La Bodega Tapas Bar

Really good food. First time tasting churros and they were amazing. Best music. Seriously recommend!!!

We just visited La Bodega as a sort of insider tip for a relaxed salsa ‘practice’ while on holiday in Scotland. Afterwards I have to say, we were really excited about the atmosphere and the people around La Bodega, especially in comparison to the venues we usually visit for such kind of evenings (mostly Germany).
As others have already stated, it doesn’t just feel like a restaurant but rather like a familiar cosy, relaxing and at the same time lively place to be. The food and drinks are like given with love, not just put on the table, being comparatively affordable though.
The people and staff there are funny, laid-​back guys easy to get in touch with. The music we’d describe as chilly, animating, latin-​like-​alive and thrilling at once, while the DJ (and barkeeper, dancer, dancing master in one person) found a kind of perfect mix across latin music, always close to the people on the floor so you could let out your salsa, bachata, merrenge or just freestyle dancing-​soul on one evening.
Altogether, a place for impressions, relaxing, pleasure and feeling music for an evening rather than just a locality with service and loudspeakers. A definite must-​visit, if you’re enjoying spanish or latin way of live,

What a wee hidden gem of a place this is. I have driven past it dozens of times and thought is was just a workers’ caff serving the many industrial units along South Street. It wasn’t until I read the reviews on Unilocal that I realised what I’d been missing, so we booked a table and made a special trip down there for lunch today.
First impressions — we were the only people there and the chef came out of the kitchen to meet us, which didn’t bode well I thought. The décor is unassuming and definitely a ‘work in progress’, but it is clear that they have already put a great deal of effort into getting the place functioning. The bar is near the entrance and there’s a line of tables along the window wall, with a larger central area that looks like it could double as a dance floor, and finally there’s a stage area at the far end. It all looks delightfully ‘hand-​knitted’ and I loved it immediately.
Once the owner returned from upstairs and realised that we were his booking, things picked up. In short order some music was played, menus appeared, and soon we were tucking in to the first of our tapas. As neither of us are carnivores, we picked fishy choices, olives, tortilla, and some papas arrugadas.
The boquerones (anchovies) and olives were the first to arrive, and we both wolfed them down like the ravenous dogs we were. Delicious. Then came the tortilla and papas arrugadas. The tortilla is definitely something special, and I wished I’d ordered two portions, it was so tasty. The papas arrugadas turned out to be baby new potatoes with a separate dish of pepper sauce and another of coriander sauce. A fantastic combination of tastes, and the pepper sauce was just right — not too hot at all.
Finally, the boquerones frito (whitebait) and the calamares a la romana appeared. The menu jokingly describes the whitebait as ‘fishchips’, but actually that’s a great description of them. They’re crispy and full of flavour — yum!
I’m not generally a great fan of tapas as a primary meal choice, as I always feel that they’re more of an appetizer option whilst sitting at the bar with a drink; but I might be won over by this place. The portions aren’t huge, but with the 3 for £9 special offer, it’s pretty good value.
I will definitely return when the place is a bit more lively and they have some entertainment on. They may not be in a prime location, but it’s definitely worth making the pilgrimage to this place. But let’s not tell everyone about it — we don’t want it to become too popular. Let’s just keep it between ourselves, OK?

Rather unassuming from the outside, I must have passed this place many times thinking it was just a small café serving the students of the dance school housed in the same building. Recently I heard it was a great place for tapas so decided to pay a visit.
The staff are friendly and chatty and I would describe the atmosphere as very relaxed — as a tapas bar and café rather than a restaurant, it’s the kind of place you can just spend some time in, have a few drinks, order a few tapas dishes if you feel like a bite to eat.
In addition to the menu, there were many more options on the specials board. One of the dishes I ordered wasn’t available but that was okay as there were plenty of other tempting options to choose from and the staff were happy to make suggestions and give their own recommendations.
I especially enjoyed the Spanish omelette and the potatoes with green coriander and red pepper sauces — the sauces were so delicious I mopped up the last of them with the complimentary bread!
I’ll be back and hopefully catch a dance performance next time.

I used to live round the corner from La Bodega but for some reason never made it there for dinner despite hearing nothing but good things. We never do appreciate what’s right under our noses! But an invite out to dinner with friends finally found me there and I can say with certainty that it won’t be long before I’m back.
The food was absolutely delicious with a few more interesting options than the standard fare at the chain tapas places in town, and everything was obviously freshly made. Portions are on the smaller side, but I just see that as an excuse to try more things (surely the point of tapas after all!) We tried a good number of both meat and veggie dishes and also treated ourselves to some lovely churros for dessert. The house wine was also good and reasonably priced.
But perhaps the best part of a visit to La Bodega is the atmosphere. It is both friendly and relaxed and service good without being obtrusive. The restaurant is attached to a dance school and as we enjoyed our food a class let out with the students making their way into the bar/​restaurant to have a few drinks and continue dancing. We ended up staying for quite a while after we finished eating, enjoying the dancing and having a few more glasses of wine.
It was without doubt one of my favourite dining experiences in Glasgow, and definitely one of the city’s hidden gems.

La Bodega is the only Spanish Themed Tapas bar I have been in the UK (I actually cannot find really tapas places in the country — most of them call themselves tapas but end up being a restaurant!)
Service is really friendly and helpful — food is truly amazing you feel like you’re in Spain and the place itself has got lots of character.
Food is exactly like in Spain you can choose between tapas, portion or main meal. And it is really cheap too — drinks choice is minimum but good quality.
Spanish owner Alexis is a warm individual and cater for any events from Christmas Dinner to Live bands Album Launch (all free of charge) and is brilliant for making you feel at home!
Also note that there is dance school upstairs and they often end up in the bar downstairs so you can see live performances while drinking/​eating or even dance with them!
For the Smokers there is an amazing smoking outdoor area with a wood burning stove inside a gazeebo that makes you think you’re camping.