1492 Tapas Bar

Food here is okay.
Stale, rock hard bread.
Service here is terrible. As soon as the waiter realized that we won’t be spending hundreds of mullah on wine, he made this puckered up, nose in the sky face. REALLY? I understand drinks raises the tab and that’s good for the business and economy overall. This is sooooo not good for your tip.
My husband used to live literally three blocks from here so we walked here one evening because we love love tapas. We never went back again. We would walk further down on to LaSalle St. to Café Iberico.

I love me some tapas and 1492 was my first introduction to them when I moved here a handful of years ago, so it felt fitting that I revisit.
While I have to say I’ve experienced better tapas (Mercat, Tapas Valencia) since then, 1492 was just as I remembered. They have a great atmosphere, crazy varied and huge menu, and great drinks. We ordered around 13 or 14 tapas for our party of 4 and kept the sangria flowing. Everything was piping hot that was supposed to be and my favorites were the Bacon wrapped dates, delicious as always, the goat cheese stuffed balls, and the chocolate cake. The wait staff was attentive and helpful, always making fabulous suggestions (PS — it’s crazy impressive to watch them carry all the food downstairs from the 2^nd floor kitchen).
Now here’s my beef… most of the tapas we ordered came in sets of three. When you’re eating with a party of four, that’s just plain annoying. I’m not sure why they do that, or why they don’t just make four if they know the party is of four people. It’s just awkward. That would be my complaint and why I probably wouldn’t rush back over another tapas place. But if you’re looking for good food and service, this is a great place to go.

The food here wad delicious, no question.
However, the service experience was sufficiently unfortunate such that we will probably never return.
For our 8:00PM rez, we were seated on the 3^rd floor, which was fine, it was nice and quiet, only one other couple was seated up there. However, our server decided to have us sit at the table right next to the ONLY OTHER COUPLE ON THE FLOOR. Talk about awkward socks. I’m pretty sure the waiter was just a lazy-​face who didn’t want to walk too far to take and deliver our orders, since he had to ride the elevator up from the kitchen.
Also, about halfway through our dinner, said waiter butted into our conversation and informed us with little civility that his shift was ending and that we needed to pay our bill immediately. Very rude.
This was my birthday dinner, and I have to say, I didn’t much enjoy it, even though the food was tasty.

Despite the other reviews, I thought this place was great! The restaurant is a nice tri level greystone home, and has the look and feel of traditional spanish cuisine.
The Sangria’s are KILLER, as was the grilled shrimp. The atmosphere is cozy (but very busy weekends) and the waitstaff is very friendly.

It’s no Babareeba but it was OK. The real standouts were the
–grilled shrimp over the avacado risotto
–crab cakes
— grilled steak covered w/​cheese and a really good sauce (#222)
We got some other things and they were just plain and pretty much had no flavor
— chicken tequito type things– but not as good as the ones you buy at costco
–chicken croquettes
We also got a salad w/​grilled apples and goat cheese which was nice.
Sangria was good, but wish there was more fruit. We had a party of 5 of fairly loud girls and no one seemed to mind, so that’s a plus!

As my first real experience with a true tapas restaurant, I thought this was pretty good! We ordered five different dishes for the two of us, and definitely had more than enough food. The most memorable for me was the avocado risotto and the jamon with manchego. Definitely both worth ordering. The goat cheese with tomato sauce was also good but they only gave three pieces of bread with a giant piece of cheese and sauce, kind of skimping out on us!
The chicken croquettes with chipotle were probably the least memorable, the texture was a little off since it was made with ground chicken that seemed like it was ground a few too many times. Make sure you are a fan of capers if you order the empanadas with chimichurri, but those were pretty good. The tres leches cake seemed like it would have been good but it was still frozen when it got to us, definitely not made in house.
Overall, a pretty decent place and I think I would like it more and more once I would be able to remember what dishes are better than others — but all dishes were definitely NOT created equal.

