Michelle N.
Yelp
I didn't even know we had a Spanish Tapas restaurant until one of our friends asked us to go for his birthday dinner! I'm a huge fan of sharing several plates, so this was right up my alley.
- PARKING-
Costa Brava is right on Garnet Ave, one of Pacific Beach's main streets. This means it may get difficult finding parking on weekends, and even busy meal times on weekdays! They have a sign to not park across the street in the shopping plaza as you may get towed!
- SERVICE/ENVIRONMENT -
I made a reservation for 4 at 6pm on a Saturday evening through Yelp Reservations. Good thing I did, as the restaurant became increasingly busier as the night went on! The outside is very unassuming, but once you walk in, you are opened into a bustling yet cozy environment. They have tables in the outdoor back patio, but we were seated in the middle of the indoor/outdoor arrangements. Service is extremely welcoming - I personally felt like family throughout the entire meal service! As the restaurant got busier towards the end of our dinner, we did find it hard to get a hold of our waiter. Understandably, it seemed like they were running back and forth to help out several tables at once - he also wanted to ensure we got our birthday dessert before handing us our check.
- FOOD -
There's so many tapas to choose from, but with limited stomach space, we decided on the following:
Patatas a la Brava ($7.75): Absolutely the favorite of the night! Crispy, crunchy exterior, but fluffy potato interior. The Spicy aioli was so good - we kept on dipping the potatoes and our bread back into the sauce!
Gambas al Ajillo ($11.95): Shrimp in a Garlic Oil sauce, nothing too crazy about the Shrimp, but we really enjoyed the Garlic Oil! Again, kept dipping the bread back into it!
Pulpo a la Gallega ($14.95): This came as a recommendation from our waiter, and we were so glad we ordered it! The octopus was so tender, no chew at all! The sauce again was absolutely delicious!
Tapa de Conejo ($17.50): I was expecting the rabbit to be more game-y tasting, but it didn't have that funk at all. Fell off the bone fairly easily as well.
Tapa de Rabo de Toro ($17.50): I personally liked this Oxtail more than the rabbit, as the meat was more tender and the flavor was more to my liking. It reminded us of Beef Bourguignon.
Champinones al Ajillo ($8.25): Usually Mushrooms are solid, but there wasn't much flavor in this dish compared to the others. Maybe if we hadn't eaten all the other tapas, this would have been fine, but in comparison, this was our least favorite.
Croquetas de Jamon (4pc - $9.50): Crispy exterior, nice and flavorful interior! I think this was my second favorite tapas of the night.
Paella Mixta ($27.50/pp): We wanted to have many tapas but still try the Paella out, so we opted for a 2 person serving (which is also the minimum). This was the perfect portion for the 4 of us including the other tapas we ate. Good amount of seafood and protein too! I do think the rice could have had more flavoring.
Flan ($9.00): This was our friend's birthday dessert that they brought out with a candle. This flan is more solid/structured than custard-y! Delicous flavor and we appreciated the gesture.
- OVERALL -
A wonderful first time experience having Spanish Tapas in San Diego. I will absolutely come back to try out more of the tapas we didn't get to this time, and look forward to the welcoming environment again.