I have been to Iberia a couple of times. As a Spaniard, I have enjoyed their food, but last Saturday my sister booked a friend's bachelorette party there. The owner, Jose Luis, promised my sister... More

I have been to Iberia a couple of times. As a Spaniard, I have enjoyed their food, but last Saturday my sister booked a friend's bachelorette party there. The owner, Jose Luis, promised my sister that it would be a great party and he would make sure we had enough food. $700 later, we were hungry and Jose Luis says he does not agree that we were not satisfied. First, watch out, they charge more for food outside than indoors, but do not state that anywhere nor do they give you the choice. Second, they took away our food without asking if we were done eating while we took pictures. Third, they charged $50 to cut a cake which they ended up keeping. Fourth, as mentioned earlier, we were hungry after paying $700. This man gives Spaniards a bad name; he is an embarassment to our country. No where in Spain would you ever be tricked like this. I will never, ever go there again. Much better places n the Bay Area. I can cook better Spanish food with a blind fold on!
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I am a Spaniard that has met the owner Jose Luis personally, who is also from Spain. Last Thursday I had a party there, we were 11 people total. I called him a week before and told him just in case... More

I am a Spaniard that has met the owner Jose Luis personally, who is also from Spain. Last Thursday I had a party there, we were 11 people total. I called him a week before and told him just in case I needed reservations. He told me that he would charge me $35 per person because in the dining room he does not serve tapas, I told him I thought that was expensive given the fact that we wanted tapas and the average tapa at the restaurant is $2.95. He assured me that he would prepare me plenty of food and I would not be disappointed. He quoted me $420.00. Well, needless to say, not only was I disappointed, but extremely embarrassed as well. He seated us outside with the train going by every 5 minutes, when I specifically asked him to seat me inside, (that is why I was paying $35 per person). He brought exactly 7 tapas to our table. I asked the waiters, Fidel and Jaime to get Jose Luis for me because I wanted to speak to him, they told me he was not there, which is impossible since he is the cook. Today, August 13, when I confronted him over the phone he told me that he was there, so he lies as well. There was not enough food for everybody, one lady had to eat two slices of bread and two cheese scones. One girl who arrived from the airport did not get to eat at all because while we were taking pictures and obviously distracted, one of the waiters cleared the table and took the shrimp plate with all the shrimp but four that had been eaten. To top it off, the $50.00 cake I brought , they kept after charging me $50.00 for cutting the cake. They kicked us out because they wanted to close without any explanation as to why I could not get my cake back, there was half left. And by the way, a soda from the tap is $4.50 and the water is $7.00. And the best part of all, these are his words to me today, August 13, 2007, that the meal was more expensive because we were seated outside,
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Below average food at best, slow service, very unfriendly staff. Manager had great disdain for clientele as well as the staff. All this unpleasantness comes with a hefty 19% service charge added... More

Below average food at best, slow service, very unfriendly staff. Manager had great disdain for clientele as well as the staff. All this unpleasantness comes with a hefty 19% service charge added to your bill. And the manager will threaten to call the police if you even question the quality of food, poor service and outrageous service charge. It's very suprising that Menlo Park would tolerate such a business in their community. Cons: everthing about this place
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Have never had such a bad experience at any restaurant any place! I'm a food lover and can justify any level of service, but not this one. Bad service, rude management with a bad atittude. Food... More

Have never had such a bad experience at any restaurant any place! I'm a food lover and can justify any level of service, but not this one. Bad service, rude management with a bad atittude. Food is way overpriced, really poor quality. Now we know why they have the mandatory 19% service charge!!!!! Pros: Lots of empty seats so you get seated promptly Cons: terrible service, very low quality food, over priced, rude management
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The table next to us had the same bad experience as our group and when they tried to give feedback to the person who seemd to be the manager (or perhaps the owner) they got treated very poorly. No... More

The table next to us had the same bad experience as our group and when they tried to give feedback to the person who seemd to be the manager (or perhaps the owner) they got treated very poorly. No apologies, no trying to make it right by the customers, absolutely unprofessional. We even overheard the manager/owner gentleman say, it's my restaurant and I can do what I like. So we decided it's not even worth giving them feeback as this restaurant is not into quality of service nor quality of food....we just paid our outrageous bill and left, never to return again. Cons: food, service
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Having good memories of this restaurant in it's original location in Portola Valley I was looking forward to a similar experience in their new location - what a disapointment ! The single... More

Having good memories of this restaurant in it's original location in Portola Valley I was looking forward to a similar experience in their new location - what a disapointment ! The single bartender spent most of the evening trying to figure out how to use the till ignoring the multitude of thirsty customers lining the bar. Our order of a selection of hot Tapas took more than 40 minutes to arrive and were cold when they finally appeared. To add insult to injury this restaurant has a policy of charging a 19% service charge which, I imagine, was implemented when their appalling service resulted in no gratuities being left by the customers. Pros: none Cons: food, ambience, service
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As far as good tapas go, this one is nowhere near good tapas you find in Aregentina or Spain. But if you must and since it is the only one you can find in Menlo Park, it will do.

