Ración

Meh.
We’ve been here 3 or 4 times. It started out great but has seemingly declined dramatically. The last two times we have been here the restaurant has been empty. The portions vs. price is way off. I’m all for small plates but this just isn’t really doing it for me.
We had lamb meatballs– Good.
Charred leeks– highly mediocre.
Octopus– decent but nothing to write home about.
Spiced beets– no spice, just food processed beets and nothing else. Boring, tasteless.
Salted cod croquettes– good, not great.
Cherry tart– a tiny slab of boring vanilla ice cream and a smear of cherry jam with 3 tiny (smaller than a quarter) cookies for a rage inducing price of $ 10. Terrible.
Yeah, I don’t think we will be back. The portions are small and the prices are high. No wonder it’s empty now, the public has spoken.

HIDDEN GEM OF PASADENA!
Chef owned and operated! All the dishes are equally beautiful as tasteful.
The restaurant has a clean, sleek, modern feel. This restaurant can easily be on the Westside or DTLA but it’s here in Pasadena!
They also have great wine selections to pair with the dishes.
Service is polished and on point!

Pricing: way too high
Food: Oversalted, bland, or cold
Service: mediocre
Please do not come here and waste your money. The experience you will have is less than pleasant.
The 18oz prime ribeye was cold and cooked terribly. (58 dollars for f**k sakes)
All in all please just save your money.

We were seated outside and provided with a heat lamp, which was nice. Food is ridiculously overpriced and decent at best. The cheeses were stale, the «pork belly with honey» was bacon and honey.
When we told the server the 2 squid ink pasta dishes we ordered were cold, she responded that because we were seated outside, the food was bound to get cold even though they «serve it as it’s ready». She then asked «What do you want me to do?» I don’t know lady, what would any decent server do? There was no steam at all rising from the dishes, so they had obviously been sitting out before being served…
Our steak, which we ordered to be medium, came out cold as well, salty and bloody as hell. The octopus was the best dish, albeit a little mushy and surprise, COLD.
Don’t waste your time and money coming to this place. If you want good Spanish tapas, go to Pueblo in Costa Mesa. I’m sorry, Pueblo, for ever trying another place like yours. You can expect to see me soon :)

Went here for Valentine’s Day so it was a prix fixe menu. I wasn’t aware of this restaurant since it was a surprise on where we were going. We love tapas and Spanish food and Racion was a great find! We got the salt cod fritters, the french sardines w/​strawberry gazpacho, sunchokes & wild mushrooms, pan seared scallops, and the braised octopus. Since I’m not a fan of fruits in savory dishes, the french sardines were a pass for me… but all the other dishes were really good! I would definitely come back again!

Weekday night and the place was about ¹⁄₃ full. Atmosphere was bright, clean, and not too stuffy. Service was attentive. However, there was a long wait time between dishes. Food was well prepared and had great flavor. The small plates seemed to be more refined than other Tapas places I’ve been to. Portions are small, but the free bread is excellent.
Lamb meatballs: ⁴⁄₅
Squid ink pasta: ⁴⁄₅
Squid stuff with duck: ⁴⁄₅
Cured salmon: 4.5÷5
Spanish custard with pistachio: ⁴⁄₅
Free bread: ⁵⁄₅
Sangria: ³⁄₅
Parking: meh (it’s old town Pasadena)
Bathroom: ⁴⁄₅ (very clean, but single room and basic).