This is the second time I ate here and contemplating whether the food was a determining factor for our second visit or just a convenience to the hotel.
The bar by far is centrally located, however I don’t think the food was that great. However, service was fast and all the staff were friendly. We ordered 6 dishes and 2 margaritas, totaling a little less than $ 100.00 (excluding tip). Less than 2 hours later we were hungry again. Call it what you like, but I defined it as a «heavy appetizers» or «light dinner».

I’ve had this place bookmarked a while now because of its vegetarian-​friendly menu, but I’m glad I’m finally over and done with this place because it really was nothing to make me a fan.
The place was freezing cold, they had a fake fireplace that was an even bigger tease given their own heating was failing us.
The service was quite mediocre and their menu was confusing because while some vegetarian items were marked vegetarian, others weren’t.
Their food was also a little different from some other tapas places we’ve tried. We had patatas bravas, goat cheese croquettes and battered feta cheese somethings — all in all the meal can be summarized as fried bread + fried cheese + fried potatoes.
Quick note: their portions were slightly bigger than usual tapas plates.

Meh, more like 2.5 stars. My biggest issue with this place is how unorganized they are. We came here to attend their New Year’s Eve package party. My friends had gone to it several years ago and had fun — it featured unlimited tapas and drinks for five hours. We thought it would be fun as they had dancing, live music, and dancers the last time they went.
The problems began as we tried to make a reservation. Seriously, it took a while to actually find someone who’d take it. Everytime one of us tried calling, we’d either get referred to a phone number that would not accept incoming calls, or they’d tell us to call back.
Then we could not figure out what the menu actually would be — on their website and the reso sheet they emailed to us, they listed unlimited tapas. But on another piece of paper they had a six course menu. The hostess told my friend that it was unlimited tapas. So we get there and find out that it’s now a six course dinner. And there’s no live entertainment or dancing. Uggh.
Food was okay — however, since it was NY eve, I won’t make a judgment because most places have issues on that night.
The building itself had a ton of charm, except that those curvy stairs could be dangerous — just ask the guy who faceplanted as he fell down the stairs from too much to drink (and took my friend and I down along with him).
There’s so many other good tapas places in Chicago that I probably would not bother coming back. We did have fun, though — it’s all what you make of it.

Easily called this restaurant to make a Friday night reservation for four. We arrived at 7:00 PM and was greeted by a hostess and taken to the seating area upstairs. Right off the bat, I noticed the the music was really loud and it began difficult to talk to people at my table.
The service was somewhat slow. Our waitress was handling around 6 different tables in addition to ours. At one point, she got a little snarky, handed us a pen to write down our order on the table, then walked away.
OK, a little rude Miss Thang. Overall, the tapas were good and the sangria.
Additionally, people, please REFRAIN FROM BRINGING YOUR CHILDREN to this restaurant. It’s rather annoying to have an tyrant 8 year old in a moderately trendy establishment kicking the back of my chair.

My sister and I stopped here for dinner on a random Tuesday night after running errands on the Mag mile.
It was a beautiful October evening, so we sat outside, which was nice.
Our service was better than a lot of the reviews here– not so attentive, but we could flag him down when needed.
The food was ok but forgettable. I would stop in here again if I was on this block and looking for food, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to dine here again.

1 star for the cute house atmosphere. And another star for their 3^rd floor private party space that was perfect for our group of 40ish people. Unfortunately, that’s where the stars end for 1492 Tapas Bar.
Perhaps it’s unfair for me to judge 1492 Tapas Bar since I’m not really a tapas fan, but I found the food to be pretty icky. And this is coming from someone 9+ months pregnant who will eat anything! Since we were a large group the menu had been pre-​ordered and I have to give them credit for bringing out a lot of food… perhaps too much food. It was mostly veggies and it all seemed to be smothered in mayo, which I seriously dislike.
I also think it’s a must at a tapas restaurant to have lots of plates on the tables, but my plate wasn’t changed for over an hr here… and only cause I finally asked for a new one!
If you like tapas, lots of mayo and using the same plate for 80 different types of food then perhaps you’ll have a better experience at 1492 Tapas Bar. I think I“ll be admiring this cute house from the street.

