Vega Tapas Cafe

The Paella is to die for. As good as Casa Vasca in Newark, New Jersey. Truffle fries were delicious. Service was excellent. Love the ambiance. I can’t wait to go back.

The atmosphere is great, I would suggest this place for wine, coffee or tea. I would not recommend the food, it’s over priced. We had 6 tapas at around 70 $ total not including drinks. Diced potatoes with mayo type sauce (Ukrainian street food that I paid about .50 cents American in Kiev) Caviar «paste» and some type of pita … To name a few. Like I said atmosphere is great, but that’s it. Service is average.

I really enjoyed my experience at Vega Tapas. The food and service was very good. The duck sliders were my favorite but I enjoyed the jumbo shrimp, pork chops, and grilled artichoke too. The atmosphere was great! It definitely had its own feel to the restaurant and played good music. I didn’t sit in the small bar area but would love to go back to have a drink. The only thing that would keep me from making this place a regular would be the prices. But I would go back again on a special occasion.

My best friend and I didn’t quite know what to expect from Vega Tapas. We bought the groupon, read good reviews and hoped for the best. When we pulled up, we initially thought there had been a mistake. The restaurant looks so rachet and worn down from the outside that we wondered if they had moved location. However, inside it’s much prettier.
We ordered the caviar dip, seared ahi tuna, mussels, jumbo gulf shrimp, calamari, truffle fries and gelato. We were completely stuffed afterwards and each dish was more delicious than the next. Our server was knowledgeable and gave great recommendations. The whole meal was $ 42 and we had leftovers which we snacked on late at night as well.
Don’t be fooled by the outside — it’s really delicious and well worth the money if you get a groupon. You’ll feel like a queen!

I’ve had vega tapas bookmarked for a long time. When I saw Vega on Groupon, I was hoping Vega didn’t fall into THAT category. Let’s be honest, majority if not all Groupon experiences are less than great. Vega was no exception.
I’m a huge fan of tapas and I don’t just mean «small plates». I mean food from Spain or inspired by Spain. However critics want to describe it. Sadly, this place was a poor rendition of tapas.
The food lacked depth and flavor. It lacked seasoning. For example, the staple dish, Paella, was pure butter. So much butter, 2 bites and it wasn’t touched. There were huge chunks of bland, dry meat thrown in there making the dish seem sloppy and not easy to eat. Bite sized pieces of meat are more appropriate. Not that I’m a paella expert, but this was the worst paella I’ve ever eaten. Saffron? None.
The butternut squash soup was also too rich.
Stuffed grape leaves, understuffed and undercooked leading to tough leaves. All leaf, no lamb.
Dish after dish, there was nothing I wanted to keep eating.
I wouldn’t recommend Vega.

I wish I could give this restaurant a better review. I had been a few times and had a great experience. Unfortunately, this last time was such a poor experience. After ordering, my date asked the waiter for some bread with dinner. He informed her that «We are finished with our bread service for the night.» I was so embarrassed. I had really stuck my neck out recommending this place. I will never go back. It gets 2 stars because it was good before. If I had never been before it wouldn’t have even gotten a half star.

Having come here regularly we like the Bocaditos de pato, Ostras Asado, Pollo en Papel, Gambas al pil pil, Escolar Pecado Fresco, Vaca al la planca, ribs and a couple of bottles of wine. Paella too. Actually everything is great.

My review is for the catering service I used from Vega Tapas for my wedding day. First of all, I’d like to express that the staff members are all very nice, friendly, and helpful people. I was just kind of unsatisfied with a few small details on the wedding day and after. So the day of the wedding, they were an hour late. To clarify, the food was prepared, out, and ready in time for the wedding, which was at 5pm, however, they told me they’d be there for 3:30 and didn’t arrive until about 4:20. It was a hectic day, as you can imagine, so being worried about their ETA added to my stress, as it was vital to have the food set up before the ceremony because the ceremony and reception were held in the same space, and I did not want the setup to take place in front of guests. It ended up being okay in the end, but I just didn’t have peace of mind in that particular moment that it would be.
The food was delicious. All of the guests really enjoyed the food.
However, I was disappointed with another detail that we planned beforehand and was not executed. I requested 3 servers — one of which would be walking around the party with trays of food from time to time. At no point in the night did anyone walk around with a tray, which was the entire point of the 3^rd server. After the wedding, we contacted catering to find out what went wrong, and they said that the food that we chose didn’t work for tray passing… but if that was the case, why was that not communicated when we chose the food and agreed to have a server with a tray of food. I just felt as though there was a lack of communication on their part — they should have made that clear because they are more familiar with the food than I am, rather than just taking it upon themselves to scratch that idea without telling me.
We contacted the owner to express that we weren’t exactly the happiest with the issues we encountered, and he did not care at all. He blew it off and did not even bother to follow up with us or make sure that we were happy with the overall experience with them, which changed my perception of the establishment altogether.
I was once very fond of Vega Tapas and frequented the restaurant regularly, but they have lost a customer here, and I will suggest to everyone I know that they should never use this restaurant’s catering service.