It was a rainy Saturday. I’ve been wanting to try Ración for quite sometime now and was looking for a nice lunch option for my boyfriend and I to tuck away in and share a meal. I then thought of Ración since we were in the Pasadena area and decent options are minimal. I logged onto their website to see if they were open for lunch. They are! I then linked up to their Opentable site to make a reservation for 230P.
Drove over super excited to finally experience this place (talking about all the things we’d try), only to pay a parking meter, walk in — to a few other tables dining and a minute or so later a server coming from the kitchen to not so pleasantly greet us.
I gave him my name and let him know we have a 230P reservation only to be told the kitchen is closed. Ummmm… then why was I allowed to book a 230P reservation? I asked. To which he replied, I shouldn’t have been able to and quickly logged into the system and deleted the reservation. No sorry, no would you like to come back when we open for dinner, zero apology for the inconvenience. Basically, you aren’t welcome — show yourself to the door while these others sit happily and casually around enjoying their wine and tapas.
It was beyond ridiculous and such piss poor customer service that I will not ever attempt to return. As my boyfriend and I got back into the car, I could only say maybe the reason why we weren’t able to dine here is because it wouldn’t have been any good and really we were just being saved from the place. I wish we could have been saved from the terrible service, drive time to get here and money we paid to park.
Opentable should probably also be notified that they are allowing restaurants to use their system and having customers arrive to be shown the door.
Oh well, you live and learn. We won’t ever return.
I warn you to be very extremely cautious when making a reservation here as clearly it doesn’t mean a thing once you arrive and they have absolutely zero problem refusing service. I’d hate to see this happen to someone on a date/​time that is of any real significance. A date, meeting with friends, business lunch/​dinner etc. Thank gosh it was just us trying to dine out for lunch together versus really wrecking someones plans and making them look bad.

Well I am not sure if my review was deleted or what happened but hey here it goes again!
Came here a long time ago, maybe 2 – 3 years ago, it was meh
the restaurant itself is pretty small and just has that snobby attitude behind it
the dishes weren’t anything special, considering it wasnt a memorable experience!

Oh. My. God.
This place is INCREDIBLE.
My friend and I had dinner here last night and I love him so much for recommending that we go here.
To begin, the restaurant is located on an adorable one-​way street in Pasadena. The trees are lined with lights and street parking was easy to find. I got there at 8pm so I didn’t have to feed the meter on Green St.
Upon entering the restaurant, the staff greeted me right away and took me to our table where I could wait for my friend to arrive. The décor is simplistic, neat, and clean, neutral colors throughout, menus are a single sheet of paper.
We ordered a few dishes to share since portions are small and we weren’t starving. First dish was white anchovies with watercress, celery, and manchego. This was actually the first time I had anchovies and I was pleasantly surprised by how good it was. It was very light and citrus-​y. Second dish was the lamb meatballs with basque cider, picon, and licorice greens. These were incredible. The lamb was incredibly flavorful and hearty especially with the sauce it was paired with. The next dish was something our waitress recommended we try, pan y tomate (bread with a tomato spread) and topped with jamon iberico. Woah. If this is on the menu when you go here, GET THIS. I didn’t want it to end. So so SO delicious. Lastly, we split the house-​made squid ink pasta with mussels, piquillo peppers and saffron. This was my first time having squid ink pasta and I thought it was delicious!
We decided to go all out and order dessert. We split the Crema Catalan, a Spanish custard with crushed pistachios, mini meringues, and small light wafers. The presentation was beautiful and it was so good. The combination of the creamy and rich custard with the crunchy and nutty pistachios alongside the airy and lightweight wafers and meringues was fantastic!
Needless to say, I HIGHLY recommend this place! Excellent food, excellent location/​décor, and hospitable and friendly staff. Great pick for a fancy occasion or a romantic date… or if you are just in the mood for some really delicious food :)

