiful bar.
Here’s to better eats and more importantly food cooked properly! xxx

This location is very close to Santa Monica Place mall and is in walking distance from the mall itself. I recommend that you park in the mall structure, since street parking can be very difficult on a weekend. The location is very easy to find.
For full resolution pictures and menu:
The vibe here is very romantic and is very suitable for date night since you can go to the pier or walk around the mall afterwards. The restaurant had only a few diners on a Saturday night so I was worried that the food was not great. However, our waiter was very friendly and gave us solid recommendations. The menu was very extensive ranging from tapas to complete dishes.
We opt for the burgundy sangria and the honey grapefruit sangria ($ 8 each). We were informed that they only had beer and wine. They did not have their license yet to serve hard liquor at the time of this review.
For tapas, we chose the Caramelized Onion Meatballs (3 pieces for $ 8) and the dates ($ 9 for 3 pieces). The meatballs were very forgettable and I did not like it. However, the dates were so amazing. The flavor of sweetness and depth was all there. However, for the price of both, I do not think it was worth it. The presentation of the dates was very memorable and scatter with flower petals.
We ordered the Seafood Paella which included prawns, crab, mussels, and calamari ($ 27). This took about 25 minutes to prepare. It was delicious and very well made. However, I thought there was not enough flavor/​spicy to it. I have had paella before and there was definitely some flavors missing.
The next dish was the best for the night. If I came back here, I will definitely get this dish: Chili Rubbed Grilled Rib Eye ($ 26). We got it medium done and all the flavors were there. The meat was melt in your mouth. It was very well prepared.
Overall: 3.5÷5
Deal Alert: Livingsocial is having a $ 35 for $ 60 deal to spend on food and drinks here.

BF was in town and we wanted something a little bit fancier than what we normally get. After a quick search on groupon we decided on Taberna Arros Y Vi. There was a garage that was free for 2 hours right across the street (a very important factor for me!)
We got:
Cauliflower Fritters– the most disappointing dish. I’ve had some amazing cauliflower before so I was super excited to see this on the menu. It was just oily and the sauce wasn’t anything special.
Paprika Shrimp– the shrimp was perfectly cooked and tender but the flavor was just average
Mussels– AMAZING! My BF who doesn’t even like seafood loved this as well. The sauce was just so good. I wish that they weren’t so stingy with bread (seriously, they know the sauce is amazing!) and the chorizo and blue cheese went perfectly.
Seafood Paella– truthfully, I don’t have much experience with paella so I don’t know how authentic this was. That being said, my BF and I enjoyed every bite of this dish and scraped the pan clean!
Service was excellent and our waiter didn’t even bat an eye when I asked to box up one single mussel (the sauce was just so good that I wanted to eat it with some homemade bread I had at home). The happy hour menu looks good and the groupon price was great!

Absolutely gorgeous, sexy, and romantic. Unfortunately, I came dateless and with a group party of 5 (long sigh from my peeps). Still nice. Dark, orange lights, copper bar, and animal horns. Well, the last I could do without, but the dim lighting so works.
Great start to the evening’s festivities was Estrella Damm beer. Damn! Very good. Wine and beer only, so be prepared for no tequila, vodka, or other cocktails.
1. Seafood Paella ($ 27, 4.0 stars) — 4 absolutely HUGE mussels, 4 medium shrimp, tons of small pieces of calamari, seasoned small bits of rice. Tasty, but I’ve had way better.
2. Chocolate Bread Pudding ($ 9, 4.0 stars) — white bread (not choc bread), with warm oozzles of chocolate syrup. A bit boring, actually. Add bananas, choc chips, raisens, something — for texture.
Wonderful service from the bartender and server. That’s what I’ll mostly remember. The food is good, not great. Bring a date.

