Food quality & flavor - very good. Service - good & friendly Variety on the menu - okay (I'm sure this is because they don't have the amount of business they would like) Their sangria is quite delicious and all the various dishes we tried were very good - though there just wasn't so much interesting/different on the menu to make us hard pressed on making our choices as we usually are when dining on tapas. Yes, what we had was quite tasty & absolutely fresh (we tried a few seafood dishes including calimari & shrimp & both were very fresh & good) - but although their menu seems big, a lot of it is quite similar.
(3)
Sandra C.
My husband and I have been going to La Roca since it opened about 4 years ago. We love everything on the menu! We were there just the other night and found out that they just switched to BYOB--which I think is a great option and am hoping that they advertise it more! If you are in the area, I highly recommend checking this place out!
(4)
Terrie o.
Sorry to say, unimpressed ... Not bad but won't be rushing back. At close to 5 PM my friend and I were the only diners, for at least an hour and the person serving us was lacking enthusiasm and energy. It was adequate however there really was no interaction and being the only diners, and first timers, you'd think he'd want to make a better impression. For the prices of our selections, the portions were skimpy except the eggplant and chorizo dish. Three skimpy steak rolls for $7.95... ? We wanted to sample the recommended Spanish wine, but there was no open bottle to accommodate us. I wanted flan for desert, none available. And being the only diners, I had to request a water refill. We were never offered coffee. Overall, the food was alright, but I felt an indifference from the gentleman serving us. Oh, and one table was seated towards the end of our visit. I went with a Groupon but was not impressed or intrigued enough to return. A touch more interaction would have made a world of difference.
(2)
Nataliya A.
Take your money elsewhere. Unprofessional service and poor quality food. I made a reservation on Opentable a few weeks before coming here on a Wednesday. We came in at 7pm for our reservation... there were no tables available, a lot of people waiting for a table, and the hostess was nowhere to be found. When the hostess did come by and I told her we had a reservation, she pointed to the restaurant and said "well we don't have a table right now, it will be at least 40 minutes!" All this with a huge attitude! Unacceptable, but we decided to wait because we had a Groupon and it was the last day... the restaurant clearly did no work out the last day of groupon very well... We did end up getting seated about 40 minutes after our reservation time, the waiter was pretty nice, and did take our order in a timely manner. He did not explain to us any of the menu items or anything, just asked us what we wanted. He also took a long time to bring us out the bread, and with how hungry we got by this point it was a necessity. We ordered 6 tapas between my bf and I, and this is usually a good amount without leaving us too stuffed, but they were all unexpectedly pretty big, except for the beef and cheese roll. Tapas are usually pretty small, but we could have easily shared 3 dishes between the 2 of us. We got the garlic scallops, grilled calamari, potatoes, goat cheese, figs stuffed with bacon, and beef rolls with goat cheese. The food was less than impressive. The rolls of beef and cheese were tiny and chewy. the grilled calamar had 3 long pieces of calamari grilled, I actually kinda liked this but my boyfriend did not. The potatoes were very simple, and the sauce with it was just plain spicy sauce, nothing special, I could have made this at home. The garlic scallops were okay, for sure heavy on the garlic and the scallops were overcooked.... How were the figs stuffed with bacon you ask? Well you should ask the wait staff because we never received them. After we were done with eating all of our food, an hour after we originally ordered we asked the waiter about the figs, he said they are still working on them in the back, we waited a few more minutes and told the waiter that we no longer wanted them... we were clearly done with the meal, and were not going to wait over an hour for figs... The waiter did take the figs off our bill, which was nice and without questions asked. With the groupon our dinner turned out to be very cheap, but I would not have paid the full amount for this tasteless. We will not be returning.
(2)
Bill M.
I read the reviews on yelp and wev went in with fairly low expectations. All in all, we were actually pleased. Decor / Ambiance - Pretty mellow, small, simple. Service - Just a tad on the slow side but friendly and attentive. Food - We went off the tapas thing and went with entrees. Just one tapas to start. The grilled shrimp. Not big (not prawns) but nice and seemed fresh. Entrees: Me: Mixed seafood grill - low on the presentation side but it seemed fresh. Included shrimp, mussels (small), clams (small), calamari, salmon and a type of fish I believe was tilapia. Seemed fresh and was very tasty. Her: Salmon - large portion, moist, very good overall. Drink selections were good. I used a Groupon and even without prices were reasonable. La Roca is not a place I would travel 40 mins to get to but if you're within 20 mins of this restaurant, its a nice little place. A solid B-
(3)
Josh S.
I've lived in the area a long time and always meant to try this place, but with an amazing tapas restaurant like La Tasca right down the street, I just never got around to it. Finally I saw I deal on Amazon and decided that I'd surprise my wife who absolutely loves Tapas, we usually go to Cafe BaBaReba for her birthday. Overall the experience was fine, but even at the discounted price, we wouldn't go back. I feel like I can make better versions of their dishes at home. We started by ordering the bacon stuffed figs since it sounded like a nice starter. We ordered that by itself about 10 minutes before placing the order for any other food, but it never came. Finally we decided we were so hungry that we might as well get in the order for some other things like the meatballs, potatoes bravas, and the steak rolls stuffed with goat cheese. The potatoes arrived first which was a shame, I really wanted to eat them with the meat dishes but the ones in the middle were covered in sauce and already getting soggy (compared to the perfectly crispy ones on the sides. About 5-10 minutes later the meat dishes arrived together (still no figs). The steak was tough and overcooked, very little goat cheese to be found and whole peppercorns stuck to the bottom, gave an unpleasant surprise and off-putting taste, even for someone who loves pepper. It just didn't work. The meatballs tasted pretty good, but were incredibly dense/overpacked. The figs finally arrived and they were incredible soft/overcooked. The bacon tasted great but it was all drenched in a super sweet sauce. The dish was heavy handed and poorly executed. I've never been disappointed by this dish before and I really wish it had arrived first. At some point we decided we wanted to order a seafood dish and asked for the server's recommendation between the two sauteed calamari dishes, but she instead steered us toward the grilled calamari. I feel like you should be very sure that this is the best dish if you're going to do something like that, so I accepted her suggestion and often times, the servers know what they are doing. She did not. There were three calamari on the plate, one of which was cooked perfectly, but the other two were like chewing rubberbands and very fishy. The sauce itself was pretty good but not great. The flavors were just very amateurish and didn't seem authentic at all. Worst tapas place I've ever been to. That said, nothing was terrible, it was just disappointing considering how much of a treat going out for tapas usually is. We decided to cut our losses and get dessert at La Tasca and that was a brilliant decision. I wonder how this place manages to stay in business considering the competition. Hell, the prices aren't even much lower.
(2)
Melissa S.
I bought the Groupon for La Roca Tapas a while ago and when I looked at the reviews on here I was very worried, but we had a great experience here. My boyfriend and I went tonight (Tuesday) around 6 p.m. and there were only a few other tables filled. We were seated right away, the decor is nice, simple with some very nice paintings on the walls. We ordered and got drinks right away, I had the white sangria and he had the red, both were very tasty, although it's kind of a small glass. We started with the Patatas Bravas, which were very crispy and the sauce has a good kick to it but not overly spicy. We also started with the Iberian pork loin served on toasted bread with blue cheese, also very good. We ordered two more dishes as we were eating and they came out soon after. We had the Cordero A La Segoviana (New Zeland leg of lamb served with potatoes and mint butter sauce) and Alamejas A La Marinera (Sauteed manila clams in olive oil with shallots, lemon juice and white wine sauce served with pasta) Everything was delicious and the service was quick, nice and attentive. With the Groupon this place is a great deal for a lot of high-quality food and some tasty drinks.
(5)
Alina R.
I have never been more disappointed or angry with a restaurant experience. I'm a very easy going person so it takes a lot to upset me and for me to write SUCH a horrible review. We arrived at 7pm for our reservation for 6 people. We were seated perfectly fine and the service started off not too bad. We had placed our orders at 7:15 and our first order (1 tapa) didn't come out until 8:15pm. Only one arrived...then at 8:30 two more arrived...everyone else sat there hungry and looking at one person eat a small tapa at a time. My husband had ordered one tapa of Chicken and his order didn't arrive until 8:45pm! Whenever we asked our waitress or the OWNER where his order was at, we were given one reply, "It'll be out in a minute..." Finally when it DID arrive it was tiny and tasted poorly! My poor starving husband ate it anyway though. When we hadn't been refilled on our water and we had to ASK for water refills we were told that the Village was fixing the main water line outside and there was no running water. At which point we all asked how is the kitchen running with no water for the cooks to wash their hands...or the produce?? Also since no running water there was no use for a bathroom either. It took us 3 full hours to get all the tapas to finally come out. We were the first ones in the restaurant and one of the last to leave as millions of tables came and left before us. There were NO apologies, NO let us comp you half the bill for your troubles, NO water or HORRIBLE service. I will NEVER EVER come back here again. La Tasca down the street is a million times better with impeccable service! To put the icing on the cake, it took about 30 minutes to get our bill correct. Worst dinner ever and not to mention that we were sick at the end of the night.
(1)
Kristin B.
The steak rolls with goat cheese and figs with bacon were so good! It was fun to try something new and I really loved what I had. The manager was also very attentive and welcoming.
(5)
Taylor M.
