La Tasca

While walking around Cardiff city centre, we ran across this place nested inbetween a lot of other restaurants and bars.
This place was definitely the go to place if you want small plates (tapas) that are fresh, creative, and tasty.
Also it’s hard to find Spanish or Mexican places to eat at — they don’t exist in the UK.
So this place was a welcome relief after eating chips (french fries) all week in all meals all over the country…
Great selection of world wide wines and bottled waters to choose from.
Loved their salads, meat (Charcuterie) plates, many different olives, and great bread!
Perfect place to go when your legs get tired and need a break walking around bustling Cardiff.

Love this place in the brewery quarter in Cardiff, sat many a weekend drinking wine and relaxing in the sun utter bliss, if your near by you must try La Tasca

Food and service here was very good. Had the Olives with Stones, drinks and Paella for 2. The Paella was very good, but lacked a little something. It wasn’t quite able to equal the 5 star Paella that we’re used to back home at Valani Social here in Philadelphia.

I must admit, we didn’t realise that the card was only available for tapas as we’d found La Tasca through mobile browsing and we couldn’t access the T & Cs. However, we did mention the Tastecard on arrival and were not informed that we could only use the card for tapas.
Either way, several things were not available on the menu, with no options for alternatives, the olives are awful. They must soak them in lemon oil, but it doesn’t really compliment them. The calamari tasted just odd, like it had been fried it oil flavour with some other kind of food, maybe cheese. Finally, the paella was very basic, it was more like risotto, every piece of chicken was gristly and we hardly ate any of it.
The staff we rude and argumentative, it was a horrible experience and I will never, ever return. I will be making a formal complaint, but I sincerely hope they do not give me vouchers to return.
Yuck!

A bit hit and miss is La Tasca, although signing up to their newsletter does provide a supply of discounts (50% off tapas to share, the fabled all you can eat for £10). As another reviewer noted, you’re much more likely to get efficient service and the food/​wine you ordered at a quiet time.
Last Friday it was packed when we arrived at 9pm but we were given a nice table upstairs. The waiter was a bit distracted and brought us the wrong wine and one wrong dish. The bread wasn’t as specified and neither was the jambon and pear salad (ham and apple, anyone?). But I was drunk so didn’t really mind. Food is generally very acceptable and waiting staff a bit more focused other times I’ve been there.
Would never pay the full price — most tapas are small and cost around £4 — but with a voucher it’s a relatively cheap, fun and casual eatery.

This tapas restaurant is situated in the fancy Brewery Quarter amongst a competitive battleground of other eating establishments.
The problem with tapas, as my boyfriend tells me, is that you have to share and you don’t get very much, you really have to buy about 6 or more between two to create a substantial meal which can get quite pricey. However, they can do specials such as a £20 feast for two, which has been an offer they have had in the past.
I really like having a meal full of different foods, I’m a person who likes variety so La Tasca suits me down to the ground. I’m happy to have lots of small dishes so that I can sample different foods in the same sitting.
The food is of great quality in this restaurant, the atmosphere is rather warm, very Spanishy, as you would expect really. Just need to drag my boyfriend here a lot more.

Set in the trendy, re-​developed brewery quarter at the heart of central Cardiff, La Tasca is one of the only place to do good tapas around town. With the warm mahogany and deep red exterior, La Tasca presents itself as a welcoming and friendly setting to have either lunch or an evening meal. Inside, it’s quite atmospheric and ambient, with the casual yet stylish and sophisticated restaurant providing a great location for couples, friends and family.
I have heard people complain about the small portions, but seemingly they’re ignorant to the fact that small ‘taster’ size dishes are the very principle of which tapas is built upon. In this respect, my only advice to those less familiar with tapas would be that you shouldn’t expect to come out of here stuffed, unless of course you spent a vast amount of money. The dishes themselves are deliciously prepared and taste great. With a whole host of dishes available, the world of tapas lets you explore many new flavours. It isn’t cheap, but it’s a fun experience nevertheless.

For tapas, I often head to Pica Pica on Westgate Street rather than this La Tasca, yet there is something very appealing about the location of this particular branch — and they do sometimes offer good promotional deals on their meals.
I like the décor in La Tasca, and despite it being a chain I think they’ve pulled it off really well, creating a charming and comfortable environment. Most of the food is pretty good, but you need a fair few plates to feel full. The sangria is also very drinkable — a bit too drinkable, perhaps! I wouldn’t say this branch is very consistent, though — sometimes I’ve enjoyed everything they’ve brought to the table, and other times I’ve been a bit disappointed — plus the staff here can be quite aloof at times, which is irritating.
(One other thing: I don’t know if they still do the ‘All you can eat’ buffet for groups, which costs about £10−15 a head — they may have changed the menu since I last ate there, but if not, don’t fall for the trap! It might sound like a bargain, but when the limited selection of dishes arrive you’ll find you’re faced with a table of beige food, whether it’s battered or breaded or whatever else, and it basically looks like something out of an Iceland advert. I’d rather pay more and stick with the normal menu.)

Love it or hate it, La Tasca is at least a change from the masses of Italian’s and Oriental restaurants in town.
Personally I think the food’s gone down hill over the last few years, and i’m still never totally satisfied with the women sized portions. I know the idea is to order lots of different plates, but however many we get i’m still hungry.
Food is a mixed bag, some is delicious, some really disappointing. The service is quite average and when it’s busy, as it always is at the weekends, you can feel a little bit rushed.
The atmosphere is good though, and almost always makes me want to get my Salsa shoes on. They also do a pretty mean Margerita.

It was OK; nothing special. Went with a group of around 10 people and our table wasn’t ready (though booked in advance). we had to wait downstairs for quite a while until it eventually got sorted. The staff were very pleasant but no one went out of their way to make sure we were OK and there wasn’t really an apology for the mix up.
The food was allright, though a bit too salty for my taste. We had a money off voucher that caused a little bit of a delay in paying the bill, but got sorted out after a little too-​ing and fro-​ing!
There is a warm atmosphere in La Tasca and lots of people seem to like it, so it’s usually quite lively. And there is a great big chandelier hanging over the stairs. But, sadly, it’s not on my list of places to go to eat good food and i probably won’t go back.