The hubster is a good man. He not only adores me unconditionally, he also translates Spanish stuff at work. So natch, I had to thank him by taking him to eat Spanish tapas because, you know me, I love themes.
We were pleasantly surprised by this joint, and the Spanish hubster absolutely gives it two thumbs up. It’s a gorgeous wood and leather place with just the right amount of tables. My only beef were the weak drinks; tasty, don’t get me wrong, but not much alcohol in them to warrant a good dinner buzz.
Anyway, this place takes Spanish-​themed dishes and gives them a lovely California twist. I love the pig ears which were served in strips like french fries with aioli and chimichurri dips. Talk about addictive! I’m all about texture and this did it for me tenfold.
We also loved loved loved their version of octopus carpaccio which was more like a shaved octopus terrine with a tangy sauce and greens on top. And don’t listen to them when they say the paella is for one person. We eat A LOT and that seafood paella was enough for our collective big belleh.
In all, we ordered about 4 small plates and that paella, and it was puh-​lenty. And like I said, because the cocktails were so weak, I insisted on going somewhere afterwards for more drankin’. Since we were near the Promenade, it was easy to find a mellow spot.
We shall return with more Spanish friends because we know they’ll dig it here too.

Stopped in after drinking at Kings Head. It must have been their happy hour sign that drew the boyfriend and I in.
We got the citrus cherry sangria and a couple of different tapas to start: croquettas, tiny smelt boquerones and wagyu beef carpaccio (not on their happy hour menu).
All of them were amazing! I was actually blown away by the smelt and couldn’t stop chomping! Their citrus cherry sangria also tasted really good — it kind of reminded me of those spiked fruit punches I used to drink back in the day. Croquettas reminded me of my Spanish best friend’s grandmothers cooking. Ah Bita, I miss you!
Upon realizing that our glasses were still filled but our plates were empty, we went on and ordered the chili flank steak with pan fried rice, morcilla pinxto and another thing of the smelt boquerones.
Morcilla pinxto aka Blood sausage was surprisingly good. I have never had blood sausage til then so, I was happy to have discovered how it tasted. I wasn’t too impressed by the steak but, could care less. Everything else had been outstanding so far. Food, drinks and even the service was stellar!
If you’re in the area, you have to check out taverna, it’s very underrated but it’s so good! It could also get a little pricey but, I’m telling you, it’s definitely worth it. Parking building 6 is right beside it too!

Ótima comida, ambiente sensacional, preços um pouco salgados. Fomos bem atendidos, a comida demorou um pouco, mas estava bem gostosa. Da segunda vez que pedimos o prato de cogumelos a porção veio menor, ponto negativo. De resto tivemos uma boa noite.

Came here for a group dinner. The place was pretty empty. This restaurant is very easy to miss in the hustle and bustle of Santa Monica. However, worth a try!
We ordered an array of tapas, but the highlights for me include the:
1. Honey Grapefruit Sangria: girly drink, but man, is it tasty!
2. Croquettas: yummy!
3. Fava bean toast: Pretty good, not amazing
4. Chorizo: worth the order
5. Carpaccio: delicious, light
6. Paprika shrimp: delicious, great flavor
7. Cauliflower with aioli: Surprisingly good, they’re fried, which you’ve probably not had before
8. Crispy pig ear: unconventional; good attempt but definitely overfried, a little too hard
9. Shaved brussel sprout: not good… they said it was popular, but…
For entrees:
1. Mussels: from NZ, these were huge! Very well done with a nice creamy sauce. One of my favorite dishes
2. Mushroom: Another great dish, different types of mushrooms, flavorful
3. Ribeye: Tender, juicy
4. Paella: Not my favorite; very salty; I personally wouldn’t get this
5. Sea bass: Delicious fresh fish with scallops and clams on top; I just loved this dish. The only issue is it does come with the head and tail. Just a warning. :-)
Desserts
1. Flan: Pretty good, although I like asian-​made flan better (a more silky, rather than dull texture)
2. Bread pudding: Best dessert, paired perfectly with the ice cream
3. Cheesecake: Very interesting texture, but worth a try as the second best dessert after the bread pudding. It comes with I believe passionfruit.
4. Bocadillo: It’s basically a PBJ sandwich that you dip in chocolate; I didn’t like this dish
5. Pot de crème: A little too salty, also not my favorite
For me, there were hits and misses. Good service. I had to be a fat pig and try all this for you, so take heed, my friends! :-)