I have wanted to try Ración for the longest time. As much as I appreciated some of the items here, I honestly cannot bring myself to give this place 4 stars as it would not be fair to all the other places that I had given 4 stars.
The quality and presentation of the food is not lacking for the most part. It would also be unfair to grade this place harshly on the service, but I did observe a couple of things.
Firstly, there was one waiter for about 3 to 4 tables of 2 people each and us, which ranged from 4 to 6 people. 4 of us arrived and ordered a charcuterie plate and added iberico ham, which was forgotten until later. The other 2 in the party arrived 40 minutes later and that was about the time we got our iberico ham since we had to ask for it (apparently it was never written down).
We also asked for more bread for our new arrivals and for the other cheese dish and when it arrived, it came to us burnt around the edges. We had to ask for it to be sent back and the server apologized and said he realized when he brought it out but that there wasn’t any fresh bread around as of now. This was all they had– leftover bread that had been grilled. I also noticed other tables got the same burnt bread. If you knew it was burnt so badly, then why would you continue to serve it? At least let us know, apologize as you bring it out and ask if we really do want it. Our first batch of bread was fine though and grilled perfectly.
Somewhere along the line, since we were chilling for a good 2 hours before we left and after we ordered, the chef herself had to deliver the food to our table and some other tables and that’s when the waiter picked up the pace a little bit. It’s just the system of how they operate and serve that needed to be fine-​tuned. I am hoping that they just had a bad day here, because I actually liked some of the dishes that we had. Anyway, about the dishes…
***DISHES TO GET***
*Charcuterie — I enjoyed the liver mousse, the sweetness of the beets and toasted nuts along with the cheese and meat assortment.
*Chicken Croquettes — A wonderful balance as the honey sauce was not that sweet. The top piece had it slathered all over though (it depends if you like the sauce or not). I loved the texture and taste of this.
*Beer-​braised Octopus — Not the best grilled octopus I ever had but I did like this one and the taste was balanced nicely.
*Duck Sausage Stuffed Squid — I absolutely loved this dish as it was interesting. My friends however did not enjoy the rubbery texture due to the long cooking time to account for the sausage, but I suppose I did not mind at all since I enjoyed the taste.
–YOU COULD DO WITHOUT THESE–
Salt Cod Fritters– Soft and not crispy, but I enjoyed the taste as opposed to all my friends.
Beef Tongue Buñuelos — The bunuelo shell was so soft and soaked with the water from the beef tongue. Nice concept but I think they may have been sitting too long before serving? Not sure.
3.5 STARS for me. Not sure if I’d go back as it took forever for everyone to get their food. Some of the food I liked (in particular the croquettes and duck sausage squid) but I don’t find myself itching to go back anytime soon.

With Rivera having recently closed, Racion can now accept the title of Most Overrated Restaurant in Los Angeles. This place isn’t without its merits, but from the service to the food prep to the pricing to the dishes themselves this is not a good restaurant.
I’ll start with the good — the chicken croquettes are delicious. As is the cana de cabra cheese. I could have both of those dishes again and again and not grow tired of either anytime soon. The real head scratcher is the dishes that this place is known for, and how downright disgusting they are. Duck sausage-​stuffed squid sounds delicious, right? Well, not when the squid bulb shoots fishy water into a corner of your mouth when you bite into it, rendering the sausage practically tasteless. The same goes for the squid ink pasta with mussels. It’s not impossible to make a wonderful tasting squid ink pasta dish — Union, just a few minutes from here, does it just fine — but this dish was completely bland and gross. Not to mention lukewarm by the time it arrived at my table.
I feel like all of this makes me sound like a hard to please diner, and I’m really not. This was just an unusually negative experience.

«Racion… MEH»
We went here on Valentine’s Day where they only served from a prix fixe menu, which could be why our experience was so «meh».
Pros:
— Restaurant is very cozy. Great location on Green Street.
— We really enjoyed the scallop dish, the smoke veggies (seriously killer), and the octopus with chorizo.
— Good date location
Cons:
— Service was subpar (probably because it was V-​Day). After 10 minutes of waiting we had to flag someone down for water… then again for bread.
— The strawberry amuse bouche and the strawberry gazpacho were not good.
Overall we expected more from the dinner, especially at that price point.
Price: Not Cheap (roughly $ 200 for 2 dinners and 2 glasses of Sangria)
Mental note: If you’re still hungry afterwards, Del Taco is a good followup.
Summary: DON’T EAT HERE ON VALENTINE’S DAY

The food is good until they bring you a plate with pork (allergic to pork) clearly indicated that to server and when we made reservation. We let the server know and she gives us the worst attitude. Very rude!!! Never coming back here again.

I’ll held Ración to a pretty high expectation, so that could have contributed to the less-​than-​five-​star review.
However, dining at Ración was an amazing and very sentimental experience. The service was laxed but timely — however one of my courses came out of order.
Courses I had were:
1. Marinated Olives (above average)
2. Chicken Croquettes (was like 30 thanksgiving dinner’s in your mouth — amazing)
3. Squid Ink pasta (truly unique flavor, very surprising, couldn’t finish it)
4. Pil Pil fried cod (really enjoyed this dish)
5. Anchovies (to be expected, very light and fresh)
6. Desserts
Their wine selection was the highlight of the evening.
I will be updating my review next time I come here.