Unfortunately and unlike my review of Mercat (another Spanish Tapas restaurant), 1492 (such a terrible year for people of color, by the way!!) is not a place you should go to unless every restaurant in Chicago is booked and no grocery store is stocked with a Di’Giorno Pizza. But in an effort to not waste any time on this waste of time restaurant here are my sticking points:
Food: Bland, lack of color, and served neither cold nor warm. Although not incredibly expenses, it isn’t worth the wait or cost. After trying roughly 10 dishes, we left without one raising our eye brows.
Ambiance: If you say «nay» to my review, please request indoor seating. We were sat literally curb side next to the sewer (I swear I saw Penny-​wise the Clown’s deadlights). I could practically order pizza and get my pizza from the driver’s window of the delivery person’s car. People were let out from cabs and almost knocked our table over. No exaggeration. I was waiting to be a victim of a drive by shooting.
Price: Only thing that doesn’t piss you off. The prices are not high, but man the dishes are not worth it. Not-​at-​all.
Service: Awful… as in I wish I was a short Blond haired woman that could cuss like a sailor and demand my money back instead of a big black man who talks in a deep-​Mr. Sinister (Inspector Gadget) type voice that would probably be arrested if I raised a sufficient fuss. The image of the woman is also based on actually seeing the table next to us complain about their service (she was a short blond haired woman that cussed like a sailor). Waiter took 30 minutes to bring my drink. Took another 15 minutes to bring my guest, her drink, and then never poured it for her (since when does Cava get treated like a Corona).
I will not be back, except when I am giving tours to people of god-​awful places to not eat at.
The Di’Giorno Pizza is on me.
One

All week I had been waiting for a great dinner and a good glass of wine with my girlfriend and this was such a let down!
We had luckily decided to get together on the first day of Rioja Restaurant week and were so excited about all the food for $ 35 at this tapas place that neither of us had been to. Rioja Week is when they feature their Spanish wines and pair them with their best courses. At 1492 Tapas the options were endless and the thought was that this was great… at first…
So each of us was allotted to order 4 tapas, 1 entrée, 1 dessert and a glass of wine for $ 35. You could imagine that this was a lot of food! That is if we got it all!!! We only received 6 of our total 8 tapas and when I pointed it out to the waiter he said that we didn’t notice that they did come out and we already had them!!! I was outraged and I’m sure you can guess that I am still fuming. how could he tell me what I already ate them and didn’t notice?! We counted 3 times before pointing it out and all he said to us was no I saw them bring the dishes out and if we wanted extra he could see what he could do! At this point I was angry enough to walk out seeing that was so unprofessional and why would we lie?
To top it off the entrée that I ordered was paella and it was completely flavorless and the strawberry bread pudding lacked any texture. It was completely dry. We didn’t care for any more of their great hospitality and just took the bill and decided never to come back.
Over all they didn’t offer anything better than Café Babareba or Café Iberico so I feel no need to be loyal or candid about my short changed experience.

OK food, but expensive as tapas always are
OK décor
Good location,
BUT the service is not as attentive as it should be
We’ve been here 2 tmes, and that’s it.
No more chances.
For this kind of money, the service should be better.

1492 Tapas is an ok place but very very expensive. Between my husband and I we have tried about 9 dished and the only one worth commenting about is the dish with dates wrapped in bacon. Everything else is forgettable and not good such as the octopus which was improperly grilled which made it bland and chewy.
They do know how to make sangria and it is well priced at $ 6 per glass.
What I find interesting is that the their kitchen area is on the second floor of the building so the waiters and staff have to run up and down the stairs to serve people. In our case they also had to run outside. So I guess you have to be in a good shape to work there.
Anyways, lets move on to desert… the flan was good, but then I never had flan that was not good. The waiter asked us if we wanted our flan lit… well since I am paying $ 9 for the little piece of custard I guess I want the whole show so lite it up… unless of course I get a discount for no fire then we can hold off on the matches.