I snagged a Groupon for La Roca and decided that I wanted to try it out. I have always been fan of tapas and I love La Tasca which is across the street. When we first walked in no one greeted us for a while. There were only two other tables taken and it was a bit awkward just standing in the doorway. Once the staff sat us, the service was very attentive. The portions here are HUGE. It did not seem like tapas sizes at all! But the food was just lacking in taste and quality. The grilled calamari that the waitress recommended was tough and chewy and there was not even a good taste to it. Blugh... we didn't eat it. The other foods seemed too greasy. The sangria here states it is the best, but I have had much better. The flan was good though! I would have been pretty upset if I came here without my Groupon!
(2)
Winston R.
Don't get the groupon. I asked for a bacon wrapped date, they said "OK". They bring me back a fig wrapped in bacon. I complained and said that is not what I asked for. They told me that's all we have. They didn't take it back, but charged me for the crappy fig. Service is bad. La Tasca Tapas is right around the corner and they are much, much better. Spend your money there! A restaurant that really cares would be honest and tell me they don't have it. And definitely don't charge me for something I didn't ask for!
(2)
Amy F.
We love tapas restaurants so when we found out there was another one in Arlington Heights we were excited to try it. For a Saturday night, I was surprised to see we were the first party to arrive. I thought there would be more people as the night went on but no one else showed. The food was "okay". Queso de cabra was the best dish. Long story short, my mouth dropped when the waiter asked what we wanted for dessert. We said "flan" and he said "we are all out." A Spanish restaurant without flan is like a burger joint without fries. Some of the food was good. Overall, I really felt sorry for this place.
(2)
Tasha T.
We actually had great service. Loved the people. But the food was not good. It all was overcooked and had a bitter burnt taste to the sauces. Sangria was the only good thing. Not worth even the groupon deal. We were sad to not like it because we loved the people.
(2)
Arnie E.
I think it is very interesting and perhaps a little suspicious that every bad review of this place invariably refers to that "other" tapas restaurant around the corner. I've been to both multiple times and the food at La Roca is superior to that other over hyped restaurant. Plus, with the opportunity to buy and bring in a bottle of wine from the shop next door it's a great way to spend an evening. Favorite dish: Tilapia a la Bilbaona.
(3)
MyongHi S.
Really cute hole-in-the-wall place that my friends and I decided to visit in between a wedding and cocktail hour! The service by an older gentleman was fantastic. Food was really good--the mussels (the creamy sauce was awesome), the shrimp pasta, etc. were really good. I would have given 5 stars but at the end of our experience the friendly guy who was taking care of us disappeared and a woman took over who was not in any sense friendly.
(4)
Faina L.
We had a deal from Amazon local and decided to try. Since we arrived relatively early around 6 pm on Saturday the service was really good as only one other couple was in besides us. We had 4 tapas: avocado salad - good, grilled portobello mushroom ok, lamb pork chops with potatoes - good and beef with goat cheese - did not like at all. Beef was dry and hard to chew. We visited Spain many years ago and I did not see any of these dishes as tapas in Spain. Taking an avocado salad with shrimps and making it in a small portion and calling it a tapas is not right. We had a deal, otherwise it would have been an expensive bill for what we ate. Experience was good, food was ok , not bad and not good, but we are not coming back, unless we get another good deal and maybe we will get totally different meals. We live not far, but it is not worth to drive there more than 15-20 minutes .
(3)
Yu H.
Went here one night with some family for dinner. The atmosphere was nice but the parking was a little troublesome because its located in downtown Arlington Heights. Here is what we tried.(See pictures) Garlic Soup: Kind of bitter, it had a strong garlic smell but not much taste besides salt. It also had little soggy pieces of bread in it sort of like a french onion soup but these were broken into small pieces and at the bottom I think they cracked an egg in it. (Around 5 bucks) Iberian Pork with goat cheese: Pork was overcooked and tough, the bread and goat cheese it came with was pretty good. (8 dollars) Patatas Bravas: Basically fried chunks of potato with a spicy marinara over it. Not bad but nothing special. (6.50) Paella Valencia: I've never had Paella before but I'm pretty sure it should not be like this. This paella STANK...LITERALLY. The mussels weren't even close to fresh and smelled awful and tasted the same. The fish and shrimp and squid in it ALL STANK. I swear to god this dish is where they dump all their rotten fish.. it looked good at first but tasted absolutely awful. It came in a paella pan but since they failed to cook it correctly there was no crust on the bottom which is the best part. DO NOT ORDER EVER! (17.00) I have to say the prices for tapas here are also kind of ridiculous for what you get. For example the pork dish was literally 2 small piece of pork on bread and it was 8 dollars (See picture) Thank god I had a groupon or I would have been pissed. I do not recommend this place.
(1)
Tony S.
Excellent choice some of the bad reviews scared me, but overall this was a very god choice. The Plato embutido was an awesome value for the price Serrrano ham and two different salami's plenty of bread to eat it with. The parrillas the marisco was a tad too salty but very plentiful and delicious. Next time I comeback I will do more if the tapas. Some of them sound very interesting
(4)
Sufia A.
Came here for impromptu meal. Loved everything we tried. Mussels, steak rolls, and scallops were amazing. Definitely coming back here when we visit Chicago again!
(5)
Alexis O.
Better than La Tasca down the street! After reading some of the reviews, I was hesitant to try this place, but I'm so glad I did. The food is excellent! The restaurant is very small, and the decor is nothing to write home about, but it's cozy. The service definitely left something to be desired (more on this later), but if they iron this out, this will be a great place to enjoy dinner again and again. We sampled the Red Sangria, but it tasted too weak and watered down, so we both tried the only Pinot Noir they had, which was pretty sour. My friend tried a Malbec after that, which she preferred. We decided to stick to small plates instead of entrees. All were good, and some great! We had: Ensalada Templada (Spinach salad) - 5/5 Espinacas a la Catalana (Warm spinach salad) - 5/5 Queso de Cabra al Horno (Goat cheese in tomato sauce) - 4/5 Gambas a la Plancha (Shrimp in lemon sauce) - 5/5 Viernas con Patatas (Scallops in garlic mint sauce) - 4/5 Rolittos de Carne (Steak stuffed with goat cheese in red wine sauce) - 4/5 Like I said, I'm glad I tried the food, because I came home raving about how delicious it was, but if it wasn't for the soon to be expired Groupon I had, my friend and I would have left before ordering. When we walked in, we saw that there was only one server on the floor and she was taking care of 5 tables of 2 people each. After waiting for a few minutes at the door, we sat ourselves. The server did not make eye contact with us nor did she say, I'll be right with you. We figured we'd give her a couple minutes to catch up. After 15 minutes of no water, no menu, or no acknowledgement whatsoever, (she did see us), she finally came over and said that she was a little busy. We quickly ordered something to get started. Management - I don't care if you are trying to save money. If you don't have a manager on duty, nor a hostess, the least you can do is hire a bus boy to help fill water glasses, bus tables and seat people. One server for dinner time cannot handle everything. I'm not sure if someone called in, or if this is the way it is normally done here, but I suggest to hire someone else! If you skimp on this, you are shooting yourself in the foot and losing more money. End rant. I will definitely come back for the food. But I'll make sure I'm not starving, in case I have to wait a bit.
(4)
Megan C.
I come here every once in a while with my family when my parents get a Groupon. Our waitress if always fantastic and the food is delicious. I definitely recommend La Roca to anybody who is a fan of tapas!
(5)
Carrie E.
this place is ok. Nice decor but service is slow, not attentive. We really enjoyed the goat cheese stuffed peppers but the paella was SUPER salty. We couldn't say anything as the server never asked us how the meal was at any point
(2)
Rosie M.
I don't know where to start :( I bought this groupon, totally mistaken it for another tapa place. But I thought to myself, why not give it a try? First the food took forever to deliver. The waitress didn't bring us our drinks. The food was over salted and dry. Lesson learned. Should watch carefully what I order on groupon next time :(
(1)
Kate W.
Went here with the hubby for dinner. I read most of the reviews on Yelp so I was prepared for a good or bad time. First off, the servers are all so nice. They are very attentive and friendly. Our server looked to be the only waitress at the place and she still took the time to stop by and chat and check on us. The food was less than desirable. We ordered the following: Bacon Stuffed Dates - 1 out of 5 stars. They were mushy, the texture was horrible and the taste was bland. Goat cheese with Marinara Sauce - 5 out of 5 stars. This was the best thing we got. Creamy, tasteful, good. Thin steak rolls stuffed with goat cheese - 1 out to 5 stars. I don't eat meat, but my husband said they were gross. He said the meat was not good and no flavor. Roasted Portobello Mushrooms - 3.5 out of 5 stars. I love mushrooms no matter what. They were good, but not much to them. Nothing that cried out amazing. Grilled Calamari - 2 out of 5 stars. This was incredibly chewy because they were such thick pieces. I didn't care for it so much, my husband thought they were ok. Once again the flavor was bland. Sangria - Pretty tasty, very smooth. Good but not great. Overall for the tapas and 3 drinks it was around $60 before tax and tip, so I wouldn't say it's awfully expensive, it just sucked a lot of the dishes were lacking. Unfortunately, I don't think I would go back.
(2)
Michael S.
Ok, after reading reviews here I was prepared to wait....and wait I did...and wait, and wait....and wait. Just too long of a wait. Especially considering they never bothered to check on me and get me more delicious imported Spanish beer. I came in with three people to eat dinner, check out some of the game and then head somewhere else to finish the game. First, they don't have cable TV. Ok, Tapas restaurant, I can live with that at the bar. Second, they say they take reservations but they really don't. They just say yes on the phone Thrid, the service is incredibly slow. This is a two parter 1) Wait staff is incredibly slow and inattentive. Only way to get another beer was to flag someone down. And then they are doing me a favor. 2) The food took about 55 minutes to begin coming out for our group of 4. It was about 85 minutes after ordering before it was all out. Absolutely unacceptable when combined with part 1 of this complaint. I don't mind waiting, but at least keep my beverage filled. Fourth, the food was excellent. Although I'd suggest they include more cheese in the goat cheese dish. First class food. Fifth class service. Just can't do this place again unless they get someone in there to run the show a bit better.