Great little place off of Colorado Blvd. in Pasadena. Nice selections of Tapas and wines. The food was excellent and the service was great. I would offer five stars if the wine selection were larger by the glass however they had an excellent full bottle selection. We will be back.

I’ve heard of this place before, and finally I got time to visit it. I came right after 6 pm, and it was fairly empty. My waitress told me it usually gets busy around 6:30 pm. Since I was by myself, I sat at the bar. I suggest making a reservation because all tables were booked on a Tuesday night, which is not the busiest day of the week. I ordered cod fritters, lamb meatballs and squid ink pasta with mussels. All three dishes were superb and full of flavor! A+ for the service, too! I’m definitely coming back with friends and family next time!
P. S. This is a good spot for a romantic date. This restaurant is small and very cozy plus it has a European vibe. Great ambience!

This is one of our favorite dinner spots in Pasadena. It’s tucked and hidden away from the main Colorado Blvd. I believe their menu changes frequently, as many of the things we ordered aren’t on the Unilocal menu through the link on this page. Their food is exquisite and delectable! Savory cheeses, succulent meats, and bold sauces or accommodations to go with everything. If you’re looking for high quality food this place is a must try!

Nice small spot in Pasadena for tapas.
The beef tongue sliders were absolutely amazing. It was savory, juicy, and tender. This is a must try if you decide to visit this place.
Aside from that we tried the prawns, scallops, lamb meat balls, duck sausage, salad, and cauliflower dish.
The only commendable dishes were the cauliflower and salad. They were very flavorful but there was too much oil in the salad. Having people with me that we’re vegan, I do wish they had more dishes as they only served those two and cheese.
Overall the quality was pretty good. The food was prepared beautifully, but for what were had, there are better places to check out for tapas.
If I were to only base the rating on food alone, racion would have received 3 stars, but due to the exceptional and friendly service, I gave them 4 stars.

This gem of a restaurant is a culinary wonderland. Every good journey starts off the beaten path. Ración is off the hubbub of Colorado, on a more serene Green street. This strip of Pasadena is more reminiscent of a neighborhood like Trastevere or Puerto Madero, where you sense people actually live and interact with their neighborhood.
Every selection is an exploration of flavors and ancient traditions. I had no favorites since they were all my favorites. The squid ink was delectable. The croquets were golden and delicious. The wines we chose were enjoyable and accessible. Try the white and red vermouths from Spain. Slightly different from the Italian kind, yet refreshing and celebratory nonetheless.
The décor is up to par with the food. The staff is quite knowledgeable about the food and drinks.
This was my best dining experience at a new restaurant in a long time.

This place is a nice hidden gem in Pasadena. Making a reservation on the weekend is advisable because it gets packed. I called on Wednesday for a Saturday reservation and they only had 2 times left to choose from. Luckily one of the times was what I was looking for. We I showed up just a tad early but no problem. We were seated and enjoyed a fantastic memorable meal. If you have a special occasion and want an unforgettable meal experience do not hesitate and make your reservation now. Cheers and enjoy!!!

OK, there is no denying it. Racion consistently delivers top notch service, meals, wine pairings and memories! And being a Tapas restaurant, there’s a certain extra «Fun» factor. I like that my wife and I can enter without a preconceived idea of what we want to eat. I also like that the staff is friendly, upbeat and helpful providing insights on the different tapas plates. Our server, Marnie was wonderful and her cheerful assistance enhanced our evening. And the fun factor is having many small plates to share vice each person having separate entrées. The sharing brings increased communication and eye contact. OK Racion, I enjoyed my December visit and already am excited to return!

i loved everything i had except squid ink pasta (it was a bit bland for me, but my friend liked it). duck sausage stuffed squid, chicken croquettes (my fav! creamy, sweet, and yum yum yummm), lamb meatballs, crispy prawns (2^nd fav! very flavorful). we had a total of 7 dishes for 2 people and it was just right! excellent service as well. i’d love to go back soon!

The epitome of mediocrity. Why do people choose to come back? Bland, overpriced, etc.
I’m speaking to the food. The service was good. The ambience acceptable.
Do yourself a favor and opt for Union instead (superb).

