Alegrias

We ordered so many tapas, I had no idea what I was eating, but they were all amazing. I’m not usually a fan of sangria, but theirs was delicious. For desert we had a couple crepes. The crêpe with dulce de leche was so so, but the one with rum, which was flaming as it came to the table was terrible. It was pure rum, hardly cut with anything else and way too strong. Either it wasn’t made right or it was just plain bad.

We were craving some tapas just before salsa dancing and Alegrias hit the spot. We had three tapas and a bottle of wine and both were delicious. Unfortunately we didn’t try the paella which is supposedly legendary. It has a mellow vibe and is great for a date.

Yummy paella!!! Celebrated a friend’s birthday here and the service surpassed exceptional. Our waiter was full of jokes, smiles, and laughs. I really wish I could recall his name but this was a couple of days ago. so if you’re in town or would love to go out of your way to visit Alegria’s, not only will you get the awesome food but the people here are amazing at what they do. :)

The food is very nice and the service good. We ordered the asparagus, spinach and patatas bravas. They were all tasty with the potatoes taking the cake. They seemed to be double-​fried, with a stiff but not thick exterior. It was nice and soft on the inside. The aioli was not really ladled over the potatoes, but the potatoes were tossed in it — a different preparation than we’re used to. We ordered the vegetarian paella (been a while) and it was nice. Very flavorful and lot of texture. We had the crema catalana to finish and that was tasty packing a lot of orange flavor. The waiter had recommended an albarino and it went great with the meal.

I always try to go local and go DELICIOUS when I travel — I was not disappointed. The authentic Spanish seafood paella followed by the bread pudding could not have been better. To top it off the service (I am a stickler on this point) was absolutely incredible. I feel like a valued member of the neighborhood whose satisfaction with my meal was incredibly important. I leave with a smile on the outside as well as on the inside. Thank you!

Easily made a reservation the day of for a Saturday at 6:30pm. We walked in with half the tables occupied but it started to fill up around 7pm.
We ordered the Paella A La Valenciana, Patatas Alioli, Calamares Fritos Con Alioli, Sangria, and the Apple crêpe with run sauce (dessert on fire). I really enjoyed the Patatas Alioli and Sangria and the rest were good. Very flavorful and enough for two people.
The atmosphere was cozy and the staff was very friendly. It’s a great date spot and there’s also space in the back for groups. I would definitely visit again.

I went here, for my husband’s birthday dinner.
The food was very good and the house Sangria was delicious as well. The ambience is very appealing and it was not that crowded. I enjoyed the silent dinner with some good music :)

I don’t understand what all the outstanding reviews are about. My friend said it smelled like a convalescent home as soon as we walked in LOL. That pretty much ruined my appetite and for me, ambiance is a huge factor. We ordered a few hot tapas-​prawns and the croquettes from what I remember. Fortunately, the prawns were decent and not gummy. We also had some sort of Spanish omelette-​decent.
I wouldn’t recommend coming here at all.

For the best paella ever
Algeria in San Francisco is the place
Love it:))))) We have been coming here for 16 years! The best sangria we have ever drunk! The service is good and great for big group dinners too. I strongly suggest potato cubes with source and shrimps with garlic sauce!

Went to this place with the expectation of the food similar to what I had in Jaleo in DC downtown. The food was not close to Jaleo at all. The food here was ok. Nothing memorable. We had Gambas al Ajillo — the only item which was really good. Manchego Flambeado was very very rich. Paella a la Valenciana was not good at all. It was bland and flavorless. I think i had expected too much from this dish but I didn’t like. May be this is how it’s served in Spain. I don’t know.
Would I go again? I don’t think so.

Very Cozy !!
Been to other Spanish restaurants and this one is a bit more spacious, the service was great our waiter was super nice :). It’s nice to see everyone in restaurants kept busy never saw anyone just standing around.
Our food was delicious ordered:
Empanadillas de carne, espagarros a la parilla and for main dish paella a la valenciana con chorizo .
If around the area give this place a try!

