La Bodega Restaurante & Tapas Bar

I went to this place all the time when I lived in Vancouver! I went back every time we visited from New York! Robert and I had one of our first dates there and my best friend Audrey and I had so many wonderful nights drinking sangria and hanging out there! I was so sad to hear about it closing. Jose, the owner, was the kindest man and the tapas were THE best! Just as good as anywhere in Spain! Jose is Spanish and his tapas and sangria were authentic. The staff and service were always fantastic too! I do hope the rumors are true and it will be reopening. So sad to see it go!

I used to love this place, such good food, such good atmosphere. I can’t believe they closed their door and a condo is going to be there…
Such a same.

So sad to see this place go!
The cold sampler appetizer and sangria are to die for, and I’m so sad that I will not have the chance to explore more of their menu as this weekend will be their last.
Here’s hoping that the rumors I’ve heard are true, and a family member will open up a sister restaurant in the city sometime soon!

Ate here for our last dinner in Vancouver. Great ambience, very European feel inside. We had the croquettes special as well as the potatoes and the manchego. Everything was very tasty and perfectly flavored. Capped it off with the red sangria and we left full and satisfied. Would love to eat here again on my next trip to Vancouver.

La Bodega has been a Vancouver staple for years! The quality has remained amazing throughout the years unlike some places that kind of go downhill over the years. Not the case here. Each time I go, I’m glad I did.
As soon as you walk in it feels as if you’ve been transported to a tapas bar somewhere in Spain. And the place is huge! From the outside you would not expect how large it inside.
I’ve held many get togethers with family and friends, birthdays, etc. here. It is the perfect place for groups (delicious flavourful tapas, pitchers of sangria, big tables, lively atmosphere).
La Bodega gets a 5 in my books for the delicious food & fantastic ambience.
My favourite things to order are the patatas bravas (spicy potatoes), prawns in delicious butter galric sauce (make sure you order extra bread for dipping after!) and chorizo. And of course a pitcher of sangria!

La Bodega is a sensational experience from the moment you walk in till the moment you stumble out.
Incredibly authentic food that you can’t find often anymore. It captures the full essence of Spanish cuisine with array of exciting dishes to choose from.
There really isn’t anything you can’t enjoy here this place literally has a dish for everyone to fall in love with.
My personal favorites would have to be:
* Mejillones Picantes-​even if you’re not a mussel fan (like me) these will blow your mind with flavor. They’re incredibly fresh and capture the entire flavor pallet
* Patatas Bravas– these delicious little Potatoes are packed full of zesty flavor and a crispy texture to keep them nice and crunchy.
* Calamares– Such an awesome started, they’re perfectly crispy and soft on the inside, exactly how you think calamari should be.
Next time you go to La Bodega be sure to try these if you haven’t already
and make sure you get a pitcher of the red wine sangria… and take a cab home after doing so.
Lastly the service of this place is impeccable, a true testament of what their family stood for.

Very Spanish setting visible in tile work and wrought iron décor that reminded me of Barcelona. Servers were really cordial and spoke Spanish for a more authentic feel. I tried Sangria, Gambas al Ajillo, patatas bravas, and pallea de casa. On a scale of 5 I would rate these: 5, 4, 3, 3 respectively. I would definitely go back for some of those garlic shrimps and tasty sangria. They also had some non-​alcoholic version of sangria if you prefer. I did not have any issues with Parking. I went on a Sunday around 6PM and there was enough street parking available right outside the restaurant.

I had a fabulous time here last night with a large party of people. The wine list was authentically Spanish and reasonably priced. We had an excellent waitress who managed our entire table with ease. And the food was absolutely wonderful. I left full, but not so stuffed I felt heavy or gutted.
Some stand out dishes were the short ribs (pull apart soft and boneless, doused in a delicious gravy-​like sauce), the artichoke hearts (pan-​fried with dried chorizo that were rendered and crispy, much like I’d use bacon), the sauteed squid (with garlic, white wine and just the right amount of spice), and the ensalada bodega (potato salad but bumped up to be something really special with fresh peas and tuna).
There are also some well prepared curiosities on the menu that our table ordered. There is a braised rabbit dish on the menu, as well as beef tongue and chicken livers. All of them were devoured in short order.
In short, it was a great place to try a spread of delicious food in a neat location. The atmosphere created by the décor and layout was light and transports you outside of the Vancouver rain. We had a little Don Quixote print watching out over us as we sipped our La Mancha wine. Highly recommended!

As Ramon V. says, this place has certainly stood the rest of time… I’ve been going here for birthdays and group gatherings since university and honestly, I can’t recall a visit where I didn’t have a good time!
Share-​plates are a fun way to dine together. Our staple basics are the patatas bravas, meatballs, calamari, garlic prawns, chorizo and Spanish seafood rice. For a bigger group, be sure to order multiples. Then sprinkle in a few more adventurous dishes to pass around – everybody’s happy. The food is not going to blow your mind but you will leave satisfied. Don’t forget to order a pitcher of sangria immediately upon sitting down!
The wine is quite affordable as well and perhaps on a future visit, I’ll stray away from sangria to give it a try. The servers are accustomed to big groups and our server did a wonderful job last night, engaging the group and clearing plates. Yes, the décor isn’t anything slick but it’s the sort of place just to enjoy some food, drinks and a laugh.