Really extensive menu, but not to say some really well done tapas. The wine list was also spectacular, with many varietals not from the typical Napa /​Sonoma chains. The menu seems to be on a seasonal rotation, so I can’t comment too much on the specific dishes. I will say the the execution was proper and the seasonings were all well balanced. This cozy nook is a great place for a date, or great for catching up with friends that won’t completely flatten your wallet. Service was a bit frazzled, but understandable since we had a big party when it seems like the majority of the patrons were couples or smaller groups of four.

Probably even worth a fifth star! Really delicious, optically nice, creative and unique tapas in a relatively small locality with appealing ambiance. Overall limited vegetarian items. Takes a number of choices to complete a dinner. The difficult part is to imagine what to expect when ordering. Safe to say that I would always have been wrong — or better said, I was always surprised when the dishes arrived (which I guess is the whole point!). Almost never was I disappointed with a selection.

This is the first time I have ever been to a Spaniard tapas bar and all the food was delicious. As you’ll be able to see in the pictures, some of the food orders that we got were as follows: White Anchovies, Lamb Meatballs, Chicken Croquettes, Salt Cod Fritters, Braised Octopus, Goat Cheese and the Charcuterie platter. To drink I had ordered the blood orange soda and also the Estrella Damm and the beer was very smooth. As you’ll be able to see all the dishes are small portions also known as tapas which I have no complaints on. I would come back to this restaurant just for the braised octopus and the delicious Spaniard beer.

Had a surprisingly great dinner at Ración on Friday night! Didn’t have reservations but my friend and I were able to sit at the bar. Didn’t know about this restaurant but my friend used Unilocal and found it for us.
I really didn’t expect much because Pasadena is just starting to add delicious restaurants and isn’t really considered a food scene as of yet. But service was great and the food was delicious!
–crispy prawns: delicious! Only came with 2 but I wish I had like 10 more.
–spring onions: honestly didn’t really want to order but my friend wanted to try and it was really good! It’s just really good and you should try it.
–squid ink pasta: light and not too salty!
–skirt steak: this is the one we both didn’t like. It was way too salty. The cook agreed with us and told us she would take it off our bill! So nice!
–grilled squid and chorizo: yum!
I would definitely come back! Solid Spanish cuisine in tapas style in Pasadena yay. Delicious!

