My wife and I dined at La Rambla on 8/1/08. We arrived for our 6:30 reservation only to have to wait outside because there was already a 4-top waiting just inside the door for their table. Issue #1: no waiting area for guests waiting for a table - not a big deal, but a little annoying. We were sat promptly, but in the bank of tables that offered no privacy. Issue #2: don't sit reservations along the bank of tables if it can be helped. It is not private at all and is very hard to carry on a conversation without your neighbors at the next table hearing most of what you say. Otherwise, the dining room is beautiful. Our waitress was nice, but completely forgot to tell us about the specials, which was frustrating after hearing the table next to use getting told the specials within five minutes of us order our first round of tapas. The food was good, not great, but good. Issue #3: tapas are typically small plates with intensely flavored food. The tapas at La Rambla were HUGE, easily enough for dinner. This made them a good value, but it was a little frustrating ordering 4 plates for two people and discovering that it was enough to feed twice as many people. The wait staff should let new diners know about the size of their tapas because it was very different that any other tapas restaurant that we have ever dined at. The roasted beet and spinach salad was very tasty. The boneless lamb was tender, but rather bland, as were the croquettes with the mango salsa. I guess we were expecting more intense flavors. Other diners ordered the paella, which looked very tasty. 4 tapas (2 cold, 2 warm) + 4 drinks (2 each) + tip = $96, which is pretty darn reasonable. Overall, it was a good experience, but it could have been better if we had ordered a bit less and had had a more private table.
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