La Bodega has stood the test of time, surviving over fourty years, weathering a slew of changes in that neighbourhood.
I fell in love with it in the 90s, enjoying several birthday parties, going-​aways, stag dinners and all other types of events in between over the years.
Consistency has been one of the main reasons I find this place desirable. I’m pretty sure that the patatas bravas, pollo frito, ensaladilla bodega, and many many other menu items are prepared in exactly the same as they were many decades ago.
Over time, I suppose this consistency has worked well for them.
Prices, however have risen noticeably over just the past couple of years, and sometimes I just want something interesting and different on the menu, as well as the drinks (beer) list.
Good for them on holding down the fort on the corner of Hornby and Drake for so long.

Excellent sangria. Somewhat dated décor but still tasty tapas. This time they crisped up our paella quite nicely. Service was good and rice pudding for desert was flavorful.

A friend suggested we go here and my response was ‘I thought they closed because the building was being torn down?’. To my delight I was was wrong. We went and were surprised to not find a line up out the door on a Thursday night. Seriously though La Bodega has endured in Vancouver’s highly competitive restaurant industry because it is unique, and the quality of the food is consistent. They offer up all my Spanish tapas favourites including patatas bravas, inkie squid, clams with wine and garlic, cerviche, and potato salad all washed down with a big jug of sangria. Keep in mind that the menu here is unpretentious and so are the prices. So if you like red and white checkered table cloths, quick service, and dark ambiance check it out.

I do like their Sangria… but other than that, meh. The chicken liver was not bad, but their paella was just too salty. Be aware with what you order because the portions are small and pricy so you may end up with a $$$ bill. not a happy experience…

I don’t understand why people come to this place?
The whole restaurant is very dated… smells funny and is dark.
Bread shows up cold from a bag and with little packets of butter? Not classy.
You sorta cut thru the kitchen to access the back half of the place, the restrooms are small and dark.
Food seems like it hasn’t changed in 10 years… and really 25 $ for a pitcher of sangria.
Ask if anything is gluten free and you feel like the waitress is just nodding her head.

I am so dissappointed. I really wanted to love this place because the atmosphere is SO cozy and I feel like I’ve been transported to Spain just by being inside! I feel like the ingredients were not fresh at all. The chicken liver dish tasted like something from costco. The pilaf dish was very bland and too greasy. The fish was just OK, again tastes like something from costco. not fresh. The potatoes with gravy were really good though.
Also their cake of the day (Saint Honore) and custard were above average but nothing memorable. The cake was very fluffy, light and not sugary.
Oh, and everyone except for us ordered the huge jug of lemon tea. When I asked the lady what kind of alcoholic beverages she had she did not mention the lemon tea! :(and ended up ordering this mediocre cranberry juice that tastes like something from a supermarket.
I don’t think it was really worth the 60 dollars, but I would give them another try again because the service here is outstanding.

I have to agree with Lisa Marie’s review of the place. I was pretty enthusiastic to eat here since I love Spanish food but I left feeling a bit let down and my wallet felt substantially lighter. I was, for the first time, fooled by Unilocal reviews. ha
For the record, my husband is South American and has spent time in Spain so I trust his judgement on this kind of food. He was not at all impressed by the «Sangria» but I thought it was alright. I was a bit surprised that half a pitcher was over $ 14.
Hubby ordered the tongue and we both enjoyed that. I ordered paella, and while it was tasty, the portion was TINY for the price (around $ 12). Half of my shell fish didn’t have anything in their shells! I felt ripped off.
We still felt hungry after these two dishes so we ordered the chorizo. My husband LOVES chorizo but this tasted more like a kielbasa from costco that was reheated on a grill.
The service was actually great and the restaurant is nicely decorated, if a bit dated. The tiny bathroom was clean so that is a plus. Still, I would probably not go back as I feel that there is better bang for your buck at a lot of other places nearby. In fact, we almost stopped somewhere else to have more food since we were still a bit on the hungry side. Hubby’s verdict… not very authentic, but it was OK. I feel the same but I was a bit grouchy to have paid over $ 50 to leave a restaurant still hungry.

After the last time we visited (which was so awesome)
This time was a bit of a let down —
Not the service, she was great, but the food itself–
Pros —
–The Sangria, this is the first time it was really really good. Too bad I only ordered half a pitcher
–The waitress was attentive, food came super fast
–Potatoes that came with the beef were delightful
Cons–
–Bread was served cold with the butter in little round peel containers like you find at Tim Horton. We asked for bread to be warmed — it didn’t seem any hotter & they should class up the butter by serving it in a dish
–Artichoke salad — sooooo small
–Beef skewers — Way Way too tough
Like chewing on some leather cubes
–Garlic Prawns had no flavor, they were «petite» And the garlic seemed burnt
–Chorizo, which is my favorite also had no taste; (
We ordered the paella– it was bland, had very little meat– 2 tiny clams, 2 tiny mussels, 2 tiny prawns, 2 mini chicken drumettes, to be fair, it is a tapas but the quality left much to be desired.
Such a let down. I doubt I will return.