Cozy Spanish restaurant with mostly tapas.
Sangria was nice ($ 6).
We tried 2 «specials» pimientos piquillo (3 small red peppers filled with groind up lamb) and pulpo a la gallega (octopus on top of potato).
Both were ok.
The croquetes didn’t hit me and I won’t order them again.
The esparagos were either a bit old or over cooked for my taste.
3 or 3 ½ for the food
5 for the nice waiter
4 for the old ambience

My boyfriend took me here on Valentines Day because he knows that I love Spanish cuisine. It’s dimly lit, romantic, and intimate, so love was definitely in the air that night. There was a prix fixe menu, so we got the lobster croquettes, gambas al ajillo (garlic/​white wine prawns), lamb stuffed piquillo peppers, jamon serrano, escalivada (???), and the CALLOS A LA MADRILENA (Note: I thought I’d be adventurous and order the rabbit stew, but they were sold out that night so I’m assuming it’s good. Still on my list!). I love me some Spanish food, but I particularly love this place because of they offer a lot of dishes that they don’t serve at other Spanish restaurants. Everything we ordered was delicious, but it’s the callos a la madrilena (Madrid style tripe) that has me coming back to this place. That, and to my pleasant surprise, a waitress that I met at El Torito was serving us that night and it was great to see her again. I stop by this restaurant to say Hi because she’s a sweetheart.
Not a lot of restaurants serve this kind of Madrid style tripe in all its yummy tomato sauce glory, so when the craving strikes I go straight here. The last time we ate here, we also tried the garlic mushrooms and the jamon iberico & prawn croquettes, and both are yummy in my tummy. I’d definitely order those again. As an Asian, people find it appalling that I dislike rice, but I like some kinds of rice as long as its different. So we ordered the arroz negro, which is paella cooked in squid ink. It’s very flavorful but also very filling so I was stuffed. I’ve also ordered the manchego flambeado as recommended by other Unilocalers, which was cool to watch and to try, but it’s not a must have.
To summarize, Alegrias is a wonderful Spanish restaurant, especially if you want to explore more authentic Spanish dishes (I.E. more than just jamon serrano, manchego cheese, patatas bravas, etc. *yawn*). Don’t forget to order a pitcher of sangria or some Spanish red wine to get the full experience :)

GET:
–Frog legs. Excellent. These were the star of the dinner – very flavorful and tender, with a nice crisp in the outside.
Decent, but probably would not order again:
–Gambas al Ajillo (shrimp in tomato-​based sauce). Flavorful sauce, however you need to drink with a spoon along with the shrimp in order to get the flavor.
PASS on:
–Arroz Negra (squid ink paella) (entrée). I normally love anything squid ink. This, however, was way overdone and incredibly dry – so much so, that I couldn’t even stick a fork into parts of the paella. Poor execution aside, the flavor was also lacking – as it was with the majority of the other dishes…
–Croquettes filled with Spanish ham and shrimp. 4 pieces, about twice as big as a jalapeño popper. Filling was very mushy. Came with a sauce that did not pair well – sauce was like a non-​spicy spicy mayo. Considering the lack of flavor and unappealing consistency (and color – brownish inside), I would have preferred pre-​frozen jalapeño poppers.
–Bocadillos (crab cakes) with mild jalapeño cream sauce. Very mild – can’t taste any jalapeño in the sauce, and it was in desperate need of seasoning. Crab cakes were also mushy inside, though the outside had a nice crisp, similar to the croquettes.
Overall a very homey authentic-​feeling Spanish restaurant, but food was disappointing. Chef walks around and chats with patrons, which is nice. His recommendations were the frog legs and shrimp.
Without the frog legs, Alegrias would have been 2 stars for me. The Valencia paella was not good, however another party (who pronounced it «pa-​ella», rhyming with umbrella…), said it was good. Could be that I chose the dishes very poorly, however with the majority of the dishes being severely lacking (and at the pricy range of $ 8 – 12 per tapas-​sized dish), I find it hard to believe that our meal was not representative of the menu as a whole. I probably won’t be returning, unless I’m in the mood for multiple orders of frog legs.