As far as good tapas go, this one is nowhere near good tapas you find in Aregentina or Spain. But if you must and since it is the only one you can find in Menlo Park, it will do.
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A friend from work recommended Iberia as an inexpensive tapas restaurant. Based on the fact the the person giving me the recommendation was younger than me, I was expecting a restaurant like... More

A friend from work recommended Iberia as an inexpensive tapas restaurant. Based on the fact the the person giving me the recommendation was younger than me, I was expecting a restaurant like Cascals (Mountain View). On a whim I took my Fiancee there on a Friday night. To my surprise it is was not trendy but more traditional Spanish restaurant. It appeared to cater to an older crowd. We sat in the outdoor area which is a larger space covered completely by a very large tree. Note that the restaurant is near the Menlo Park train station and you will hear the trains rumbling through (not very romantic). The menu was limited and all the dishes were traditional Spanish dishes. Did not see any tapas on the menu so I was confused since other reviewers and my friend said they enjoyed inexpensive tapas at this restaurant. We had a pan seared shrimp appetizer, my fiancee had the trout and I had dish with chicken and figs. On the whole the food was not that great. It all tasted very bland. Neither of us were satisfied. The service reminded my experience in Europe where dinner out is the entire evening and they take their time in serving you. In US standards the service was very slow. We usually like having desert but due to the fact that we really were not enjoying ourselves we requested check before we were done with our meals. Also the meal was expensive and not worth it. I dont mind paying for a good meal but the point here is that the food was not worth the price. The positive side is that the wait staff was extremely friendly. Based on this experience we will never go to Iberia again because its just not our style of restaurant. Pros: Lots of parking, friendly staff Cons: slow service, not worth the price, slow service
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Iberia is an upscale Spanish restaurant with two sections: the main dining area and the bar area. The main dining area has a full dinner menu, including various paellas and fish and meat dishes. The... More

Iberia is an upscale Spanish restaurant with two sections: the main dining area and the bar area. The main dining area has a full dinner menu, including various paellas and fish and meat dishes. The bar area has a really wide arrangement of tapas, my favorite being the pulpo a la gallega and the pan amb tomat (bread with prosciutto and a tomato sauce). I love the ambiance of this place. It has a loot of wood and leather seats and sort of feels like being in a cozy cabin in the Pyrenees. The place also has a wide variety of drinks, including an ample wine list, various cognacs and ports, as well as a number of beers on tap. Despite my five star review, the restaurant certainly has some kinks. For one, they never seem to have anything. I tend to arrive on the late side (typically after 9pm) and generally they don't have any tortilla left - very strange for a Spanish place... a few times they didn't even have bread!! All in all, I love the place and would totally recommend it because it is one of those places that gets better the more you go to it. --- I just want to add that last week (10/1/06) Kiwi, my favorite waitress left. This is very sad for me. Where are you Kiwi??? And where is my Bass??? will miss you! PROS: great ambiance, good food CONS: they are always out of things!
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Eaten here 5-7 times, at their deli 20 times. I think it's the BEST restaurant in the area. Offers several genuine but different Iberian dining experiences, all high quality, for different moods.... More

Eaten here 5-7 times, at their deli 20 times. I think it's the BEST restaurant in the area. Offers several genuine but different Iberian dining experiences, all high quality, for different moods. Bar - Booths, fireplace, great selection of spirits, atrium wine cellar. Intimateplace to share a drink, and get a bite (tapas). Dining Room - Formal ambiance, hand carved chairs, layers of table linens, professional waiters, excellent Iberian cuisine and wines. Educated, affluent crowd. Terrace - Romantically illuminated under an Oak tree, wonderful on a warm evening. Private Dining Room - oak table seats 12-14, fireplace, tapestry chairs - countryish, elegant. Iberia is a genuine Iberian restaurant. They don't serve the BAR FOOD in the DINING ROOM. The waiters are PROFESSIONALs not local drop-outs who interrupt with smarmy chatter. It's an rld oasis in Silicon Valley. Try it if you're looking for the real thing. Pros: cuisine, ambiance, range Cons: none
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