* 2.5 stars *
I read all the previous reviews about poor service and mediochre food, and set my expectations low for my meetup event that took place here. We were nearly 40 people and seated at two long tables upstairs. We had one server for all of us who was also taking care of other tables. I found it surprising there wasn’t someone to assist her with things like filling up water glasses and bussing empty plates away. She was, however, pleasant and provided good service. We were a super friendly group, so maybe that helped, but unlike other reviewers, I can’t say the service here was anything short of good. Especially considering we were such a large group.
I have been to so many Spanish tapas restaurants, and always appreciate the ones that offer some unique choices on their menus or do something a little special/​different with the typical options. I was hoping for the same from La Bodega. After all, they had some interesting items on their menu including lengua (beef tongue), tripe, and anticucho (heart). I’ll be trying some of these items in the future. They were unfortunately out of the lengua when I dined here, and since we were sharing dishes, we opted for some more «normal» foods that appealed to many palates.
We shared the following dishes:
Calamari — Okay, but on the dry side. Interesting dipping sauce, just needed a little more zest/​flavor. I have had so much better calamari at most places.
Patatas Bravas — Really disappointing. So much better at most every other tapas place I’ve been to. The «zesty» sauce they supposedly are covered with drown out the potatoes which end up having a mushy texture — completely unlike any patatas bravas I’ve ever had.
Gambas Al Ajillo — Shrimp in garlic oil. Always one of my favorites. Here they were pretty good, but the dish could have used just a bit more flavoring in the garlic oil. It barely tasted of garlic, and seemed to need some salt and spice. Also, I would have loved for it to come with some bread to soak up the oil afterwards.
Pimiento Relleno — Stuffed Peppers with rice, pork, and spices. I think they left out the spices. I was so looking forward to this, but it turned into a soft, stew-​like mess once you cut into it. The rice and pork were just so saturated and bland. :(
Tapa de Paella — Miniature paella plate with rice and chicken, mussels, clams, shrimp, sausage. This was good.
Champinones Salteados — Mushrooms in garlic oil. These were great. We had a couple of these plates.
We also shared a pitcher of sangria. Quite tasty, but really weak on the alcohol as many other reviewers have noted. We didn’t bother with a second pitcher and switched to wine/​beer instead.
I would like to come back here and try the place again, but am in no rush. The thing about it is… if I order some of the more unique and authentic dishes, can I expect them to be great when the typical and standard fare was nothing special?
At about $ 40/​person, I’d say it’s a pretty good deal considering we had desserts and alcohol as well. And since service was good, I would give them a second chance knowing that there’s plenty else on the menu I’d like to try. I will try to come on a weeknight — perhaps when the place isn’t so packed, the kitchen can produce better tasting food.

Traditionally set in a quaint Mediterranean ambience, La Bodega offers an authentic Spanish tapas experience — perfect for breaking bread and sharing Sangria with family and friends. It’s a one-​of-​a-​kind ‘mom and pop’ style spot nestled on Howe and Drake in the downtown core. Super reasonable with well-​portioned tapas!
Last night, four of us dined to a delicious array of tapas, some were fantastic, others alright. We ordered 1.5 pitchers of Sangria and 8 dishes (based on my recommendation) and it was WAY too much food! We took home 3 boxes. Average was $ 40/​person including tax + gratituty — super reasonable for everything we had, plus the experience. Starting with my favs:
— Champinones Salteados: fresh mushrooms sauteed in garlic oil — Highly Recommend!
— Conejo Riojana: rabbit in tomato + wine sauce — succulent flavours, melt off the bone delicious! Recommend!
— Chorizo Casero: delicious when complimented with bread
— Braised boneless beef short ribs with Patatas Bravas — tender + good texture, but more flavour would have been nice
— Montataditos de cerdo: Grilled pork loin with Patatas Bravas — flavourful, moderately dry
As for the Sangria, when I last visited 2 years back, I would have told you they made The Best Sangria in the City … but this time ’round, it was just good — not highly notable like the last time. I agree with Mark H on this one. As for service, servers were kind, but very inattentive. 3.5 out of 5.
What‘s more:
— Recommend 6 tapas for 4 people (not including soups/​salads)
— Signatures: Patatas Bravas, Garlic Prawns and Sangria
— Free parking around the back
— It’s a 40-​year old family run business

You should be the cool person to recommend this place to your friends. I love it when a friend introduces me to an amazing place. La Bodega is the most recent of many for me.
We met on a late Saturday afternoon to snack and drink. The tapas can easily provide a snack or meal. The garlic prawns are we had, and should not be missed. As other have mentioned, the sangria is a must-​have.
The atmosphere is casual and fun. It’s very laid back and pleasant.