After coming here many years ago when they had just opened, I did not know what to expect upon returning here 4 years later. What really struck out to me the most when I first visited was their apple cider sangria and their squid stuffed with duck as it was a very unique concept and had great execution. As I was seated, I immediately recognized several classic items that they still offer on their menu, as well as many new items that looked delectable!
We of course started off with a carafe of the sangria, which was just as delicious as I remembered. I would recommend getting this for the table to share! I was surprised at how well the apple cider tasted with the sangria and have fallen in love since. The sangria is mulled; it is cooked to bring out a deeper flavor. Bread was also given for the table with olive oil imported from Spain, and we could not stop eating it!
First off, we started out with the salt cod fritters and lemon cream. The fritters were hot off the fryer and was nice and crunchy on the outside, but soft and warm on the inside. With the lemon cream as a finish, this was the perfect start to our meal.
Next up, and possibly my favorite from the meal: the beef tongue buñuelos, horseradish cream, pickles. This dish was basically a slider, and the beef tongue was so tender and soft. I’ve never had beef tongue like this before; the texture and taste was amazing. Must order!
The chicken croquettes with membrillo honey came out as well, and it reminded me of Jose Andre’s chicken croquettes but with a thicker crust and a honey sauce to pair with the dish. I actually liked this one better as the inside is not as salty as Jose’s.
I’m not a big fan of lamb, but the lamb meatballs with basque cider, picon, licorice greens, definitely left an impression on me. The sauce pairing really complemented the lamb, and I was glad I tried this!
Crispy prawns, garlic cream, roasted tomato was up next, and the presentation was beautiful. Great solid dish, but nothing out of the ordinary.
The milk-​poached asparagus with black garlic and wild mushroom butter was by far the most unique dish we had at Racion! The asparagus came out a shiny black because of the black garlic, and I’ve never had asparagus like this before! The garnish on top which added a little crisp to the asparagus was a nice touch to finish, and this was another favorite of mine from here. Another must order!
We also got to try the sweet potato yam with popcorn, and it was a nice, sweet treat in between the dishes that we received. The yam seemed to be glazed, and the popcorn added a nice crunch to the dish.
The house-​made squid ink pasta with mussels, piquillo peppers, and saffron was more on the light side, and we thought this dish was solid. I feel like adding something crunchy like bread crumbs would be fantastic, as the pasta and mussels are chewy so there’s not as much texture to it. Still a yummy dish though!
Next up: their specialty– duck sausage-​stuffed squid, salsa tinta, duck jamon. The presentation was also beautiful, and I really enjoyed the mix of different textures and chewiness that the duck and the squid had. I’ve never seen this combination before, but Racion does a great job of executing this dish.
The main course of the night: the txuleta (18oz bone-​in all natural prime rib eye) with blistered peppers. The meat from Snake River Farms was phenomenal; it was so juicy and flavorful and tender… and they charred the top of the meat just right. This meat was of superb quality. and we killed it within minutes. So good… Wish there was more to the dish than just peppers as a topping.
Last but not least, we finished with a spanish charcuterie: serrano, chorizo, house specialty, liver mousse and a supplement of jamon iberico which is extremely hard to get. The liver mousse was my favorite as it was bursting of flavor and was very different from the typical liver mousse that I’ve tried. The jamon iberico was an $ 18 supplement but was well worth it as it is the best of the best at $ 3,000 a leg. Although the four of us were already extremely full, we finished this dish within minutes as everything was so delectable.
For dessert, we ordered the crema catalina and a chocolate dessert of some sort. The crema catalina was the star of the show, and we absolutely loved the mix of different ingredients that really highlighted the dish as a whole. Yum.
My experience at Racion by far surpassed my last visit here many years ago, and I was extremely impressed at how much Racion has changed and matured as a restaurant. It is not often that you see a restaurant really develop and embody their mission statement, and you can definitely see the effort and energy that is put in the restaurant in maintaining their «spanish style» food. I am so glad I decided to come back and dine at this criminally underrated gem in Pasadena.

Racion has been on my radar for MONTHS. Not only did it make Jonathan Gold’s 101 restaurant list, but I’ve passed this small & intimate spot many times in Old Town Pasadena.
Random Thursday night and I grab us a last minute reservation thru Opentable.
There’s a parking garage on DeLacey, but we found metered street parking (on Thursday nights, you only need to feed the meter until 8pm).
Stepped in and it looks like a neighborhood wine bar. All the patrons were seated in the back portion and the tables were close together. When our server greeted us, she asked if we preferred seating in the front or the back. We enthusiastically grabbed the seat for 2 in the front with a window. PLUS, no one was in this section so it was quiet (this changed as more people arrived).
Drinks: They have wine & beer, but we decided on a Pitcher of Sangria. This was refreshing; Sherry & Apple Cider w/​Cinnamon.
Food:
arbequena & manzanilla olives-​good, but standard
lamb meatballs-​Yum. Hubby took these down and I had to fight for 1 meatball (there are 3).
crispy prawns-​I enjoyed these (hubby doesn’t like seafood as much)
manchego & pichin cheeses-​good quality cheeses. Really enjoyed the pichin.
spanish charcuterie-​we order this, but our server had forgotten, so we just cancelled it.
slow roasted flat iron steak, smoke, marrow & pomegranate-​we expected more from this. Was not as flavorful, as we had hoped.
Desserts:
We don’t normally grab desserts, but decided, what the heck! SO GLAD WE DID.
Coffee Semifrio-​frozen coffee mousse, flourless chocolate cake, caramel. Husband LOVED this. I had a bite and it was delicious.
Crema Catalana-​spanish custard, pistachio, citrus. My dessert and I cleaned the plate.
Finally, our server was very friendly. We had a fantastic date at this spot and we would come back.