I had gone to Spain a year or so before this restaurant and it is a great representation of authentic food that you would receive in Madrid. It surprised us a lot the outside looks a little dingy and run down but you go inside and the ambiance is unbelievable: dim lights, spanish style paintings and rugs, and very homie. The wait stuff was very on point and quick to serve.
I would recommend to start with the flaming cheese with bread (watch out don’t eat it too fast or you may get burnt), the vegetarian and carne ensenadas are very good and small enough to share among two people, and the Tortilla de Chorizo is a spanish style omelette and tops the meal off with its authenticity and texture.
I would recommend it for smaller groups and dates.

My boyfriend and I both have several dietary restrictions, and we asked the waiter muy many questions about the ingredients in the dishes. He got the chef to come out to speak to us; the chef was extremely friendly and patient with us and gave us the full scoop on the dishes we wanted to order.
The staff here seem genuinely kind and helpful. Me likes.
The seafood paella I ordered was quite good though admittedly not the best we have tasted, but the kindness of the chef and the staff more than made up for that. They were also generous in pouring the wine — another plus.
One of the best things we had were the appetizer olives. The flavor was unlike anything we tasted before but highly addictive. I’m not supposed to have vinegar currently, but I couldn’t help myself and ate too many delicious olives.

Don’t get me wrong, for a place on the otherwise ugly Lombard, Alegrias was charming and intimate. Service was great. But the food… really not so.
We ordered an array of tapas to share and not one was amazingggg, but overall quite average. Both of us dining have spent a good amount of time in Spain so maybe this explains why.
If you’re looking for an easy reservation, and a cute place, with good to ok food, try it out. But if you’re really craving great Spanish food, try Zarzuela on Hyde, or if you can get a reservation, definitely go to Coqueta on the Embarcadero.

Still a good place for dinner and you can park across the street at Lombard Street Parking.
Brought friends and family here when I came into town. We tried lots of different plates but I particularly love the mushrooms and paellas.
Bookmarked and will definitely come back

I was bedazzled at how impeccable the service was. Our server was attentive and didn’t miss a beat. Our water and wine were being filled constantly; we we’re not left thirsty.
We ordered the patatas and that was absolutely delicious. Wow the buttery ness and the Flavours of the herbs was quite fantastic. The mushrooms were delicately prepared and paired perfectly with our Oinot Noir. Gosh the vegetarian empanadas were heaven. CoZy and charming ambience we’ll definitely come back to try the paella.

Nice, quiet, tapas place. Came in early on a Wednesday night and had a nice evening.
Our server, Juan Carlos, was perfect. Gracious and attentive.
We ordered a pitcher of Sangria which was plenty (almost too much) for two.
The menu has a good selection. We opted for the Empanadillas de carne, Jamon Iberico, and Tortilla Española to start. I would rate those in that order from most favorite to least (although the tortilla was just fine)
We ordered the Paella Valenciana which had a wonderful flavor. Rice was perfect as was the seafood. Be sure to squeeze some lemon over the paella.
For two people, the bill was $ 87, so it’s a bit pricey, but it was good food.
Décor is somewhat old fashioned, but good made up for it.

Go for their flaming cheese! That is an eye-​winner and a specialty for a Spanish tapa! I also did like their Shrimps in their house signature sauce! It was delightful!
Their Empanada and White Wine Marinated Mushrooms were good, but wasn’t the all star spectacular dishes on tapas!
Service was wonderful and they set the mood with live music being played!
It’s a great date place to bring a special someone due to its glowing dinner setting!

I love Spanish tapas and I love Alegrias. Both my visits here have been phenomenal. They have an abundant assortment of vegetarian tapas and delicious desserts.
We got a pitcher of Sangria which was some of the best we’ve had in the city, 3 tapas, of which 2 were excellent and the other was a tad too rich for us. We also ordered the paella, which was perfectly seasoned and simmered. After our entrees, we tried to eat the fantastic Crema Catalana but we’re too full from cleaning off the other plates to finish the dessert.
Would highly recommend Alegrias to anyone, especially those in the mood for an intimate evening with fantastic tapas.

A tasty, reasonably priced meal…
Empanadillas de Carne and Conejo a la Cazuela to start.
Paella a la Valenciana con Chorizo Español for the entrée.
There was a nice selection of Tempranillo to choose from.
They even had a band singing and playing Spanish music.