Had Stephen as a server a few weeks ago. I had a groupon and it was my first time at Vega Tapas and he was very knowledgeable and helpful with our selections. I would definitely recommend this place and I’m definitely coming back for a second visit! Hopefully Stephen is there!

The food is excellent. Service is superb and knowledgable. I deducted a star because I was sweaty hot up in there.
We had a groupon for 6 tapas and one dessert. We chose the gambas pil pil (gulf shrimp) and costillias (morrocan ribs) and decided on 2 filets. Each filet was worth 2 tapas.
We were just in time for happy hour and got $ 5 wine.
We started with the shrimp. The tapas only gives you 2 over toasted french bread and covered in sauce. It was so good the tapas was a tease. Shouldve ordered that as a racion (entrée size .i think u get 5).
Next was the costillias… morrocan ribs. This had a strong smoky flavoring with an sweet sauce that had a hint of orange in it. Also very tender and delicious.
I loved both dishes but the shrimp was tastier. I do wish they provided new sets of saucers so the flavors wouldnt mix.
After, we had our filets. Also excellent choices as the steaks were thick juicy and so so tender. It was all very filling.
Last but not least, the bread pudding. That dish is sooo dang good. It was like an orgasm in your mouth with every bite. The pics ive seen are deceiving. One is definitely enough for 2.
I definitely recommend this place. Inwanna try everything more than once! It does get pricey with out the groupon though.
Two thumbs and 2 big toes up!

This is not my first time here, and Ii have to say that this place has not disappointed us at all.
First of all, I love tapas! During the time when I was living in the East Coast, we happened to find a good tapas place in DC and we went there frequently. However, compared to this place, well, there is no comparison to this place! Food are just delicious here!
The atmosphere is great! Everyone is very friendly and nice! We got a Groupon to this place and the server was so nice about it. She told us what we can order to maximize the benefit of the Groupon. And it was such a great deal too!
So for food, Chef Sampson does a phenomenal job on the cuisine. All tapas are so delicately presented and with their individual unique flavors! We ordered:
1. Fritas — Duck fat fries — perfectly fried with hint of duck fat. Taste delicious and my kid was happy!
2. Vieiras — Grilled scallops — seared to perfection.
3. Gambas — Jumbo shrimps with paprika-​garlic oil — shrimp was super fresh.
4. Cerdo Moro — cured and grilled pork tenderloin — I may not be a big fan of it. I love cure meat, but to grill it after being cured tasted a little strange to me.
5. Bocaditos — Roasted pulled duck sliders — delicious. The perfect meat to cheese ratio
6. Calamares — fried calamari — how can you go wrong with this?!
Also, we ordered two glasses of wine (during happy hour), and two desserts. Our check was $ 18 after Groupon. It was totally worth a try if you haven’t tried it.
Overall, this place is great with kids and dates. Food is delicious and definitely, I will come back more regularly.

With its warm, inviting décor, huge selection of beers and spirits, friendly staff, and unrivaled food, Vega Tapas offers the best dining atmosphere in the area. There is a romantic air about the place, making an excellent choice for night-​out. The neighborhood is attractive, with a definite bohemian influence. Very New Orleans. Try it out!

Have been hearing about this place for years. Finally stopped here after a night at an anniversary party. Enjoyed exquisite seared scallops served on a sweet potato purée, some pork tenderloin on flash-​fried spinach and French fries with truffle oil. Wow. This far exceeded our expectations for a quick late-​night appetizer/​snack.
Our server, Nick was attentive, friendly and helpful with an unfamiliar menu.
Can’t wait to be in town again and try some of their other choice offerings.

Had the pork tenderloin, bbq ribs, and chicken Wellington (don’t remember actual name). All we great small plates that I finished to the last drop. The owner happened to be sitting next to me at the bar when I ordered and he pared a red wine with my meal perfectly (even made sure that it was a happy hour wine too). The entire team (hostess, waiters, and bartender) where all very nice and very helpful. Even suggested some other nice little places for me to try while I was in town. The bartender made sure to place the plates in order so that I could finish one dish before another came out to ensure nothin got cold, but I never had to wait either. The chef has been there since the place opened over 20 years ago and has a done a great job keeping his recipes traditional and up to date.
(There are also a ton of sea food dishes that I didn’t try since I’m more of a land meat eater but the bartender ensured me that they are just as good as the ones I got)
Finally the owner did mention to me that all the food is fresh and made to order, nothing is pre cooked and reheated. The fresh grill taste was great.

