Arpa Tapas Wine Bar & Grill

Arpa was great when it was in a smaller space a few doors down, but I love the supersized location, too. Food is always wonderful, and it's a beautiful crowd here, too. Pros: Love the food! more

Arpa was one of those places that I always walked by and thought "I really should try that place." I was a little put off by some of the iffy reviews on here, but I forged ahead on a slow, rainy night. So our party was just myself and a friend -- two mid-twenties females. As neither of us were starving, we didn't order much. The lamb small plate and a goat cheese "package." We asked for our waitresses advice on a cheaper red. She directed us to a great Pinot Noir. She could not have been nicer... often people that are not big spenders do no get treated like VIPs in a restaurant... as a former waitress in an expensive restaurant I know that to be a fact. Our total bill could not have been more than $35 yet she checked on us frequently, brought extras of the sauce and pita triangles and brought over the bottle of wine so we could keep an eye out for the label at wine stores. She did not hover and never rushed us, despite the restaurant being mostly empty and she likely could have left earlier had we not been there. Needless to say we tipped her 50% and promised to come back. The food we tried was delicious and unusual... I can't wait to go back soon and throw down the platinum card! Pros: Service, Ambiance, Food, Close to nearby Uptown bars Cons: Portions are small, but come on they are supposed to be -- it is a TAPAS place! more

Huge fan.!!! Great food. Relaxing atmosphere. Extensive wine list.....I am a local who has now attended 2 cooking classes, a wine dinner , and many nights out with the girls at Arpa. All I can say is enjoy yourself!!!! Pros: Atmosphere, Sangria, Friendly staff Cons: Not open for lunch more

This is the worst tapas restaurant I ever been in my entire life. I am an auditor and I travel a lot and it includes a twice a year trip to Barcelona. In addition, I am Latin and I live in Philadelphia where are very good tapas restaurant such as Amada and Tinto (Chef Jose Garces). So, I eat tapas quite often. I was in town for business and I made the mistake to visit this place. I started with the "Manchego Cheese", "Serrano Ham", and "Chorizo". I use the " " because they gave us a cheese that tasted like mozzarella (or the cheapest manchego cheese), prosciutto and just regular sausage. Horrible!!! The papas bravas tasted like regular Taco Bell nachos with cheese, the albondigas (lamb meatballs) tasted like school cafeteria meatballs. The gambas alajillo tasted like the chef just fished them from the river. We got a meat that was ok. For dessert, they do not even have "crema catalana" !!!!!. Only pros: service and free valet parking. I think the chef has never been outside Charlotte at all. HORRIBLE!!!!! Pros: Free valet parking, service Cons: Food taste horrible!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Far away from a decent tapas restaurant in Barcelona. Chef never been outside Charlotte. more

My wife and I went here for our anniversary. I am a waiter and personal chef and found the service to be good and the portions perfect to enjoy good conversation. Monday night the bottles of wine are half-price. Definitely would go back for the atmosphere, the bread and dipping sauces. Pros: Great wine list and ambience! Cons: You won't get full in a hurry or for cheap more

Pretty sad when you go to a tapas restaurant and the Sangria is the best item on the menu. All dishes were dumbed down for American taste. Don't expect one single dish to be authentic here. This place would not make Spaniards proud. Pros: Sangria Cons: Food more

went here after work for some wine and tapas. the windows to the street were open and it was a nice atmosphere. the waiter was able to recommend a good red wine to go with the tapas i selected. i had about three small plates, all of which were very good. i also had the "simple bowl of olives" because i love olives, but it was just that - olives. like 10 of them. for $5. anyway, the other dishes were very flavorful and good and I'd recommend the food. the service was very good, but it also wasn't very busy. Pros: good food, good wine list Cons: a bit pricey more

My dining experience at Arpa was probably the worst dining experience of my life - the food and service that I would likely have received had I opted for McDonalds would have been 100 times better. We came in on a Thursday night at 7:15pm, took a seat at the bar and waited 40 minutes without any acknowledgement. Finally after much inquiry of the hostess, we were placed at a table in a back room - none of the tables around us had been cleared - piles of uneaten food and dirty plates cluttered the table. The service (or lack there of) that we received was horrific. We witnessed the manager verbally abusing his wait staff. I will be the first to admit that I prefer small flavorful portions, but the antipasto that we ordered was laughable - it wouldn't have filled up a bird. The appearance was subpar for the price and the hearts of palm and roasted peppers looked like they were the left overs from the bottom of a $0.99 can of over preserved vegetables. I would NEVER EVER recommend this restaurant to anyone. more

