Bodega Bar & Tapas Bowness Reviews Summary

Food Quality

Pros:

• "Excellent quality, delicious food."
• "All the dishes were delicious and good portions."
• "The food was delightful and very generously portioned."
• "Food was lovely and all homemade, and every dish was hot and tasty."
• "Food was so nice, and all staff were lovely too!"
• "Everything we had was really good food wise."
• "Had 6 dishes between 2 of us and was some of the best tapas we've had in a long time."

Cons:

• "The tapas was ok, it tasted like ready made meals from Iceland."
• "Would avoid for food, poor quality of tapas especially considering the steep prices for the small quantities."
• "The food had very little flavor."
• "Food was mediocre at best, definitely not fresh."
• "The food is nothing special."
• "Everything was bland and had a weird off taste about it, go here for drinks leave out the food."
• "The food was very disappointing. The patatas bravas was clearly frozen potato cubes with pasata poured on."

Service

Pros:

• "Came in for a drink only and the bar man was great. Clearly under pressure as the only staff member downstairs but he was so pleasant and had a fun sense of humour."
• "Lovely staff, great atmosphere and decor was lovely."
• "Staff were all friendly."
• "Staff were Spanish and friendly and willing to spend time with you."
• "Staff were very nice, happy to chat and had time to explain the dishes."
• "Staff were friendly and efficient."
• "The staff are always very friendly and evenings can be a lively time."

Cons:

• "I would never recommend this restaurant to anyone....I am surprised they are in business.... the service was unacceptable."
• "Appalling telephone manner when enquiring did we need to book."
• "Food was extremely good. But the service did let it down unfortunately."
• "Staff are unfriendly, no one come to take the order, have to walk to the bar to ask."
• "However upon arrival we were greeted by a very miserable female bartender who frankly had dampened the experience entirely."
• "Very hostile and even stopped us drinking after the wine debacle."
• "Service was awful with staff just staring at you."

Atmosphere

Pros:

• "Nice cocktail bar and Tapas, good place for drink and dine."
• "This is a must visit if you’re in Bowness."
• "Once you are inside, it is like being in Spain for a short time."
• "Love this place...an oasis in the middle of a busy tourist spot."
• "The building itself and atmosphere is lovely and has great potential."
• "Lovely atmosphere and welcoming environment."
• "The atmosphere was authentic, the staff were really friendly and the food & drink were excellent."

Cons:

• "Do yourself a favor and steer well clear or this tourist trap."
• "Steer clear of this restaurant and bar if you want to enjoy a decent holiday."
• "We felt incredibly unwelcome and uncomfortable so we go up, left and decided to go elsewhere."
• "Not as friendly as the last time I came to Bowness."
• "To call this place a traditional tapas restaurant is not only an insult to anything Spanish but an insult to anyone with more then one tastebud."
• "I’ve come here for my birthday drinks to be served by some of the rudest people."
• "Wouldn’t bother going again."

Value

Pros:

• "Very reasonably priced, less than £30 for 4 dishes and 2 drinks (inc 1 G&T)."
• "Excellent value, a substantial meal for two hungry people was just over £40."
• "Menu is excellent and surprisingly cheap white rioja."
• "I guessed the bill to be around £65 and was amazed that it came in at just over £55 with 7 dishes and a bottle of wine."
• "Good value for money as well."
• "When we got the bill I was pleasantly surprised was expecting it to be more expensive but was very pleased."
• "The menu was fantastic and a good price, we nearly had to call a cab to get back to the hotel because we ate so much."

Cons:

• "Tapas were expensive, even compared to London, and very poor quality."
• "The portions are fairly small for the price."
• "Didn’t seem much value for the £45 we spent on the food alone."
• "Food was okay. Portions were quite small and not worth the money we paid and not filling plus more over quite tasteless."
• "My only criticism would be the sangria - very pricey for what tasted like flavoured water, I would never have that again, didn't taste any alcohol at all, not at all worth paying a lot for."
• "Waited for an hour an half and still no table."
• "Doesn’t even deserve 1 star. Food has gone down massively over the years."