(2)
amy T.
My husband and I tried La Roca for the first time this evening. I read all the reviews before we went. Other then the extremely high bar (were we ate), our dining experience was excellent! We each had the Sangria which we like more then what is served at another AH Tapas restaurant. We loved the three Tapas we tried; Sliced pork served with a creamy pepper sauce....delicious! The "Special" Prawns, perfectly seasoned! Leg of Lamb served on potato....Yum! We have dined at the other local Tapas place at least a dozen times. We left La Roca completely satisfied with the service, Sangria, and food! The portions (for Tapas) were generous, everything was seasoned to perfection, the staff was attentive and friendly! We will definitely be back.
(4)
Bea S.
I noticed this restaurant on Groupon for the past couple of months, so I decided to try it and purchased the Groupon for a date night with my boyfriend. Finding the place was fine, even during the afternoon rush hour. Overall, the decor, space, and food were just OK. The mural on the wall was a bit in-your-face with letting you know you were at a tapas restaurant. It was clean and I didn't get a chance to check out the restroom. I like busy, lively places, but there was only another couple there when we arrived and another one showed up as we were getting ready to leave. The wait staff was courteous, though a tinsy bit slow with checking up on us. As for the food, I have had much better and there wasn't much to it in terms of flavor. We ordered the following: Plato De Embutidos (Spanish meat platter with Serrano ham and chorizo), Calamares A La Bilbaina (Sauteed calamari rings with potatoes, garlic, cayenne pepper and paprika), and Gambas A La Plancha (Grilled shrimp with a lemon butter sauce); I ordered a red wine sangria and a Captain and coke. The meat platter was OK - there was no depth or kick to the meats, and with the help of the bread condiments and olive oil, I doctored up the flavor. Same goes with the calamari and shrimp - absolutely nothing worth wild, but they were cooked perfectly and hot (no chewiness here). I wanted the wine, but in order to use our Groupon to the full extent, I ordered the Captain and Coke, which brought our total just over $45. Generally, I don't think I'll be eat here again, mainly because of the lack of flavor in the items I tried. If desperate, I may go again and try different ones, but I would really have to be in the mood for it. I'll give the other tapas place in Arlington Heights a shot and see how it compares.
(3)
Eeva L.
I was pleasantly surprised. Loved the interior, music, friendly service. Made me miss Spain. Food was flavourful. We ordered seafood, eggplant and meat dishes and liked them all. Flan was rich and tasty. Would go back if another deal comes up as it is bit pricey for me. Overall, pleasant and memorable experience.
(4)
Colleen W.
I hate to leave so/ so reviews but I feel it's necessary to comment. We went here with a group of 6. We had a nice table and the hostess was very nice. The mussels in the cream sauce were very good. Each of us ordered tapas and they brought them all out at different times. Some of us had food to eat some of us didn't. The waiter was all over thr place and he was a bit Exhausting-The sangria wasn't bad. I don't understand AH restaurant zoning regulations. 2 blocks down is another tapas restaurant. I feel this restaurant won't make it. We walked by on a saturday night around 8 and there was only 2 people at the bar. I hope they make it for their sake.
(2)
Michele Z.
Absolutely fabulous! Each dish was amazing, yes you wait a bit for food (our entire meal lasted an hour) but each dish is amazing. Obvious pride and care in preparation. No pre-prepared food here! WILL BE BACK!!!
(5)
Kammie G.
It was just that, it was okay. We ordered a whole bunch of stuff but honestly there was not that big of a selection for a person who prefers to eat more vegetarian foods. There were a lot of meat and seafood tapas but not that many veggie-based ones that I felt I really wanted to try. The one tapas that I always order is the queso del horno (the goat cheese) and I couldn't help comparing it to the one I had (a few times) at La Tasca around the corner.. and I was dissapointed. The cheese was more crumbly than smooth and creamy and there was far too much tomato sauce. I felt the one from La Tasca was perfect. So much for that. Oh well. I liked the roasted veggies and the steak with goat cheese inside. I wasn't a big fan of the mushrooms, I felt they were not roasted enough. And the calamari was supposed to be fried but it tasted more baked or boiled or something, I'm not sure, but I'm not a huge seafood eater so I wasn't enticed by the true calamari flavor. All of the dishes were intensely garlicy. I could see garlic parts in every tapas dish, whch is awesome cause I like garlic but it's bad if you go for a date or have something to do afterwards... garlic breath is not the most attractive thing in the world. Now about the decor and feel. I think there is something missing in this place. It's nice, it has a nicely painted wall with pictures of Spanish dancers and whatnot but there is just something missing from the place to give it a nice atmosphere. It kind of felt like a diner. I can tell they are trying but it's just not hitting that note with me. It's too bad. The staff was nice and friendly and great which is a reason why I gave this place 3 stars instead of 2. Oh well.
(3)
Bob B.
Very nice cozy, clean, newer, restaurant in downtown Arlington Heights. Wait staff was very attentative. Ordered 4 tapas ranging in price from $7 to $8.95. Bottle of Malbec was reasonably priced at $24 and a glass was $7. Portions were extremely small, grilled octopus was under cooked, steak stuff with goat cheese was cold (suppose to be a hot tapas). Glass of wine poured was smaller than compared to the table next to mine. Overall, I wouldn't go back there. Dinner came out to $88 for two (2). Came home and went to sleep hungry after dinner.
(1)
Samantha V.
Wow! Tapas is awesome. Not a hungry man's meal unless you want to spend a LOT. But a lovely wide array of cold and warm dishes. My taste buds had a tour of deliciousness! Try the figs they're awesome! If you're on a date, beware dragon breath! Many of their dishes center around garlic.
(5)
P M.
Came here with thw wife on a Groupon and didn't expect much as the place down the street was our usual go-to. We were both pleasantly surprised. With some Spanish favorites and other more eclectic selections we found it to be more authentic than the neighborhood rival and the sangria is fantastic. Also a fairly large seafood menu and the prices and portions are just right.
(4)
P M.
Well we actually planned to go to that other place around the corner, but there was a 40 min waite which really isn't bad for a Friday night. We were just not in the mood to hand out waiting for a table and the noise level was just a bit high for our mood. On the walk over we saw another tapas place so went back there. So glad we did love the intimate setting great music yet quit enough to talk. The food was really good love the shrimp with avacado salad the dressing was the type that was just to good not to sop up with your bread. The best of all was the bacon stuffed figs with the brandy cream sauce just lucsious!! We also ordered the fried eggplant, garlic potato salad, clamari and potatos, and paella which we just could not finish so we took it home. Shared 2 desserts the flan and the banana tart it was creamy fresh and not over sweet. Also enjoyed their red sangria! Would return for sure!!
(4)
MJ E.
Is it me or does everyone find the reviews of Groupon users to be snarky? 4 things you need to know before reading this review: 1) I've never been to Spain 2) I've only had tapas 3 times before (twice at La Tasca trying to figure out what the hype was about) 3) we didn't use Groupon and 4) we were relaxed and in no hurry. The food was fantastic. I thought I hated tapas and Spanish food based on my previous experiences! I have nearly zero frame of reference for judging La Roca Tapas for the quality of their tapas or the quality of their Spanish food. But, I have a terrific frame of reference for great food. I have to say this was pretty great. Each dish we tried was so good that I wanted to lick a few plates. Be patient, though. Imagine cooking 2-3 tiny, delicious plates of food for every customer in the place. It's gonna take some time. We let my 17 year old son choose our dishes. He is either a tapas savant or it is a can't miss menu. Seriously. The 4 of us tried 8 different tapas and a nice glass of grenache. The chicken in rosemary cream was one of the lick your plate dishes. The tilapia Bilbao style (can't remember actual name) will bring us back. Go with people you like enough to spend an hour or two. Have a glass of wine or sangria. Settle in and enjoy some really delicious food. I don't know...sounds like a great evening to me.
(4)
C. G.
First round of tapas excellent! Caliente was Pork dish and Frias was spinach/ avocado salad. Second round Frias was manchego platter and Caliente was bowl of mushrooms in white wine sauce. Final round was Caliente steak rolls with goat cheese. All food was very good. The mushrooms were a huge bowl of button mushrooms would liked to have seen a variety i.e. shiitake, oyster , etc... Red sangria was very good. Overall I would definitely recommend LA Roca!
(4)
David B.
Nice place. A welcome, quieter alternative to LaTosca. We arrived without reservations at about 5ish on a Monday or Tuesday, I forget. Friendly greeter and waitstaff. We were the only ones there. Place looks new. Not a bad thing--obviously it was clean. But just devoid of much character or "lived-in" look that more well-established restaurants seem to have. This still was not an issue. We are fond of tapas in general, and LaRoca had a pretty sizable menu of both hot and cold--twice the hot than the cold, if I recall correctly. But we actually decided to order off the entree part of the menu--and were glad we did. My wife ordered the paella and I ordered the salmon. As you'd expect, the food arrived rapidly. Obviously, each dish of paella was cooked to order, and it takes about 10 minutes. That's how long it took. The paella was very good. Plenty of different types of seafood with large slices of sausage. All were fresh tasting. My salmon was fantastic. Seared then broiled, simmered with lemon juice, capers and butter. It was melt-in-your-mouth tender. Very fresh tasting. Oh, and possibly the finest accompaniment were these fried potato wedges which were crispy and flaky and soaked up all that lemon/capers/butter goodness. 5 stars for this dish. The paella was a huge serving for one, so we only ate about 40% of it. The salmon was well-portioned also. But given how good both the fish and the potatoes were--we ate it all. Yummy. No dessert for us. My wife had a glass of sangria. It was fine, not great. I think it was $6/glass. Kinda steep, but you figure there's a markup for the booze. The bill arrived soon after our paella was packed up. All told, about $42 and change. Fair deal for very good food. Service was friendly and attentive--but there were only two other tables to wait on by the time we left. We look forward to having some tapas next time, that is unless that salmon is not available. It's definitely an alternative to La Tasca. Hope it lasts.
