Encasa

2.5 Not Recommended

Food  4      Ambience  2      Service  1      Value  3     

I had been here before but was really disappointed by this, my second visit. I enjoyed myself previously when I went with a group of friends on a weeknight, so I decided to go back and bring my boyfriend.

Firstly, it took us three tries to get in. The first time we just showed up and they were full. Fair enough. Second time, I rang up to book and they said they couldn't take my booking today and I should ring up tomorrow between 11am and 1pm or some rubbish. What the? I missed the calling time on that day so didn't bother.

Third time I rang up and successfully booked. However, even though the person taking the booking had clearly repeated the time and my name, when I arrived they had no record of my booking and had to squeeze us in a corner of the big noisy room at the back. Man was it noisy! My partner and I could hardly have a conversation. And while I'm on the topic of ambience I'd like to add that the ladies room sink was visible to a section of the restaurant. That's just not right.

Then there was the food. Really basic, nothing special about it and in some cases just plain boring. I'll admit we enjoyed the patatas bravas but they looked pretty simple.

Worst was the service. They brought out our first few tapas dishes sort of close together and then the last one about half an hour later after I sat there literally waving my arms in the air for about 5 minutes trying to get one of the waiters' attention. They looked like they were being very attentive to the large groups around us but seemed to have blinkers on when it came to our dark corner of the room. We decided we couldn't be bothered with the hassle of ordering a dessert so then spent ages again trying to get the bill. No one came to take our payment either so we had to hand it in on the way out.

The good point is the price. It was a really cheap night out, although it helped that we didn't get dessert and had a discount voucher too. But I don't feel it was even worth the low price for the quality of service and food we received.

Apr 25, 2012 

8.3 Highly Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  8      Service  9      Value  8     

A tremendous tapas restaurant that's been at it for years. Noisy, bustling, with plenty of staff ready to jump to your needs - really! Helpful and friendly, which is not quite what I expected after reading some of the reviews.

The portions are large, and all really delicious. We also had the Arroz Negro - squid ink rice. It was wonderful! And huge! At the end of our meal, with only half our dishes eaten, we wondered what we should do. I said sheepishly "could we..." and the waiter immediately said "Would you like to take that with you? Sure! No problem!" A great way to end a great evening. Well done!

Apr 23, 2012 

8 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  7      Service  8      Value  9     

Best bang for buck tapas in Sydney. Authentic and fresh tapas, which leaves you feeling full unlike a lot of other tapas bar's/restaurants. Make sure you get a jug of their tasty Sangria.

Apr 01, 2012 

4.3 Below Average

Food  7      Ambience  6      Service  1      Value  3     

The food at this place is above average, but what really hurts them is their rude demeanor rampant throughout all waiters and waitresses. That was enough to turn me off for a second trip.

Mar 17, 2012 

8.8 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  9      Value  9     

I love Tapas. Friendly service from real Spanish waiters. Tapas and seafood casserole was superb. Little bit noisy, but good buzz. Quick for pre-treatre meal.

Mar 03, 2012 

8.8 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  10      Value  8     

Encasa has the best tapas I've ever had! I've been eating at encasa for the last 4 years, I warn you encasa is always very busy and you need to make a booking a week in advance but its worth it!

A always order the same thing because it's always good: potatoes with salsa and aoli, scallops, meat balls in almond sauce, garlic prawns and bread rolls is a must to dip in the garlic oil.

The staff really know the menu, some even tell you to change your order to what they personally recommend and the tapas always hit the table in 15mins. Best Spanish I've ever had.

Mar 01, 2012 

7.5 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  7      Service  7      Value  8     

Very lovely dishes and servings are definitely more plentiful then most tapas restaurants. We ordered the sangria punch and after just a small sip, we realised we should have gone with the sangria deluxe - assuming the deluxe would have been their more alcoholic version. Sangria punch was just too weak, tasted like soft drink.

Not a place for a romantic date as it does get very loud, but perfect for a good and satisfying dinner before heading out on a friday or saturday night. Will continue to return.

Feb 25, 2012 

7.3 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  6      Service  7      Value  8     

We based our order on reviews. The food was excellent and generous, the two of us could not eat our 5 tapas entrees and one salad. All good were scallops, sizzling garlic prawns (plump, firm and fresh), moroccan lamb skewers (tender and tasty), black mussels (all fresh and perfectly lightly cooked). With corkage (it is BYO) it came to $30 each and we forgot to get the patatas bravas which got good reviews.

Feb 11, 2012 

6.3 Average

Food  6      Ambience  6      Service  7      Value  6     

As usual, tapas is not cheap. I went with just the two of us and the bill came to $70.

The chorizo was nice, the prawn in tomato was very sweet and tender. The lamb skewers were very tender but very bland. I fixed this by dipping it into the prawn sauce. The omelettes were average. The deep fried potato was exquisite but I would recommend asking for the sauces to go on the side not on top. I gets really soggy and overpowering during the meal.

I don’t recommend the roasted capsicum with goats cheese that accompanies the bread. It was old and spoilt to the point where it was extremely sour. More sour than vinegar. Not hurrying to go back. The meal was average.

Feb 02, 2012 

3.3 Below Average

Food  6      Ambience  4      Service  1      Value  2     

I am lucky enough to of been a few times to encasa however my last visit has left a sour taste in my mouth.

Last visit was on a Saturday night with a group of 4 - we had made a prior booking however found ourselves seated next to the bar in the corner on plastic chairs.

The food was average and service was pretty poor, we often found ourselves waving to grab the waiters attention.

Ordered some jugs of Sangria, which I agree is overpriced and has little to no alcohol in it. To our displeasure, we sighted cockroaches wandering all over the bar, including the jugs of premade Sangria.

The place is obviously currently getting renovated, this is evident when making your way to the ladies bathroom, where there is two toilets however no cubicles surrounding these toilets.

Probably the only place in Sydney you will ever get to experience tandem peeing with your girlfriends.

Will I go back? Not in a hurry!

Jan 21, 2012