A very cute place on Green St. There were probably only three parties on a weekday lunch time. It is tapa style, the dishes are very small. For two people, we had to order 4 dishes+1 dessert. Inside decoration was pretty bright and modern. Service was good.
The cheese plate with bread and almond sauce. Very creative plating, and the cheese are very good. The bread is toasted, very delicious by itself.
The roasted shishito pepper was too spicy, I don’t how that could happen. Maybe it was only the first several bites. But we could not continue eating afterwards.
The squid ink pasta with mussels. A lot of mussels. The pasta was really fresh, very tasty. And it is not a heavy pasta dish. It came in small portion, and no heavy sauce.
The Pil Pil, a type of fish. It is actually quite a big piece of grilled fish. Crispy on top. The fish is like antarctica, very fatty meat.
We also had a olive oil cake as a dessert. Very pretty presentation, and the combination was just right.
My Spanish friend said this one was pretty authentic. But definitely it is not a cheap one.

Service here is as good as any fine dining restaurant. Some dishes like the gazpacho and the lamb meatballs are 5 star.
But we also ordered the French cod and it came out raw in the middle and smelled awful. I’m sure it’s not usually like this, but ours was. Our server was very apologetic and obviously took the cod off our bill.
The gazpacho was beautifully presented with bright fruit and red and yellow beets. It tasted as good as it looked with the tart fruit and sweet beets complementing the gazpacho perfectly.
The lamb meatballs were tender and juicy and the sauce had a creamy gruyère flavor.
I’d come back for the service and the two dishes mentioned above.

I had high hopes for this place, but unfortunately some of the dishes were a little underwhelming.
⁵⁄₅ Spanish charcuterie — Our favorite was probably the liver mousse, but it’s definitely a very strong flavor for people not used to liver. We also really liked the chorizo and the other meat.
⁵⁄₅ Lamb meatballs — The lamb was perfectly cooked and went very well with the basil and basque cider.
³⁄₅ Duck-​sausage stuffed squid — This dish was very pretty; with that said, the flavor was a little underwhelming.
⁴⁄₅ Wild mushrooms — These were very good. The mushrooms had a hint of vinegar to them, and the sauce it came with paired very well with the earthiness of the dish.
³⁄₅ Beer braised octopus with chorizo and white beans — Unfortunately, some pieces of the octopus were more flavorful than others. The chorizo was way overcooked that we could barely cut it in half.
⁵⁄₅ Squid ink pasta with mussels — By far the best dish of the night! It was so buttery and the pasta was cooked to perfection. I’m glad they saved the best for last.

Ración prides itself on sourcing locally and it really shows. Came here for a late lunch. We could have eaten everything on the Spanish/​Basque-​meets-​modern tapas menu.
Started with chicken croquettes which, like calamari, can make or break a place based on preparation. This version was flawless. Crispy on the outside, light on the inside.
Next up, Lamb meatballs with licorice greens. Yes you read that right, and yes the licorice greens are local. The lamb was amazing. The greens had a spicy yet delicate anise flavor about them.
Crispy prawns came out with head and tail (the latter edible) nicely done, and accompanied by a spicy but not hot mayo pepper sauce, kind of like a rouille, as well as a garlic cream which was heavy on flavor but low on raw bite. A couple cherry tomatoes were thrown in for good measure.
Beer-​braised octopus with chorizo and white beans was both classic and modern. Great flavor combination.
Lastly, and by far the most adventurous was the duck-​stuffed squid with onion ash oil and some other sauce. It was kind of a modern take on surf and turf– I guess? While I appreciated it, some of the squid was more fishy than other pieces, which overpowered the duck. When the dish was on it was on though. I do think it might have been better to start with it as it was a heavier dish.
Great wine and beer selection as well.
My big problem with the place is that I couldn’t eat everything on the entire menu in one go. I’ll need to try the squid, the house maid squid ink pasta, the white anchovies… damn. so much goodness. Not to mention the other stuff for dinner.
Will have to go back soon!