New owners made it all go downhill. Such a shame. It was a nice place. The neighborhood is awful as well. There’s an apartment complex across the street with strippers and coke heads living there. Not my kind of atmosphere. If I could give it zero stars I would.

Went here for the Israeli dinner. 4 course plus cocktail for $ 35.00. You can’t beat it. The waitress was outstanding. The first course was hummus. It was okay. Needed more spice or seasonings to me, but not bad. 2^nd course ground lamb in a red sauce with egg on top. The red sauce was out of this world. The lamb was great, too. I could skip the egg. 3^rd course was chicken and red bell pepper skewers underneath was Israeli couscous with a yogurt sauce for dipping. It was ok. I thought the chicken was a little dry. 4^th course was desert. Neither my friend nor I cared for this and didn’t eat it. It was a custard with a raspberry coulis on top with rose water and pistachios. The cocktail was surprisingly delicious. It was soda water with lemon shot of whiskey. So refreshing and a great way to end the meal. Will be back fro the 4 course Italy dinner! Can’t wait!

Our waiter was a little slow on the service to be acknowledged (approximately 20 – 25 minutes) but did recommend a good bottle of wine.
Our first dish was the Cheese plate which was very good. Then everything went down hill. Our oysters were cold, but had good flavor. The mussels were old and fishy followed by inedible meatballs.
We were hoping for much more for a metairie road staple near the house. Unfortunately, it did not meet our hopes.
Wouldn’t recommend to friends or family.

I had been seeing this place on Groupon for a week or so and decided to give it a try. Good price– $ 42 for six tapas and one dessert. The ambiance was nice and the décor was very vibrant. The staff was very energetic and friendly.
Food wise, the fare is a little on the rich side. My favorite was the scallops tapa, though it was the richest flavor of all. We opted to sub a filet for two of our tapas and it was a great decision! The meat was cooked perfect (mid-​well) and was tender and flavorful.
Thank goodness for Groupon or we probably never would have tried this place! We will return to sample more of the flavors!

I absolutely love this place! I’ve eaten here multiple times and have made my way across the menu and can honestly say I have not eaten anything I didn’t love.
Spanish food is one of my favorites, and you can’t beat tapas. I love the concept of tapas. If you’re like me, you want a little bit of everything — and ordering one item becomes a difficult task, which is why small plates/​sharing plates is such a great thing to me. The pricing is very fair. The sangria is also very good. The last time we went we made reservations online and got a free plate. Who knew?

I bought a groupon voucher. It’s was a nice deal. Dinner for two– six tapas and one desert.
Highlights–
Mussels, tender and cooked well
Calamari, lightly battered and fried well
Chocolate truffle cake, decadent
I was disappointed with the other items. The smoked salmon dip was rich. Simply just not a fan of the mousse texture of the dip and it tasted like a lot of mayo. The scallop was cooked perfectly but way too salty. The duck was overcooked.
For a groupon deal, I was able to try out a new restaurant. However, I felt like the food was just ok.

I picked Vega because I was meeting someone at dinner time and we both had eaten rather large lunches and just wanted to get together and catch up over a couple shared appetizers. This seemed the perfect choice.
The place was fairly empty and quiet on a Tuesday night and a good place to have a conversation. Vega is probably is way more conducive to a first date or special occasion kind of place since the lights are low which sets a romantic ambience. As nice as that is, the low light does make it very difficult to read the menu. We had to use the flashlight on our phones in order to read.
Our waitress was very nice but I wish she had been a bit more helpful when we were ordering. I had mentioned that it was our first time there and we told her that we were looking to split 3 or 4 selections. I’ve had tapas before but not from here. It seems the choices we made were the smallest of all the small plate options available, they were like mini-​tapas. I saw several dishes come out to other tables and they were much larger than ours and more appropriate for sharing than our selections. It would have been nice to be told which ones were really, really small, we would have either made different selections or maybe ordered multiples of the same dish. One selection was the size of a single solitary spring roll and took the longest of all our choices to come out of the kitchen. We both kind of laughed to ourselves when it came out. It was good, just tiny.
I might try it again if I’m looking for a romantic spot for a date.