(4)
Rita S.
Love this place. The food is great, the quality and the quantity it leaves every dinner memorable. I have been here twice so far and will continue to come back. I have recommended to a few of my friends who live in the area. There prices are very reasonable for Tapas.
(5)
Kathy P.
This was our second trip to La Roca. We went two months ago with another couple and tonight. Both times we had excellent food and service. The interior is pleasant. The sangria is tasty. I rarely like calamari or clams and both were delicious at La Roca. I would probably give this four stars in the city of Chicago, but this is the suburbs. For the suburbs this place is great. My husband and I both prefer it to La Tasca which is also in downtown Arlington Heights. If I could make 2 suggestions it would be to add another vegetable dish or two to the menu and add a CHOCOLATE dessert to the menu. There were wonderful mariachi players tonight. This is a lovely date night spot. It is a small space so large groups probably wouldn't fit well, but it makes a nice place to go out to dinner with a few friends. We would definitely take our daughters here, but it may not be the best spot for toddlers.
(5)
Joseph L.
Horrible. Shrimp was the size of quarters. Too small for this place. No bus boys. Waitress tried to keep up with plates. No luck. La tasca blows it away.
(1)
Jacqueline S.
We went here to celebrate a special occasion. I love paella (my grandfather used to make it) so I was really excited to have a good paella since I thought the one from La Tasca was lacking in flavor. We also ordered figs with bacon (our mistake we thought it was bacon wrapped dates), patatas bravas, and steak rolls with blue cheese. I also had a red wine sangria. The bread basket was fine but it would have been nice if the bread were warm. It was nice to have some parsley, garlic, and red pepper to dip the bread in on top of the olive oil and cheese. The paella came and I was really disappointed. The whole thing smelled and tasted really fishy (and I love seafood) and the most important part - the rice wasn't done right - the rice at the bottom of the pan wasn't even scortched a little. I think the fishy flavor came from the fish (sounds obvious but it can come from any of the seafood). The shrimp wasn't very good and the mussels were so dry and the squid seemed on the rubbery side. The pieces of chicken were on the hard and dry side and the pork was from a pork shop I believe because the pieces I got had a large piece of the grizzle you get on the edge of a porkchop. I guess the chorizo was ok. The figs with bacon was a large fig with a small piece of bacon placed inside - I thought there should have been more bacon and it should have been crispy not soft. I would never order this again. The steak rolls I thought were terrible - the thin steak itself didn't taste that good but was terrible with the blue cheese and sauce. The patatas bravas were ok - the potatoes were crispy but it tasted like spicy marinara sauce on top. This was not what I was looking for - so much so that I decided to have a different celebration dinner. I did like the red wine sangria and the service was good and the people were very friendly. We won't be back.
(1)
Walt S.
The service is v e r y s l o w, it looks like it is family run and some of the family just doesn't chip in to help. Food was actually really good, but I don't think they will make it if they don't get there act together. Found some good wine on the menu and had a nice time. I wouldn't recommend going if you are at all in a hurry. The bar is way too high for the stools, you actually have to reach up.
(2)
Michele S.
We have dined here several times and enjoy it, for when we are meeting friends etc. There are more meat tapa options. This is a smaller place, so ok to call ahead and let them know you are coming if you have a larger group. I don't think this place is stellar, but the service is good, the food is good, and we've never had to wait, even on a Saturday at 730.
(3)
Kym B.
Nothing horrid, but nothing great either. Food was okay, service was "eh," kinda pricey for just average food. Calamari was chewy and scallops tasted fishy. Small servings were expected, but if you're going to charge $8 for a few bites of food, then it better be outstanding. It wasn't. Sorry, but I won't be going back.
(2)
AJ B.
Tom Hanks in Castaway was rescued faster than we got food!!! If I could give this place no stars, I would. I went here because of a Groupon. BIG mistake...and I'm going to let Groupon know that too. Worst service ever. We only ordered three plates. The only plate to show up in a timely manner was a potato dish, which was mediocre at best. 40 minutes after the potatoes were gone, the owner cleared our plates and table like we were going to leave. Then, our plate of rubbery, grilled calamari showed up. The calamari was tasteless...but out of hunger we choked down half of it. At this point we asked for our check. After the check showed up for $25 and our server pointed out that we had not met the $40 Groupon amount, our third plate showed up. The calamari and steak rolled with goat cheese could not have thrown on a plate any worse. The only savior of this misfortunate adventure was the great bottle of wine I bought next door that they allowed us to bring in. Groupon or not, this place was not worth it. The astronauts on Apollo 13 ate better than we did at this place. Thank goodness for Sake down the road.
(1)
Whitney D.
Went to La Roca as a gamble to show my family tapas-style dining. They delivered! - The sangria was amazing! - Out of the 10 plates we ordered, there was only one that was questionable in taste. Everything else was delicious. - The staff is helpful and polite. - The bathrooms are clean and nice. (I know this is kind of a weird comment, but nothing kills a nice evening like a terrifying bathroom experience.) - The bill was a bit high, but we were completely stuffed with wonderful food by the time we left. I have also been to the neighboring tapas restaurant. I will say that while their competition has a better atmosphere, I preferred the taste of these tapas much better. I will be back. I would recommend.
(4)
Tejas B.
This is the second time we have been there. The service is absolutely horrific. We had to wait an hour to get some basic tapas. The food is good if you can deal with the poor service. Last time we will be coming here.
(1)
Elizabeth M.
Went to La Roca Tapas with my guy on a Wednesday night date. The atmosphere is lovely and the food was delicious. The sangria was also wonderful. Also, our server was the most polite, kind person I've ever met in a restaurant. Thank you for that. We will definitely be back.
(5)
Gianni S.
Surprised at what a great place this is - friendly chef, beautiful ambience and fantastic dishes, Combinaciones de Maris co, Calamares al Ajillo y Pork loin in cream sauce. Fantastic place. Going there again :)
(4)
Mike A.
I hated this restaurant. I'm so glad I got a Groupon because after I ate here I asked for a refund right away; which I rarely do. The food was pathetic, my friend and I ordered sea food and the only good thing about her dish was the sauce. My dish was a punch of seafood mixed together with bland pasta and cheap ass frozen vegetables. The service was very unprofessional, the waitress was very late with our food and she was just really awkward with us. I actually felt sick after eating here and I wouldn't want anyone going there .
We thought the food and most of the time the service was very good. We loved the potato salad! BUT if you have a gluten allergy be very careful! I ordered a dish that I was told could be made gluten free and there were hidden bread crumbs in it, I unfortunately took a bite and became sick. I informed my waitress about the problem and they did NOT take the dish off the bill!
(3)
Northshore F.
The service was outstanding. The server and everyone there was great, extremely friendly, and service was excellent. They made it a nice dinner. They give you a plate of bread, and a plate filled with crushed garlic, parsley, hot pepper flakes, and parmesan cheese. There's olive oil on the table. The bread was good, and it was a nice touch having the plate with all the little spices. The olive oil was not top quality though. I have an appreciation for good olive oil. The baked goat cheese appetizer was probably the best item, it was baked in a dish with red tomato sauce and lightly toasted bread. We both liked it. The majority of the rest of the items we had were *SATURATED* in a plate of Olive Oil (and like I said this was not top quality olive oil). So you are eating a ton of oil. Everything felt extremely heavy, oily and the potatoes a bit salty. he food is not unedibly bad and we enjoyed going there once, but I would never ever go there again and I would never recommend it to anyone. There was nothing that was wow I have to go eat there again and I'm still feeling rather sick from all the oil. We normally eat at Tapas Gitano in Northfield and it is by far no comparison way better. My husband ate at the other tapas restaurant in Arlingon Heights and said it was better than here, but also felt Tapas Gitano was the best.
(2)
Nikka A.
OMG! They have the worst service ever!!! We went on a Wednesday evening to use our Groupon. They were packed so we have to wait 30 mins so we can be seated. When we were ushered to our table, this lady just gave us water & the menu without even greeting us. Then we have to wait another 15 mins until the server/hostess took our order. When we inquired about the entrees, she told us that it's going to take really long for our food to come out. Same thing if we order hot tapas. I told her that was fine thinking it would be just 30 mins tops. An hour passed still there was no food even our appetizer. I asked for some more bread and was just told they ran out of it. My husband was so pissed that he told the server to just cancel our order. Probably she spoke with the chef, 'coz when she came out, she told us our food will be ready in 5 mins. So we took the chef's word for it. It was not 5 mins., but 30 mins before we got it. And the worst part was, our server forgot to take down one of our entrees. So we have to wait another 30 mins for it. Their hostess/server is very unprofessional. Just for the heck of it, I gave it 1 star 'coz their food is good. But we were at their restaurant for almost 3 hours for just 2 entrees & an appetizer. Very bad service!!!
