Pura Vida Tapas & Bar

I popped into Pura Vida on a Thursday night by myself...(its been on my list of places to go but my boyfriend and I never seem to get there) and was pleasantly surprised! Jacob, the bartender and the rest of the staff were extremely friendly, service was impeccable, and the food was stunning! I started with a glass of house-made white sangria and their version of a cuban sandwich and ended up staying for several more selections, leaving only when I thought I would burst at the seams. Pros: friendly service, great menu, excellent cocktails Cons: not open for lunch more

We have been a number of time to Pura vida and the food and service has always been exceptional! Very romantic and yet good for groups as well. Have never had a bad meal there! Pros: Great food and atmosphere! Cons: Parking can be hard to find, but is worth it! more

my husband and i love to stop in every once in awhile for a few bites at the bar. the chef is always doing creative things with food and isn't afraid to make things a little spicy. last time we had the most delicious dish with garlic flavored mashed potatoes and an egg. we ordered a second helping. don't miss the daily special ice creams, that's where they first won me over--avocado ice cream with a warm chocolate sauce, sounds a little crazy, but so delicious i sometimes call just to see if they have it. more

This little spot in the Highlands is still good for Pan-Asian tapas and drinks. The more sophisticated Tapas Crowd has moved on. We still like coming here, for the homey atmosphere and service. The small plates, are just that, and tend to seem overpriced these days, but are still tasty. The pitchers of Sangria, make us want to get up and dance. And after several, we usually do. Still better than middle of the road Tapas joints around town. Pros: Reliable Small Plates & Drinks! Cons: Food Value Seems To Be Declining! more

Even for tapas this place serves you the bare minimum. For $10 you get probably 5 bites of tuna ceviche for example. The rest is similar. The service is very nice and food good quality but we will not go back because the value is not there. Also the sangria was so watered down that we had to send it back. Pros: tasty food Cons: very small portions; no value more

As mentioned, Pura Vida is not a good place for a large group. At first the reservations we made were for 20. We arrived on time...every member of our party, however, did not arrive all at once. And you cannot be seated until EVERYONE gets there. We thought, we would just get a drink and wait at the bar. Not exactly. The restaurant is so tiny, instead we were almost brushed aside and forced to loiter outside ""middle-school-style.""\r I informed the manager that we only had 16 people; she said now we could sit at one table. Excellent, I thought. \r An extra person ended up showing up, and that EXTRA chair meant our party HAD TO be split into TWO different tables...in TWO different rooms!\r Everyone was quite annoyed. Everyone was thirsty. And everyone was hungry. We ordered drinks and many plates. We were surprised when most of our tapas came out about 25 minutes before the drinks! (our server even warned us about the sluggish bartender).\r This was the second time I had ever had tapas and I will say that the steak and the duck were great, everything else was ordinary. The portions were barely visible and the average price was $8. At the end of the meal our server insisted that we use a calculator as if we were unable to add or divide. \r The manager recognized everyone's disappointment and apologized to me, but stated that I should not have been surprised when our party was split into TWO different rooms. She said this was discussed from the beginning. IT WAS NOT. She also apologized for the food coming out before the drinks but didn't know anything about it until i told her! \r When there is a party that large, she should have been doing what she does worst...MANAGING! \r Overall not a good experience at all. I will not be back. more

Finally I had the oportunity to visit Pura Vida, I heard a lot of good comments about this restaurant, and what a surprise I had. The food was amazing....Actually, my friends and I decided to let the server to pick all the tapas for us..We had about 15 different plates from which around 10 were just amazing, and the others were really good. We loved the tuna, palms, duck empanadas, fried duck, and that bikini was just out of this world..The staff was so friendly and they knew what they were selling..our server was able to explain most of tapas with such as detail and besides the flavors of the tapas the presentation was just lovely. Drinks are really good ....specially that aged mojito....We will be back for Tango.... Pros: great food, good prices, great place Cons: Parking is a little bit confusing more

