Ceviche Tapas Bar & Restaurant

Reviews 5

JI

Jill inWC

My mom and I went to Ceviche for Tapas Tuesday and a few cocktails. We were seated but then ignored completely for 20 minutes! I went up to the hostess stand to let them know and they nodded. But no one came over. So I went back up to them AGAIN.This time several servers and the hostesses were hanging out there and in a few minutes a waiter came up to the table. He put some bread down that we SAW him take from another table (their leftover bread) and explained to us that the waiter who had our table was not there yet so no one was assigned to us. He elaborated for quite a while, no apologies, no sense of urgency. He seemed irritated that we were there. He got a drink for us( they do not have any white zin or other blush wine. "Its not Spanish", we were told! ) and then left again. He returned quite some time later.He never explained the menu, told us the specials, offered any conversation at all. He wrote nothing down either. After a LOOOOOONG time he came back with only 3 of our 5 tapas. Then he left before we could inquire about the others. So we figured the food was coming in shifts. WRONG! He forgot! He said, "ok, I will see that your others are cooking. It will be awhile". The food was mediocre at best and the chicken was so late that we finished all the other food before he came back to check on us. We cancelled that chicken.The hostesses glared at us as we were obviously perturbed at the service. But no one came over to address the problems. My mom finally went to a manager who was now hanging out with the servers at the hostess station. He made NO APOLOGIES, made NO offer to fix the problem. He shrugged! We watched as people who came in long after us were greeted happily, served quickly, and had a seemingly great experience. We did not. But what bothered us the most was that NO ONE, not even MANAGEMENT, made ANY attempt to remedy the situation! Instead, they let two patrons walk out the door unhappy and still hungry. We will NEVER return! BTW..they still left the chicken, that we did NOT EVEN RECEIVE, on the bill, and it took another HALF HOUR, to get that corrected!! Even much less expensive restaurants would have at least attempted to fix this situation. But Ceviche seemed like they wanted to blame US for the situation. Excellent decor and location will NOT help this kind of TERRIBLE SERVICE!

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SH

Shirley Ann Stroud

This is the second time I go to Ceviche. The first time I had an awful experience where the waiter forgot about us and never brought us our food. When he did, he only brought us the rice and no meat. I went this past Saturday with a group of my friends to give it a second chance. I went with an open mind as last time could have just been a human error. However, as soon as we sat our server had an awful attitude. One of my friends described having that server last time she was there and he had an attitude as well. He spoke to us in a sarcastic and condescending tone and even walked away from us in the middle of us ordering. We were talking to him and asking questions when he proceeded to say we "were not ready" and left. We did not appreciate his attitude as we were cordial and never sought to offend him. We just wanted our food and drinks! The food was okay, not all of it was brought at the same time. When we asked for the rest of our food our server said "Well, uh, they have to BAKE IT!" all he was missing was the "duh" after it. The only reason I gave it two stars is because the food was okay and the environment is nice for a girls night out (excluding the server of course). At the end of our meal one of us went up to the manager and explained our experience. He was very apologetic to my friend. However, he did not do anything to try to right the wrong and never physically came to our table to apologize to the rest of us. We were not seeking "freebies" and were there on the intent of having a nice evening, but when a customer is unsatisfied, you guys should do something. Anyway, I am personally not ever going back. I prefer to give my money to Chick Fil A than to a "top restaurant" that does not train their staff in customer service.

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A

A Private User

Elegant restaurant with Spanish tapas. The portion sizes are small-medium (perhaps "normal" when you consider the average American portion size) and a dinner for two can run anywhere from $35-$70 dollars (that would probably include a wine, several tapas, and a dessert). They actually have their entire menu and the prices located on their website. Some of the tapas, like the beans and chorizo, are really cheap ($3 and DELICIOUS) with HUGE portions, while others will be a small bit of meat with some mushrooms and be a little pricier, for example. They serve paella in addition to cold and hot tapas (which is how the menu is divided). They also have a bar, and valé parking. The idea is to order several tapas, share, and have a little bit of everything. Its a nice, upscale restaurant with upscale prices, and the perfect place for a romantic dinner. The restaurant is located on the first floor of a nice multi-million dollar condo building and a little bit tricky to find because its not facing Bayshore Blvd, but rather, located on the back side (you have to turn onto Howard to see it). Superb food, service, and selection. The best Tampa has to offer! A friend visited the St. Pete location and said it was not as good due to "cheesy" Flamenco dancing.

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AR

Armando Padron-Cruz

One goes to Ceviche for the ambiance, the music, and small plates of food and cocktails. The place is rather inviting, with burners outside, foliage to mask out the drone of cars and SOHO outside its premises, and intimate lighting. While some drinks may come a little watered down, ask for something straight or, mixed with no ice. The food is still delicious, but tastes must be certain before ordering. Its not the place to be adventurous. Go for what you know you like. Now, the most impressive feature, is Ceviches music. Flamengo guitarist and a Spanish band take their post on Friday night and fire away a steady, never-ending musical triumph unlike anything you may have ever seen. Most would agree this place is somewhere to go be entertained than satisfy cravings or hunger pains. Do try the Ceviche however, as it will bring you delight. Suggestions from the menu: Ceviche de Gambas (shrimp), Tablamixta, Chorizo y Pimientos, Albondigas, Paella de Puerco/Pollo (Chicken or Pork Paella)

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CH

Chris Brower

This place used to be THE place to eat, but now its just gotten bad. - Service has gotten continually worse and worse (sometimes, its like an hour wait to get your bill. You can see this in review below as well) - Food is now hit & miss. Sometimes awesome. Sometimes microwaved - The tables are practically on top of one another. You can literally lean left and be hugging somebody else. - They still only have two bathrooms for each gender. Its always awesome to get in the bathroom, and then have a drunk individual banging on the door concerning their inability to wait. For a restaurant of this size, there should be more restrooms. its just common sense In short, the food used to make up for everything, but now it has just gotten so hit & miss that the other negative points make it not worth it anymore :-(

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