(1)
P K.
I would give them 3 1/2 stars if I could because the food is so good. The complimentary plate of parsley, garlic, cheese & red pepper flakes that comes with the bread is awesome!! Just mix it all together with olive oil and dip your bread in the heavenly result. Yum. Food was fantastic. We only had 4 tapas for the 2 of us (because we had champagne & cheese at my house before we came for dinner). The Spanish meat plate - excellent quality and quantity. Great choices. The patatas bravas - nice crispy texture outside with a spicy tomato sauce. Thinly sliced steak rolled up & stuffed with goat cheese & a creamy sauce. Figs, bacon & brandy sauce. The brandy sauce was spectacular. We used bread to soak up every extra drop of sauce. The sangria was delicious but the serving was very small. A few things to sort out there as a new restaurant. We hope they do so that we can continue to enjoy the wonderful tapas.
(3)
Colleen M.
I was hesitant to come after all the poor reviews, however I found nothing poor about the place! Friendly and well timed service, good food and knowledgable staff. The groupon made it even better, I will definitely be back!
(4)
Lily W.
Hands down the food here is much better than the other AH tapas restaurant both for tapas and sangria. The atmosphere was also more our style - small, intimate, quiet with some music in the background. As stated by other reviewers, you don't want to come here if you are in a hurry. The staff was friendly enough, it just took a long time for the food to come out.
(4)
Nate K.
Went here a while ago.. food was nothing great.. wait staff kept forgetting what we ordered and forgot to bring our drinks multiple times.
(2)
Dan S.
Excellent tapas. Experiment and and explore. Solid good. Great service. Chef's specials are amazing.
(4)
Schmoopie M.
We wanted to like this place, because we love tapas, but our experience was pretty bad. We had an 8:15pm reservation on a Saturday night. The place was full when we arrived and there was a line out the door. The first thing that hit me about this place are the cheap, glaring pot lights recessed into the office-like dropped ceiling tile. Everything about this place screams cheap and low budget. This very small restaurant space does not have any waiting area other than six chairs at the itty bitty bar. Since the door literally opens onto the dining room, you have the choice of standing uncomfortably by the doorway while other diners stare at you until they seat you, or get a seat at the bar IF it is available. We stood for 15 minutes before seating at the bar was available. We sat down at the tiny bar, which is quite an awkward setup. The bar chairs are far too short for the height of the bar. While seated the bar is at neck height. There is a TV mounted high behind bar, which overlooks the dining room and can be seen from nearly every table. It's totally out of place and brings down the level of the ambiance, especially since it was tuned to loud, bloody, gory scenes from Law & Order SVU. No ambient music in this restaurant, just bloody SVU. Finally, after another 15 minutes of waiting at the bar and never being asked if we wanted drinks by any of the staff who wandered by (there appeared to be no official bartender), we were waved over by one of the staff to an empty table. He sat us down without any menus. We waited some more. Staffed bustled by, but no one stopped at our table, so I got up and grabbed our menus myself. By this time, I'm thinking that this had better be some damn good food, or I'm pissed. And I'm starving! It took another 15 minutes to get our glasses of so-so sangria, and at least another 30 minutes to get three plates of meh-just-okay tapas. We were already in this place over an hour without getting any real food, so we completely snarfed the bread they put down with the sangria. We should have ordered all six plates we wanted at once, because it took another 45 minutes to get another three tapas. The kitchen was sloooooooow and our waiter was completely inattentive. He also took too long to get us our check. Going back to the ambiance... By the time we got the remainder of our food the place had cleared out and THEN they decide to blast some music. Only it's not Latin music, it's Indian sitar music. What the....? In summary, it was nearing 10:30pm when we finally got out of there. Over two hours for unspectacular food, crappy service and lousy ambiance. Ridiculous. Save yourself the hassle. Walk over to LaTasca instead.
(1)
Gregory B.
Best paella since Florida fifteen years ago. Great sangria. I really do not like La Tasca, so it is good to know there is a good alternative. Nice people.
(5)
Cleo P.
I read the other reviews for this place and while they weren't great the hubs and I decided to check it out. We got a GroupOn and went there this past Friday. The music was inviting and the place was dimly light so we were excited to try it out. The service was decent so no problem there. I know that tapas are expensive and we frequent a tapas place in the city but they offer even less food for the same price as the other places. The pitcher of sangria was 23.99 and it wasn't even a regular sized pitcher and you got 4 scallops for 8 bucks. Talk about a rip-off. The food itself tasted fine but not worth the money they charge for it.
(2)
April P.
DO NOT EAT HERE.... EVER! Before buying a Groupon I read the reviews, and although a little hesitant, we decided to give it a try. My friend and I both live in downtown Arlington Heights and wanted to try somewhere new. This was a HUGE mistake. From the second we walked in, it was a bad vibe. We sat at the bar (which is WAY too high and felt like it came up to my chin) and were greeted by a manager. He was nice enough, but our server was TERRIBLE. She was rude, never smiled and when we asked her for a recommendation, she practically threw the specials menu at us. We asked about several dishes, and her response was always the same, "eh, it's okay". We ended up getting the Potatoes Bravas, Goat cheese and tomato dip, and meatballs. The potatoes were soggy with very little taste/sauce, the goat cheese was OKAY at best, and the meatballs were overcooked and hard. I could barely put a fork through them. We ended up sending back the meatballs and having them removed from the bill. I have NEVER sent anything back in a restaurant, they were THAT bad. The sangria was way too sweet. Nothing about this place was even slightly good. The waitress tried to clear our plates three times, even though they were still half full and we had full glasses of wine. After paying and as we were leaving and about to put the tip down, the waitress looked in our payment book and snottily said to us, "you know the tips not included, right?". I grabbed the tip and said to her, "a tip is earned" and stormed out. She was the WORST waitress I have ever had. I have waitressed in the past, and I have NEVER not left a tip. This place is a disaster and I am sure it will not last much longer. Even with the Groupon, it is not worth it! Stay away. I have never taken the time to leave a review, but I feel so strongly about this place being terrible, that I had to leave a review. La Tasca around the corner is FAR SUPERIOR in every way. DO NOT EAT HERE!
(1)
Michael B.
Went to La Roca Tapas last night for dinner and was underwhelmed. The Good: Wait staff was very attentive and were at the table often to exchange tapas plates, refill drinks, etc. Also, the one dish that was really great was the tortilla espaniola. The Bad: The food was just not tasty. It had little flavor, and the flavor it had was not that good. The prices were also expensive for tapas. The bill for 2 of us was $75, which is somewhat expected for a nice meal, but unfortunately it was not a nice meal. The meatballs were overcooked (my wife asked me if I thought they were just using Trader Joe's precooked meatballs), the sauces were bland, the potatoes were spicy, but without any other flavor, the beef and goat cheese was barely luke warm and had the same sauce as the meatballs. Overall: Disappointed...would not go back.
(2)
Bethany B.
I had an entree at this Tapas place--shame on me? Anyway, it was assorted grilled meats, and it was delicious. My friend's dish was also really good, according to him (some kind of seafood and pasta dish). They charge you $2 if you want another basket of bread, which I thought was kind of weird. I mean, if they are trying to prevent waste, there are other ways of doing it. To me it just seemed cheap. At least the waitress warned us. Otherwise, the prices are fair and probably good for Arlington Heights. P. S. I like this better than La Tasca
(5)
Elizabeth T.
1st time in La Roca Tapas for dinner. + We were greeted and seated as soon as we came in. + We were given a basket of bread and a plate of cheese, peppers, etc. for the bread. There was olive oil available, too. Tasted very good. I'm no stickler for the bread basket since we came for tapas and paella. + Ordered hot tapas ( grilled shrimp with lemon butter, sauteed shrimp with garlic butter & angel hair pasta, pork loin with black pepper); paella valenciana; and a glass of white sangria. Save for the angle hair pasta that was cooked too much (it was not al dente, rather super mushy/soft), ALL WERE COOKED AND SEASONED VERY WELL. NOT TOO SALTY, NOT TOO BLAND. PERFECT! + Prices were reasonable. + Bus boy was very attentive. Plates taken ASAP, water and soda refill ASAP. He even took one more order from us since our waitress was a bit pre-occupied (she was training someone so we understood). He even offered to pack the unfinished food for us!!! 10000 points! (I'm not a fan of restaurant staff just handing you a box to pack you food.) + All staff were super friendly and not snotty - Waitress was a bit pre-occupied but I was hoping it was just a fluke since she was training another waitress - Go somewhere else for desserts. We ordered flan and it was not that good. Observation (this is not good/bad, just an observation): - Place is smaller than La Tasca (another tapas restaurant about 2 blocks away) but I would rather come to this place because the food, price, and service are better. - Paella Valenciana ($16.95) serves 2 people. This is cheaper than La Tasca down the street that charges $14.95 PER PERSON when you order Paella Valenciana. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! WE WILL DEFINITELY COME BACK HERE! REASONABLE PRICES, FRIENDLY SERVICE, FOOD PERFECTLY SEASONED. WAY TO GO!
(4)
Michelle G.
My husband and I have been here twice now, and it has been fabulous. Both times we had the same patient and attentive waitress, and both times she made excellent wine recommendations that complimented the food perfectly. We felt the ambiance was perfect for a date night out, and really enjoyed the tapas dinner. We ordered mussels, shrimp (and they were VERY nice to accomodate my requests to keep sauces on the side), goat cheese, salad and an olive platter. Everything was fresh and delicious. I know we will be back, as we are excited to have a (much) better tapas restaurant option now in Arlington Heights.