A friend from college came in town this weekend demanding three things: a fun house party, a great night out, and Spanish Tapas. For the latter I normally fall back on my «old trusty» Café Iberico or my usual second choice, the more «touristy» Café Ba-​Ba-​Reeba, but both were not accepting reservations for a group of 8 this past Saturday. My friend recommended 1492 as an alternative; I checked out the menu, got friend approval, and set an early Saturday evening reservation for 8.
I must also note that the website says «Reservations recommended for parties up to 8 people» so I was a bit nervous when two friends jumped on. The hostess, who was very nice, said they were at capacity, but we managed to squeeze 10 people into our table no problem. The restaurant looks like an Old Victorian House, and we were seated on the third floor. I wish I would have known they had an elevator because those stairs were pretty treacherous!
We ordered some pitchers of sangria and put food orders in. Everything was great. Bacon-​wrapped dates were divine! Queso de cabra was creamy delicious! And of course, my personal favorite, Patatas Bravas — I could nom nom nom nom all day on those! Even the food I didn’t get to try looked good so if I were to go back again I already have a list.
Unfortuantely, what this place offers in taste they completely lack in portion size. The pitchers of sangria were pretty small and only yielded about 5 or 6 glasses. At $ 22 a pop, this was a no deal; I wasn’t even the slightest bit tipsy when I left. The bacon-​wrapped dates were an order of 5, while at Ba-​Ba-​Reeba you get 9. The pincho de carne (steak) came with a small skewer of 4 bites of steak — Iberico has half a plate easily. There was plenty of goat cheese to go around, but only 3 pieces of bread were given with the meal, so we had to wait a few minutes for a busboy to retrieve more bread. In conclusion, when they say order 3 whole tapas per person, I would recommend you take that advice.
With tax and gratuity, we were able to eat downtown for $ 30 a person. While I would recommend this place to others to try, I think I’ll stick to Café Iberico myself on most occasions.

I came here with a group of friends as it’s pretty much right by where my friend lives. We were craving tapas and outdoor seating and the restaurant seemed fairly busy, so we figured it couldn’t be too bad!
We were seated fairly quickly, but despite the warm, summer weather during the day, there was a chilly breeze, so our evening didn’t start off too well. We had a group of 6 and were given two small baskets of bread. We requested more as the wait for food was going to be a while, but were told we’d have to pay for each additional basket of bread. Now, I get that we’re all suffering because of the economy, but it’s just cheap bread and what other restaurant actually makes you pay? So we decided to forgo the extra bread and just sit around drinking water to satisfy our hunger until our tapas arrived.
The tapas do come out fresh and hot, but are a bit overpriced for the quantity they give you. But I can’t complain about the taste and quality! Not as great as other tapas venues, but still satisfying. A few favorites: Chuletitas de Cordero (grilled lamb chops!), Queso de Cabra (great goat chese, but not enough bread!) and Albóndigas (make sure to dip your bread into the leftover sauce!).
And if you’re still hungry after the tapas, go for the Carne a la Brasa. It’s a wonderful mesh of mixed meats and sauce and I loved the fries! You won’t be disappointed with this choice! I’d probably choose this over the tapas.
I’ve been to better tapas places, but it still offered a good time with friends!

If you like tapas, avoid 1492 Tapas.
We tried 1492 Tapas once, and that’s all it took to convince us to never come back. Small crowd but huge menu of tapas. How do the do that? It’s call «a freezer.» It’s called freezer burn. It’s called reheated. It’s called boring and tasteless. The best was mediocre; the worst was really bad. Scratch this one off the list.

I don’t usually like Tapas because I don’t like paying exorbitant prices for several teeny portions. Occasionally, I go for the group experience and so endured one of the worst dining experiences I’ve ever had in Chicago to please some friends of mine.
There was no air conditioning on a 90+ degree night, nor were the fans enough to circulate whatever hot air was stagnating through the small overcrowded space. By the end of the night, I had downed about 4 pitchers of water and was sliding around in my seat from the sweat that had collected under my thighs. Gross, yes, but not as gross as the overpriced food that was slowly collecting on the table. Slowly, because the service was that bad as well.
My friends seemed to enjoy it, but then again, they were drunk and not as bothered by the sauna of a dining experience. Maybe I had a poor attitude toward the entire situation, but at least we all know that if they’re looking to go out for a meal here, they won’t be calling me. And that is certainly no loss on my part.