Jordan C.
Yelp
My mom and I came here on a Saturday night for a nice dinner on our way home from Williamsburg. Mas Tapas has been in Charlottesville for a while and is very highly regarded. The menu consists of tapas and Spanish styled food. You can order the food in a tapas size or a racion size, which is double the size of the tapa serving. We ended up splitting a variety of tapa dishes and left comfortably full. The interior is fun with an abstract flair to it. The service was busy, could have been more attentive. We didn't have a reservation and were lucky to get one of the last spots available at the bar. We both enjoyed eating at the bar and it allowed us to see them preparing all the dishes!
We ordered several things at once and they came freshly prepared and were served straight from the chefs. They were also spaced out nicely, we didn't receive everything at once but we didn't have to wait too long in between the tapas either. The jamon y queso came first which was a plate with ample amounts of jamon serrano reserva and manchego cheese. You can never go wrong with high quality meat and cheese, and this certainly didn't disappoint! The meat was similar to a prosciutto and paired magically with the sharp manchego cheese. The ensalada lechuga came next and it included baby lettuces, toasted pine nuts, sultanas, manchego cheese, and a mango vinaigrette. The salad was simple and light, but had great flavor, especially from the tangy mango dressing. After the salad, the coliflor arrived. It was cauliflower roasted with coconut milk, ginger, turmeric, and grey salt. Probably some of the most flavorful cauliflower we've ever eaten. The turmeric was delightful and added a complexity to an otherwise boring vegetable. The aueso y alcachofa and papas bravas arrived next. Both these dishes were absolutely amazing. The potatoes were cooked to perfection, with slightly crisp skins and a soft, fluffy interior. They were roasted with harissa and herbs, topped with a garlic aioli. The harissa added a slight spiciness to them and the creamy garlic aioli complimented the heat very well. Highly, highly recommend. The queso y alcachofa plate was a spinach artichoke like dip with roasted artichoke hearts, sweet onions, garlic, herbs, and goat cheese, served with their house made bread. This was outstanding! The goat cheese elevated the flavor of the artichokes so much and added some tang to it. The bread was heavenly and was perfect for serving the dip on. We decided to order a couple more items, included the lamburgeusa and the carne asada. The lamburguesa was a lamb and beef slider with feta, salsa especial, baby lettuces, served on a brioche roll with pickled veggies. The was a super flavorful slider and the brioche bun was downright amazing. The feta cheese was strong, but complimented the flavorful meat and sweetness of the bun. Last was the carne asada, arguably the most impressive tapa we had! The carne asada was grilled extremely rare to perfection, served with a duck fat tortilla topped with a herbaceous mojo verde sauce. Words cannot do justice for how perfectly cooked this steak was and just how much flavor it had. It was tender, with a nice char. The sauce overtop of it only amplified the flavor of the steak. We did end up ordering their chocolate sangria torte. It was essentially a flourless chocolate torte with a sangria flavor to it. The sangria was subtle, but present, and the raspberry coulee worked nicely with the richness of the chocolate. A great way to finish our amazing dinner!
All in all, we left full, very impressed, and more than satisfied! Everything we ordered had immense, unique, bold flavors that left us wowed. Each dish was different from the next and portioned perfectly. You can tell they really prioritize using high quality ingredients and it reflects in the flavors of the food. The restaurant has a cool vibe to it with pops of color and abstract art. While the service could have been more attentive, it wasn't poor. We will definitely be returning to Mas Tapas if we are in the are again and look forward to trying more of their eclectic tapas!