(5)
Brenda F.
Good food. Quiet atmosphere. Good wine.
(4)
Sarah Y.
Some of their food was really good like the mussels and avacado salad with shrimp, but their paella was bad. It was too watery and bland, and mussels had fishy taste and the meats tasted horrible. Servers were nice, and the avocado salad with shrimp and brandy mayo on special menu was really tasty. However, service started lacking once a table of big group walked in. This place has a potential but needs some improvements.
(3)
James H.
We visited on a Sunday, the night of the Academy Awards night. We were one of three couples in the restaurant. Though to be honest, we have had some our worst service in restaurants that were not busy. Tonight the service was exemplary. From refills on water and tea to taking away used plates, to checking on our progress, we were very satisfied. We chose a few plates to begin our meal with and the ordered a couple more as we progressed through the meal. All came in a very timely manner. We started with Garlic potato salad and were pleased that we could taste the garlic. We tried the spicy potatoes, they were mildly spicy. Next we tried one of their specials, avocado and shrimp served in an avocado shell, it was delicious and the flavor s worked well together. The goat cheese wrapped in steak in a red wine sauce , the sauce was exceptional. The figs stuffed with bacon in a wine were sweet and very tasty. These were fresh figs, not dates as one of the other guest had thought. For our final dish we ordered the deep fried eggplant with Chorizo, a nice way to finish our dinner. We felt the serving size for the dishes were small, but not to small. A real taste, but not overwhelming . We have eaten at La Tasca and would say the dishes were different, but the service and food dishes were very comparable. We would definitely return and recommend it to friends.
(4)
TB S.
14 of us went there on a weekend. They were easily able to seat us (we made reservations). We loved the sangria - both red and white. Their food was fabulous since there was 14 of us we ordered 2 dishes each which means we tried almost everything. The staff was gracious and attentive. LaRoca Tapas is highly recommended in our book!!!!
(5)
Joe B.
We recently visited La Roca last week after buying the groupon $20 for $42 deal. it has a convenient location in downtown arlington heights, close to train, shops etc. We had a reservation for 5:45 pm, but once we arrived we realized it was unnecessary as only 3 out of 15 tables were occupied the whole time we were there. Service was attentive but not intrusive. The wine menu is a bit small, but they do serve sangria. The server quickly brought us a loaf of bread with oil and spices, very delicious. We started with cold tapas dishes--- the meat platter and tortilla espanola. The meats were pretty decent, fresh and not too salty, however, overall the dish was unmemorable and i dont think we would get this again. The tortilla espanola was very good, one of the best i have had. We then ordered 4 hot tapas dishes--- calamari, ham croquetas, queso de cabra, and a dish (cant remember the name) that consisted of goat cheese wrapped in steak. The calamari was oily and tough, I would not recommend this dish. The croquetas were mediocre, I was definitely disappointed in them. The queso de cabra was good, I would order it again. The steak/goat cheese dish was very rich. Portions were OK for a table of 2, if you come with a bigger group definitely plan on ordering 2 of everything though. Our total bill for food and 1 glass of wine came to $69 with tip. Bottom line: There was nothing bad about our experience at La Roca. However, there is nothing that blew us away either. With all of the great restaurants to try in downtown Arlington Heights, I don't think we will be returning anytime soon.
(3)
Kara C.
Really enjoyed it. Good food, great wine (Carmenere) and wonderful service. You will never want for water. Lol
(5)
John R.
If you've ever been to La Tasca a couple blocks away, you'll be disappointed. Why they opened this place so close to La Tasca I don't know, but I think it would have been better for them if they had gone to downtown Palatine or downtown Mount Prospect. And then there's the fact that this restaurant is laid out horribly. It was a horrible layout when it was Mario's Trattoria, and they haven't changed it a bit. The service was awkward at best. We had around 4 people come to our table and try to assist us or make strange small talk (our server, a person that brought us the alcohol, a person that took plates away and brought some of our tapas, a person that brought plates away and filled water). I'm used to having multiple servers, or at least multiple people that service the table, but this was really awkward. Then there's the food. Again, if you like La Tasca, you'll probably be disappointed. We ordered 6 tapas, of which 2 were pretty good. The plating was horrible though. They put lettuce on almost every dish. That doesn't help at all, if anything it detracts from the plate. Who knows if the lettuce is clean, and why do I need to push it away to get to the food? And then the dishes without lettuce looked pretty bad too. We did have some good tapas, but they weren't worth struggling through the bad ones. The atmosphere wasn't great either. Again, they haven't changed a thing since it was Mario's Trattoria. The place is bland and the music was way too loud. Even one of our servers commented on this. La Tasca is way better and easier to hear other people. I would say this is like the poor man's La Tasca, but the prices were right about the same. Save yourself the disappointment and walk the extra 2 blocks.
(2)
Mark W.
The sauces were to die for. But if you had to survive on the food, we've had appetizers that offered more to eat. We've been to several tapas restaurants in Chicagoland and elsewhere across the country, so we know what to expect, but if it were not for being able to soak up the sauces with a loaf of bread, we would have left very hungry. We ordered the baked goat cheese to start off with. It came nearly last. It was a very thin shaving of cheese floating atop a slightly spicy red sauce, the least exquisit of their sauces, and the mere shaving of goat cheese really could not be distinguished from the sauce. The leg of lamb with mint sauce, was also, three 1/2 teaspoon size pieces which you had to search for in the sauce. This, as the rest of the sauces, were wonderful. The steak rolls with pesto and goat cheese, consisted of (3) 1/2" x 1-1/2" 1/8" shavings of what looked like pressed meat, rolled around a mixture which was good, but may have only had a hint, at best, of pesto or goat cheese. The scallops with potatoes, like almost everything else, came in sets of (3), quarter sized scallops with the equivalent of 3 1/4" shavings of what appeared to be fried potato. The stuffed figs were a bonus. There were actually 4 grape sized figs floating in the sauce. Their sauces were wonderful. Smallest tapas we ever saw. Don't know if our half off Amazon deal influenced our portion sizes, because even for tapas servings, everything we ordered looked like about half portion sized. Be sure and ask for additional baskets of bread, so you can not only enjoy the wonderful sauce on something, but also not walk out starving. The photos shown were not representative. Photo portion sizes were much larger than what we were served. They should have been using tasting plates not tapas plates.
(2)
Brian P.
Unfortunately this site doesn't allow 0 stars. Everything at this place was subpar. My wife and I walked in on a Saturday night to grab dinner. We did not have reservations, but were hoping maybe there would be a way for us to get a table. The hostess, who may be 13, said there is a 40 minute wait for a table. I then waited for her to ask for my name, which she didn't, so I said, "can i give you my name to put down?" She kind of snickered and responded by saying, "I guess". We then walked over to Harry's and had a drink and then came back 40 minutes later. We waited about 5 more minutes and then we were seated. The hostess gave us the menu's, but forgot to give us the drink menu. About 5 minutes after we sat, the busboy came by and brought us water and I asked him for a drink menu, he said, "Your waitress will bring you one." 5 minutes later, the waitress came by to take our drinks, at which point I asked for a drink menu. She brought us the menu and then said she would be back. 10 minutes later she finally showed up and took our drink orders. Fast forward another 10 minutes and our drinks finally arrived. This was because the waitresses also are in charge of making the drinks (P.S. the sangria is that Carlo Rossi crap out of a gallon jug). All in all, it was was 30 minutes until we finally got our drinks and were able to place our food order. The food came out in respectable time and was overall decent, nothing to rave about, but also nothing to complain about. After we finished, the waitress asked us if we would like anything else, we ordered a flan and a coffee. The flan came out 10 minutes after we ordered it, sans coffee. We began to eat the flan slowly waiting for the coffee to show up. After about 10 minutes of nursing the flan, we gave up and finished it off. As the waitress was zooming by, I stopped her to tell her we didn't want the coffee and to just bring us the check. She apologized and said she forgot. You figure after not bringing us the coffee she would rush us the check, but no. Another 10 minutes to get the check. I put my credit card in the holder and put in plain sight for the waitress to see that we were ready to be rung up. Literally 15 minutes passed until she picked up the check and ran my card and brought it back to me. If it weren't for the godawful service, we would come back. In total we waited for 65 minutes and spent only 30 minutes eating. I cannot see this place lasting more than 6 months with this type of service. Hopefully they hire a competent restaurant manager soon to solve the laundry list of issues this place has.
(1)
Mindy G.
This is a very odd dining experience. There are so many different things going on in this restaurant, that it is very distracting. First of all, there is a large mural of something possibly from the 1600's on one wall and on the other wall a Spanish mural. The television is on over the bar, but it didn't seem like a place to have a television. If I am in a bar, I will watch a game, but not when I am trying to enjoy a relaxing meal. The strangest part was the 60's rock band that was in the corner. Instead of playing Spanish music, they were playing various 60's and 70's tunes. They were good, but I had no idea why they were there. The food was OK. The garlic potatoes were lacking in garlic and were in huge chunks. Nothing was really outstanding that we ordered. The portions were very small and we dine at another Tapas place all the time, so we are used to tapas sized portions. Next time we will drive to Hillside for authentic tapas at Emilio's instead.
(2)
Bobbi S.
We had larger group of ladies and they were very accomodating. The server, G, was very attentive. She did insist that we order our food in spanish. How fun is that! I have food allergies and G was great with checking with the chef to find dishes that were safe for me to eat. We did tapas and drinks. Almost everything we ordered was great. The chicken croquettes were ok. Next time I go, I'd like to try one of the entrees and maybe even a dessert. We were not charged the $2 for extra bread and thank goodness because we went through a ton of it. Another tapas place is around the block. This one is more relaxed and quieter. It was nice to be able to hear people from across the table without yelling. The prices are a little cheaper than the other place too. I hope this place sticks around because I definately would like to go back.