Karen and I made reservations for early in the evening last Saturday. Arrived on time, and were immedialety seated at our table. We elected not to use the patio, as it was sprinkling rain and very muggy outdoors. Found the indoor dining rooms to be very friendly and intimate. Waiter (Sam) immediately brought a nice international wine list, and we selected a very nice Syrha from Argentina. Sam provided outstanding service, promptly bring the wine and taking our Tapas order. We elected to skip the entrees, and ordered up seven different Tapas. Each time we ordered, the Tapas came out of the kitchen in minutes. The presentation was beautiful, and the flavors of all were outstanding (especially the Maine Scallops). Pricing was reasonable and fair......a great meal for two on Staurday evening, for under 100 bucks, including the wine. The free valet parking was also nice, in a crowded part of town where parking is scarce. All in all, a great experience with great food, great service, and great atmosphere. We'll be back soon. Pros: Two tumbs up, in every aspect. Cons: None at all that we saw. more

I think this restaurant set a record last night for being the worst service I've ever had at a restaurant. Not only did it take over an hour before we were seated when there were clearly empty tables, but when we asked the host about being seated, she said, "You still wanted a table?". Come to think of it, we should have laughed at her and walked out. But instead, we finally got a table and the service went from bad to worse. We basically had to flag the waiter down every time we wanted something. The food was fairly good but pricey, and they forgot to put in several of the tapas we ordered and basically forgot to give my credit card back after I paid. I would probably give this place another try, but it sounds like they have more bad nights than good ones. Pros: Food is decent Cons: Terrible Service, Snobby Staff, Somewhat Expensive more

I've been to many tapas restaurants before and the tapas portion size at Arpas is rediculous. You pay an average of $5.00 for two bites and you will pay about $3.50 for bread alone. They really make it appear like you need a reservation; however when we got there the place was practically empty. The ambiance was not that great either. You don't get that quaint Spanish-restaurant-feel - more like a restaurant that is trying too hard to be modern/trendy. more

The food and atmosphere are very good for this little restaurant. It's very trendy, and you will find many young professionals dining here. The food was very good, but the service could have been a little better. We kept having to track down our waiter to get some help. On a good note, the waiter did inform us ahead of time that the kitchen was slow that night, and provided us with a free extra tapas. Overall, I will definitely go back for another round, and would recommend it to anyone who is a fan of tapas. Also, I would definitely recommend a reservation, as the wait could be an hour or more. Pros: Food/Price, Valet Parking, Atmosphere Cons: Service, Small, Wait more

I was a little skeptical heading to Arpa after I read some other reviews, but I had a great time. The food was phenomenal - so much so that I was full before I had tryed all the dishes that appealed to me. I'll have to go back to try the others. It has a killer atmosphere and the service was excellent. There were not many people in there, which was the only draw back, however it was Tuesday after a holiday weekend. I will definitely go back, and I just hope I can get in on a weekend, b/c as soon as people discover this place, it's going to be packed. Pros: killer atmosphere, fantastic food more

food was just ok servers were ok and little plate add up to big bucks Pros: location Cons: price more

After all the rave about tapas bars in Charlotte, I decided to try Arpa. The overall experience was mediocre at best. My girlfriend and I waited about 15 mins. after being seated to place drink orders. I'm a huge food critic and I give every restaurant the benefit of the doubt. Some of the tapas tasted like they were fresh out of a frozen box, uguh. I gave it a try and probably won't go back. more

Arpa's decor truly makes you feel special. The dark floors with the contrast of the red ceiling followed by a chandelier with lights in shapes of grapes just ties everything together. If you like sampling Spanish cuisine, I would highly recommend this place. I would not come here hungry however, portions are small but moderately priced. They also have larger dishes to be shared. The seafood & bread soup is excellent! Also the Gilled Chicken and brochette is superb. I would strongly recommend calling the restaurant for reservation they have limited space, and quite often it fills up fast. If youre looking for a place to meat before going to the theater, just a place to talk I would highly recommend ARPAs. Pros: Intamcy, Menu Options, Food Quality Cons: , Number of Seats more

The food was good however, I had a really bad experience. When I called earlier that week to make a reservation, the guy who answered the phone made it seem like he was inconvienced by my call. When I asked if I actually needed one, he gave me a firm "absolutely." When I showed up 20 minutes early Sat night, the place was 75% empty. I felt as though I had walked into a restaurant that was in the middle of cleaning up, closing down & preparing for Sunday brunch. The wait staff was distracted, we felt rushed and it made our evening unenjoyable. It was too bad because it overshadowed the food which was good. If Arpa plans to stick around, they had better adjust their attitude. more