I've eaten at Pura Vida many times, and they recently changed their menu. Lots of my old favorites are still there including the mussels and the chicken empanadas, which are served with a very tasty hot-vinegar sauce, and the delicious shrimp cocktail. I tried several of the new items, and they are as good, if not better than some of my old favorites. The goat & green banana mofongo with coconut broth is out of this world! The new celery ceviche with mushrooms and cheese is great! I read one of the reviews posted that said the ingredients are ""wierd"". Well... if you want burgers and fries this is not the place for you. If, however you want to experience food you cannot try elsewhere - truly creative food- at an exceptional price - then try Pura Vida. What other restaurant in Atlanta sells shrimp cocktail for $8 or Foie Gras for $10? Not only is there a glossary on the menu, to translate the Spanish to English, but the staff is very knowledgible and can help you navigate the items you might be unfamiliar with. And the mojitos rock! Pros: great creative food, great price Cons: busy... make reservations or be prepared to wait more

Pura Vida is awesome. The service is the best in town. I have been there several times and each time the server knows anything about everything. The food is just as good as the service too. Highly recommend this restaurant. Try the goat!!! Pros: Service, Food Cons: Need to make a reservation more

Took an old friend on a date at Pura Vida and was totally suprised that the menu had changed. It was awesome. The food was innovative, cutting edge, and most importantly delicious. I do miss some of the old favorites (like the salmon ceviche) but totally respect the chefs right to try new things. i mean, who wants to cook the same stuff for years on end. Hector Santiago's food is the ""high art"" of tapas. Eclipse de luna and Fuego are McDonalds in comparison - good if you're jonzing for the same old stuff. The Pato Frito - fried duck - and Malanga pasta were excellent. Our favorite comfort food, the chicken empanadas, are still on the menu and a great compliment to the new, more upscale dishes. The wine selection was wonderful and the wait staff was friendly and helpful. The ingredients may be foreign to the average diner, but the translations provided and great waitstaff make it quite easy to understand. Will definitely be back! Pros: great atmosphere, innovative food more

Despite the recent negative reviews, I thought to give this place a try considering the high 9.2 rating. While the restaurant is not bad, I would say Eclipse di Luna or Loca Luna are better tapas restaurants. The dishes are good but not outstanding; the menu is complicated (weird ingredients), but fortunately there are definitions and descriptions of some of the foods. \r \r The portions are quite small...yes, small for tapas. I ordered this one dish with some kind of ""hearts of palm"" and it was gone in two forkfuls. Prices of the dishes are twice as much as Eclipse for half the serving. The presentation of food is quite appealing however (I guess that is really what you are paying for). Drinks are a bit weak and watered down. \r \r Our server was really really nice and informative. Fast service. Simple, and charming decor (hey, if that helps!). But I probably won't be back; if you want great tapas for a better $, head to Eclipse. Pros: Service, Food Presentation Cons: Parking, Small restaurant, tiny portions more

I've never left a review before, but felt the need to do so for this specific restaurant. I had heard a number of good things about Pura Vida and went there on a Saturday night with a small group of 4. The first problem was that despite having a reservation, we were told we needed to wait 30 mintues for a table, and then told we couldn't wait anywhere except right by the front door (it was 20 degrees out) because there was a private party at the bar and we weren't allowed to stand nearby. Finally we were seated and ordered some sangria. Nothing but watered-down wine. Then came the tapas. Extremely small portions, even for tapas...we actually mentioned that to our server who agreed. Nothing stood out as tasty or enjoyable. It was all extremely average at best. Amongst the group, we even discussed not what was best, but which dish was the worst. I feel rather confident that I will not return to this place and in fact I feel angry for having gone even once. Guess you gotta try new places, but I don't recommend this one at all. more