(4)
T D.
Really great flavors and a much broader range of items. They have a lot of Catalan style dishes which you don't see very often outside of Barcelona and Catalunya/Catalonia in northern Spain. The embutidos (ham and sausage plate) was really good and had authentic taste, the hot mussels with green sauce were fresh and garlicky with a heavy gravy that is true to the style for that sauce. The patatas bravas were some of the better ones we have had. The potatoes were fried really well and the bravas sauce was really good with subtle flavors of good Spanish paprika. Sangria was really good.
(4)
Horeya C.
Delicious tapas!!! We tried about 7 different dishes (including dessert) and every single one was excellent. We have been to many tapas places and this one is ranked as our top one in the area. Great food, friendly service, and reasonable prices. Highly recommned.
(5)
Jo W.
Food was great. I would go back again. We just thought the drinks were way too expensive, especially for the size. A small tiny glass was 8 bucks, too much!!! Next time it will be just food and pop!!
(4)
Cathy J.
We had never tried La Roca before and was very excited to go. It is a very small and cozy place but they had our table for 6 ready for us when we walked in. We did not feel crowded at all. We were greeted by the chef when we walked in. We did have to sit for a long time before the server asked us if we wanted a drink. The sangria was I think the best sangria I ever had-not too sweet but just fruity enough. The server came back and asked us if we were ready to order (no guidance). I had to explain to her that it was our first time here and we need to know more about the menu, the specials, how to order etc... After that, she did help us and ordered some delicious tapas. The food was excellent and we ordered just enough (2 entrees and 2ea of 4 different tapas). The figs with the brandy sauce, the paella and the sautee spinach with raisins, almonds and olives were my favorites. We also had the salmon with a butter caper sauuce (big capers), garlic shrimp, and an avocado salad. Iwould go again!
(4)
Alison R.
Service was horrible. Got a table immediately but then waited 20 minutes for someone to come take a drink order - after we complained at the hostess booth. Then it took another 35 minutes for a salad- which we never actually saw. We went to a manager to complain again and another table overheard us and told us how they were disappointed as well - they had ordered 8 small plates and an hour later they had only gotten 2 and they were cold. That was enough for us to get up and leave. It is a small place and it was not that busy. Just seemingly complacent. There appeared to be plenty of waitstaff. Table bread was only complementary for the first basket, after which it was $2. Odd for tapas...or any place. The sangria was very good, however we only drank a little bit before opting for a restaurant down the street. Won't be back.
(1)
Kim M.
I have been to La Roca Tapas half a dozen times. The wait staff has always been very attentive and friendly, but what keeps me coming back is the food. Everything I have tried has been fantastic... but my favorite is the bacon figs with brandy cream sauce. The wait staff knows not to take the dish away because you will want to soak up every last bit of the sauce with your bread! They have good Sangria and wine but you can also bring your own bottle of wine and they don't charge a corkage fee. I have been to La Tasca as well but I prefer the food and service here. I have never experienced the issues mentioned by the other reviewers and will continue to dine at La Roca.
(4)
Elaine P.
The tapas here are more authentic than at La Tasca and everything was delicious! I thought their Tortilla espanola was perfect, and the sangria was great. I was also impressed with the Spanish music that they were playing! If you know anything about Spanish culture and cuisine, you will love this place!
(4)
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Address :6 S Dunton Ave
Arlington Heights, IL, 60005
Takes Reservations : Yes Delivery : No Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Good For : Dinner Parking : Street Bike Parking : Yes Good for Kids : No Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Ambience : Casual Noise Level : Average Alcohol : Full Bar Outdoor Seating : No Wi-Fi : No Has TV : Yes Waiter Service : Yes
Rose D.
Food quality & flavor - very good. Service - good & friendly Variety on the menu - okay (I'm sure this is because they don't have the amount of business they would like) Their sangria is quite delicious and all the various dishes we tried were very good - though there just wasn't so much interesting/different on the menu to make us hard pressed on making our choices as we usually are when dining on tapas. Yes, what we had was quite tasty & absolutely fresh (we tried a few seafood dishes including calimari & shrimp & both were very fresh & good) - but although their menu seems big, a lot of it is quite similar.
(3)Sandra C.
My husband and I have been going to La Roca since it opened about 4 years ago. We love everything on the menu! We were there just the other night and found out that they just switched to BYOB--which I think is a great option and am hoping that they advertise it more! If you are in the area, I highly recommend checking this place out!
(4)Terrie o.
Sorry to say, unimpressed ... Not bad but won't be rushing back. At close to 5 PM my friend and I were the only diners, for at least an hour and the person serving us was lacking enthusiasm and energy. It was adequate however there really was no interaction and being the only diners, and first timers, you'd think he'd want to make a better impression. For the prices of our selections, the portions were skimpy except the eggplant and chorizo dish. Three skimpy steak rolls for $7.95... ? We wanted to sample the recommended Spanish wine, but there was no open bottle to accommodate us. I wanted flan for desert, none available. And being the only diners, I had to request a water refill. We were never offered coffee. Overall, the food was alright, but I felt an indifference from the gentleman serving us. Oh, and one table was seated towards the end of our visit. I went with a Groupon but was not impressed or intrigued enough to return. A touch more interaction would have made a world of difference.
(2)Nataliya A.
Take your money elsewhere. Unprofessional service and poor quality food. I made a reservation on Opentable a few weeks before coming here on a Wednesday. We came in at 7pm for our reservation... there were no tables available, a lot of people waiting for a table, and the hostess was nowhere to be found. When the hostess did come by and I told her we had a reservation, she pointed to the restaurant and said "well we don't have a table right now, it will be at least 40 minutes!" All this with a huge attitude! Unacceptable, but we decided to wait because we had a Groupon and it was the last day... the restaurant clearly did no work out the last day of groupon very well... We did end up getting seated about 40 minutes after our reservation time, the waiter was pretty nice, and did take our order in a timely manner. He did not explain to us any of the menu items or anything, just asked us what we wanted. He also took a long time to bring us out the bread, and with how hungry we got by this point it was a necessity. We ordered 6 tapas between my bf and I, and this is usually a good amount without leaving us too stuffed, but they were all unexpectedly pretty big, except for the beef and cheese roll. Tapas are usually pretty small, but we could have easily shared 3 dishes between the 2 of us. We got the garlic scallops, grilled calamari, potatoes, goat cheese, figs stuffed with bacon, and beef rolls with goat cheese. The food was less than impressive. The rolls of beef and cheese were tiny and chewy. the grilled calamar had 3 long pieces of calamari grilled, I actually kinda liked this but my boyfriend did not. The potatoes were very simple, and the sauce with it was just plain spicy sauce, nothing special, I could have made this at home. The garlic scallops were okay, for sure heavy on the garlic and the scallops were overcooked.... How were the figs stuffed with bacon you ask? Well you should ask the wait staff because we never received them. After we were done with eating all of our food, an hour after we originally ordered we asked the waiter about the figs, he said they are still working on them in the back, we waited a few more minutes and told the waiter that we no longer wanted them... we were clearly done with the meal, and were not going to wait over an hour for figs... The waiter did take the figs off our bill, which was nice and without questions asked. With the groupon our dinner turned out to be very cheap, but I would not have paid the full amount for this tasteless. We will not be returning.
(2)Bill M.
I read the reviews on yelp and wev went in with fairly low expectations. All in all, we were actually pleased. Decor / Ambiance - Pretty mellow, small, simple. Service - Just a tad on the slow side but friendly and attentive. Food - We went off the tapas thing and went with entrees. Just one tapas to start. The grilled shrimp. Not big (not prawns) but nice and seemed fresh. Entrees: Me: Mixed seafood grill - low on the presentation side but it seemed fresh. Included shrimp, mussels (small), clams (small), calamari, salmon and a type of fish I believe was tilapia. Seemed fresh and was very tasty. Her: Salmon - large portion, moist, very good overall. Drink selections were good. I used a Groupon and even without prices were reasonable. La Roca is not a place I would travel 40 mins to get to but if you're within 20 mins of this restaurant, its a nice little place. A solid B-
(3)Josh S.
I've lived in the area a long time and always meant to try this place, but with an amazing tapas restaurant like La Tasca right down the street, I just never got around to it. Finally I saw I deal on Amazon and decided that I'd surprise my wife who absolutely loves Tapas, we usually go to Cafe BaBaReba for her birthday. Overall the experience was fine, but even at the discounted price, we wouldn't go back. I feel like I can make better versions of their dishes at home. We started by ordering the bacon stuffed figs since it sounded like a nice starter. We ordered that by itself about 10 minutes before placing the order for any other food, but it never came. Finally we decided we were so hungry that we might as well get in the order for some other things like the meatballs, potatoes bravas, and the steak rolls stuffed with goat cheese. The potatoes arrived first which was a shame, I really wanted to eat them with the meat dishes but the ones in the middle were covered in sauce and already getting soggy (compared to the perfectly crispy ones on the sides. About 5-10 minutes later the meat dishes arrived together (still no figs). The steak was tough and overcooked, very little goat cheese to be found and whole peppercorns stuck to the bottom, gave an unpleasant surprise and off-putting taste, even for someone who loves pepper. It just didn't work. The meatballs tasted pretty good, but were incredibly dense/overpacked. The figs finally arrived and they were incredible soft/overcooked. The bacon tasted great but it was all drenched in a super sweet sauce. The dish was heavy handed and poorly executed. I've never been disappointed by this dish before and I really wish it had arrived first. At some point we decided we wanted to order a seafood dish and asked for the server's recommendation between the two sauteed calamari dishes, but she instead steered us toward the grilled calamari. I feel like you should be very sure that this is the best dish if you're going to do something like that, so I accepted her suggestion and often times, the servers know what they are doing. She did not. There were three calamari on the plate, one of which was cooked perfectly, but the other two were like chewing rubberbands and very fishy. The sauce itself was pretty good but not great. The flavors were just very amateurish and didn't seem authentic at all. Worst tapas place I've ever been to. That said, nothing was terrible, it was just disappointing considering how much of a treat going out for tapas usually is. We decided to cut our losses and get dessert at La Tasca and that was a brilliant decision. I wonder how this place manages to stay in business considering the competition. Hell, the prices aren't even much lower.