Came in on a Wednesday night for date night with the hubby and was very satisfied! This is a super cute restaurant that is made for date nights. I loved the simple décor and skylights.
I am very surprised by all of the reviews commenting on the poor service at Racion, because our waitress was a gem. She was super attentive, abundantly polite, and very helpful. All of her recommendations were fantastic and we can’t wait to come back to try some of her other favorite dishes. I also love that Chef Montaño came out to present some of the dishes personally. It is always nice to meet a chef that creates such incredible dishes.
Salted Cod Fritters — these were light and crispy, a little on the saltier side, but well balanced when eaten with the lemon cream, which was beautiful
Lamb Meatballs — these were cooked to perfection and very well seasoned, I really loved the use of Picon (a slightly stinky cheese)
Charcuterie + Jamon Iberico — the hubby loved the iberico but I preffered the serrano and both of us were drooling over the liver mousse
Bruleed Cana de Cabra Cheese — wow this was awesome, if you like baked brie, you will love this, it was a perfect balance between the slightly stinky cheese (we like stinky cheeses) and the citrus
Wild Mushrooms — this was fantastic, I loved the assortment of mushrooms, especially the smokiness of enoki mushrooms
Squid Ink Pasta — very well done, the pasta was al dente and the mussels were nicely cooked
Beer Braised Octopus — this was very nicely cooked the octopus was very tender but I prefered the pieces of squid in the dish, and by this point both of us were really stuffed
Coffee Semifrio — because there is always room for dessert! This was a great balanced dessert that was not too sweet. Coffee + Chocolate + Caramel… you can’t go wrong with that!
Corkage fee is $ 20, parking is plentiful if you park in the De Lacey Parking Structure.
Definitely a fantastic date place! The hubby and I will be coming back again soon.

Boyfriend took me here for dinner this past weekend. I was pretty surprised because we just walked passed it a couple of days earlier. The reservation was at 6:30 and we were given the option to sit inside or by a lone table against the window — we opted for the more intimate table next to the window. It was a great seat away from the other diners — they also had an pretty outside patio.
Our waitress was okay — she wasn’t very enthusiastic or even happy but she wasn’t dull or unhappy — I don’t know what she was feeling but we didn’t get bad service — it was just very so-​so. She pretty much smiled, took our orders, didn’t really say much, she did come around about twice to check on us, but I guess I felt like she wasn’t entirely there.
Now the fooood! So we tried:
bruléed caña de cabra cheese, citrus, pistachio served with toasted french bread: I love the cheese — so creamy and rich and goes so well with the grapefruit!
lamb meatballs: these were kind of typical but none the less still tasty — especially the sauce.
milk-​poached asparagus, black garlic and wild mushroom butter: very interesting — doesn’t look super appetizing cause it’s like the asparagus was covered with the black sauce but it was sure tasty — don’t judge it before you try it!
house-​made squid ink pasta, mussels, piquillo peppers, saffron: mMmMh I have always liked squid ink pasta for some odd reason and this place made it extra delicious!
basque oxtail ‘stew,’ bone marrow and beef tongue, root vegetables: okay not a super big fan of this one — it came in a cube shaped but it was very soft and there was one thin crispy beef tongue and I don’t really know where the marrow was — maybe blended in with the oxtail — this one kind of odd.
olive oil cake, vanilla panna cotta, strawberries: good dessert, the cake was very moist and I like the sweet strawberries that were paired with the panna cotta.
frozen lavender honey parfait, crumbles: amazing dessert! I loved it so much I almost ordered a second one… this is a must try dessert!
The food was pretty amazing, the atmosphere was pretty relaxing and romantic and the service was just okay though. But I definitely wouldn’t mind coming again soon.

As a Spanish, I expected something more authentic, since the opinions about it were as good.
The atmosphere was nice and the service was pretty good. However, I was a bit disappointed with the food and even more with the price. I don’t think the food they serve (even if it was not bad) represents Spanish food at all. I expected more traditional tapas such as tortilla de patata (spanish omelette), pintxos, calamares a la romana (roman calamari), pa amb tomaquet (bread with tomato and oil), huevos rotos (broken eggs) or patatas bravas (potatoes with special sauce). I feel that they made up most of the dishes by mixing Spanish food with other kinds of european cusine (french and italian mainly) in a fancy way.
We ordered chicken croquettes which were ok, some charcuterie (spanish jam plate), lamb meatball, squash, salt cod fritter, and squid ink pasta that supposed to be fideua but it was not. We did not get any wine so I cannot talk about it, but it seemed they have some different Spanish wine to chose. All together and taking in account that we did not order wine, which usually makes the bill higher, I think it was too expensive.
Conclusion, they offer a nice environment and good service, but if you are looking for authentic Spanish food it is not exactly the place.