I have to agree with the previous reviewer?my most recent experience at Pura Vida was disappointing. Pura Vida was one of my favorite restaurants in Atlanta and definitely my favorite tapas bar. Well, I went last evening for a friend's birthday, and we were all saddened to see that our favorite dishes were gone. I have raved about Pura Vida to numerous people, citing specific delicious dishes (the calabaza rings were a definite favorite). I can understand swapping out items to keep things fresh, but I do not comprehend abandoning so many great items. Naturally, we tried the new dishes, but we were not impressed at all. Previously, we could order anything on the menu because we knew that every dish would be phenomenal. Sadly, this is not the case now. Also missing were the delicious specials! That was a big letdown, too. I know I'll give Pura Vida another shot-- simply because it WAS so good. I hope I am not disappointed again. Pros: Sangria, deserts Cons: Food quality has taken a nose dive more

I have been eatting at Pura Vida since it opened in 2003 and this restaurant has been one of my favorites in the City for quite some time. My husband took me to Pura Vida for our first date so this restaurant will always be a special place to us. Last night we decided to go out for Tapas and decided to go to Pura Vida as we had not been in a month or so. As soon as I opened the menu I noticed that it looked different...after taking a closer look I realize that MOST of the menu had changed (including prices) and that none of our favorite tapas were available. I understand updating your menu, this is something that is important to stay on top of the Atlanta restaurant scene...but changing it COMPLETELY-I do not get. We tried several of the new tapas and were disappointed with each dish. They were complicated with too many ingredents and came off pretentious. Last year AJC raved that Pura Vida was one of the best restaurants in the city, and it was, but I think all the success has gone to Hector Santiago's head. He re-vamped an already excelent menu, that had gained many fans and accolades, with small, over the top and overly priced dishes. In short, I used to recommend this restaurant to everyone but I will no longer do so and I doubt my husband and I will be back. more

I absolutely love this place. food, service, and atmosphere are wonderful. I went this past week and loved everything I tried. the food is so unique and flavorful and our server was so knowledgable. you must try the hangar steak, the shrimp and the mussels. My friends were so impressed! Will be back! Pros: food, service atmosphere Cons: parking more

The setting was nice, although I expected the place to be a little bigger. We had a large group of 16 and there is only one table in the restaurant that can accommodate that many people. The food was pretty good, although with a large party and everyone ordering a few different things to try we consistently had to ask ""what is this"" as the plates were set on the table and the server disappeared leaving us to juggle the food. I would be willing to overlook all of the above, until that is we got our check. We were informed that they can't split the bill for parties of 8 or more, so they gave us a calculator, told us how much tax is on the $6 order of tapas and told us to figure it out. Slightly annoyed at this point we started trying to divide up the bill. Well with a large party, everyone having a couple of drinks by that point, math was not our best subject, not the mention half the table couldn't even hear what they're supposed to do. The hostess proceeded to approach the table several times as we were ""figuring it out"" and asking us to move to the bar, as another party was waiting for the table. She was neither apologetic, nor willing to help. We insisted that if we have to do this ourselves, we're not going anywhere. The whole ordeal probably took about 45 minutes. And the promised DJ didn't start the music until after 10:00pm. The people waiting on our table were understandably upset and so were we. Surely there is a better way to handle such situations, and we plan on sticking to the places that know how from now on. Cons: service, parking more

Thought this place was just wonderful! I didn't try one tapa I didn't like. Service is friendly and informative, make sure and ask for suggestions! And don't forget to try the ice cream of the day. Want to go back for a salsa Friday, heard they're a lot of fun. Pros: food & drinks, service Cons: parking can be difficult on busy night more

The atmosphere was nice but the food was average at best. This place was too fu-fu for us. I personally prefer Eclipse Di Luna because the atmosphere is comparable and the food is quite a bit better. Pros: Ambience, Drinks Cons: Food, portions, service more

I have been going here for a while now and always have a great time. Just noticed last night a few things changed on the menu. The new items I tried were wonderful! I was shocked to see such bad reviews about the ""new"" menu. Oh well, I guess not everyone is open to change and trying new things. I will definitely keep going back- not just for the food but for the mojitos! Pros: Service, food & drinks more

tapas is good, but not as good as I had been told. I would go back and try it again, New to the neighborhood and working my way throught the intown, Midtown, Highlands\r \r Thought even for tapas, that some portions were too small for the price.Fuego is also good for tapas Pros: drinks, scene Cons: parking awful more