(2)Melissa S.
I bought the Groupon for La Roca Tapas a while ago and when I looked at the reviews on here I was very worried, but we had a great experience here. My boyfriend and I went tonight (Tuesday) around 6 p.m. and there were only a few other tables filled. We were seated right away, the decor is nice, simple with some very nice paintings on the walls. We ordered and got drinks right away, I had the white sangria and he had the red, both were very tasty, although it's kind of a small glass. We started with the Patatas Bravas, which were very crispy and the sauce has a good kick to it but not overly spicy. We also started with the Iberian pork loin served on toasted bread with blue cheese, also very good. We ordered two more dishes as we were eating and they came out soon after. We had the Cordero A La Segoviana (New Zeland leg of lamb served with potatoes and mint butter sauce) and Alamejas A La Marinera (Sauteed manila clams in olive oil with shallots, lemon juice and white wine sauce served with pasta) Everything was delicious and the service was quick, nice and attentive. With the Groupon this place is a great deal for a lot of high-quality food and some tasty drinks.
(5)Alina R.
I have never been more disappointed or angry with a restaurant experience. I'm a very easy going person so it takes a lot to upset me and for me to write SUCH a horrible review. We arrived at 7pm for our reservation for 6 people. We were seated perfectly fine and the service started off not too bad. We had placed our orders at 7:15 and our first order (1 tapa) didn't come out until 8:15pm. Only one arrived...then at 8:30 two more arrived...everyone else sat there hungry and looking at one person eat a small tapa at a time. My husband had ordered one tapa of Chicken and his order didn't arrive until 8:45pm! Whenever we asked our waitress or the OWNER where his order was at, we were given one reply, "It'll be out in a minute..." Finally when it DID arrive it was tiny and tasted poorly! My poor starving husband ate it anyway though. When we hadn't been refilled on our water and we had to ASK for water refills we were told that the Village was fixing the main water line outside and there was no running water. At which point we all asked how is the kitchen running with no water for the cooks to wash their hands...or the produce?? Also since no running water there was no use for a bathroom either. It took us 3 full hours to get all the tapas to finally come out. We were the first ones in the restaurant and one of the last to leave as millions of tables came and left before us. There were NO apologies, NO let us comp you half the bill for your troubles, NO water or HORRIBLE service. I will NEVER EVER come back here again. La Tasca down the street is a million times better with impeccable service! To put the icing on the cake, it took about 30 minutes to get our bill correct. Worst dinner ever and not to mention that we were sick at the end of the night.
(1)Kristin B.
The steak rolls with goat cheese and figs with bacon were so good! It was fun to try something new and I really loved what I had. The manager was also very attentive and welcoming.
(5)Taylor M.
I snagged a Groupon for La Roca and decided that I wanted to try it out. I have always been fan of tapas and I love La Tasca which is across the street. When we first walked in no one greeted us for a while. There were only two other tables taken and it was a bit awkward just standing in the doorway. Once the staff sat us, the service was very attentive. The portions here are HUGE. It did not seem like tapas sizes at all! But the food was just lacking in taste and quality. The grilled calamari that the waitress recommended was tough and chewy and there was not even a good taste to it. Blugh... we didn't eat it. The other foods seemed too greasy. The sangria here states it is the best, but I have had much better. The flan was good though! I would have been pretty upset if I came here without my Groupon!
(2)Winston R.
Don't get the groupon. I asked for a bacon wrapped date, they said "OK". They bring me back a fig wrapped in bacon. I complained and said that is not what I asked for. They told me that's all we have. They didn't take it back, but charged me for the crappy fig. Service is bad. La Tasca Tapas is right around the corner and they are much, much better. Spend your money there! A restaurant that really cares would be honest and tell me they don't have it. And definitely don't charge me for something I didn't ask for!
(2)Amy F.
We love tapas restaurants so when we found out there was another one in Arlington Heights we were excited to try it. For a Saturday night, I was surprised to see we were the first party to arrive. I thought there would be more people as the night went on but no one else showed. The food was "okay". Queso de cabra was the best dish. Long story short, my mouth dropped when the waiter asked what we wanted for dessert. We said "flan" and he said "we are all out." A Spanish restaurant without flan is like a burger joint without fries. Some of the food was good. Overall, I really felt sorry for this place.
(2)Tasha T.
We actually had great service. Loved the people. But the food was not good. It all was overcooked and had a bitter burnt taste to the sauces. Sangria was the only good thing. Not worth even the groupon deal. We were sad to not like it because we loved the people.
(2)Arnie E.
I think it is very interesting and perhaps a little suspicious that every bad review of this place invariably refers to that "other" tapas restaurant around the corner. I've been to both multiple times and the food at La Roca is superior to that other over hyped restaurant. Plus, with the opportunity to buy and bring in a bottle of wine from the shop next door it's a great way to spend an evening. Favorite dish: Tilapia a la Bilbaona.
(3)MyongHi S.
Really cute hole-in-the-wall place that my friends and I decided to visit in between a wedding and cocktail hour! The service by an older gentleman was fantastic. Food was really good--the mussels (the creamy sauce was awesome), the shrimp pasta, etc. were really good. I would have given 5 stars but at the end of our experience the friendly guy who was taking care of us disappeared and a woman took over who was not in any sense friendly.
(4)Faina L.
We had a deal from Amazon local and decided to try. Since we arrived relatively early around 6 pm on Saturday the service was really good as only one other couple was in besides us. We had 4 tapas: avocado salad - good, grilled portobello mushroom ok, lamb pork chops with potatoes - good and beef with goat cheese - did not like at all. Beef was dry and hard to chew. We visited Spain many years ago and I did not see any of these dishes as tapas in Spain. Taking an avocado salad with shrimps and making it in a small portion and calling it a tapas is not right. We had a deal, otherwise it would have been an expensive bill for what we ate. Experience was good, food was ok , not bad and not good, but we are not coming back, unless we get another good deal and maybe we will get totally different meals. We live not far, but it is not worth to drive there more than 15-20 minutes .
(3)Yu H.
Went here one night with some family for dinner. The atmosphere was nice but the parking was a little troublesome because its located in downtown Arlington Heights. Here is what we tried.(See pictures) Garlic Soup: Kind of bitter, it had a strong garlic smell but not much taste besides salt. It also had little soggy pieces of bread in it sort of like a french onion soup but these were broken into small pieces and at the bottom I think they cracked an egg in it. (Around 5 bucks) Iberian Pork with goat cheese: Pork was overcooked and tough, the bread and goat cheese it came with was pretty good. (8 dollars) Patatas Bravas: Basically fried chunks of potato with a spicy marinara over it. Not bad but nothing special. (6.50) Paella Valencia: I've never had Paella before but I'm pretty sure it should not be like this. This paella STANK...LITERALLY. The mussels weren't even close to fresh and smelled awful and tasted the same. The fish and shrimp and squid in it ALL STANK. I swear to god this dish is where they dump all their rotten fish.. it looked good at first but tasted absolutely awful. It came in a paella pan but since they failed to cook it correctly there was no crust on the bottom which is the best part. DO NOT ORDER EVER! (17.00) I have to say the prices for tapas here are also kind of ridiculous for what you get. For example the pork dish was literally 2 small piece of pork on bread and it was 8 dollars (See picture) Thank god I had a groupon or I would have been pissed. I do not recommend this place.
(1)Tony S.
Excellent choice some of the bad reviews scared me, but overall this was a very god choice. The Plato embutido was an awesome value for the price Serrrano ham and two different salami's plenty of bread to eat it with. The parrillas the marisco was a tad too salty but very plentiful and delicious. Next time I comeback I will do more if the tapas. Some of them sound very interesting
(4)Sufia A.
Came here for impromptu meal. Loved everything we tried. Mussels, steak rolls, and scallops were amazing. Definitely coming back here when we visit Chicago again!
(5)Alexis O.
Better than La Tasca down the street! After reading some of the reviews, I was hesitant to try this place, but I'm so glad I did. The food is excellent! The restaurant is very small, and the decor is nothing to write home about, but it's cozy. The service definitely left something to be desired (more on this later), but if they iron this out, this will be a great place to enjoy dinner again and again. We sampled the Red Sangria, but it tasted too weak and watered down, so we both tried the only Pinot Noir they had, which was pretty sour. My friend tried a Malbec after that, which she preferred. We decided to stick to small plates instead of entrees. All were good, and some great! We had: Ensalada Templada (Spinach salad) - 5/5 Espinacas a la Catalana (Warm spinach salad) - 5/5 Queso de Cabra al Horno (Goat cheese in tomato sauce) - 4/5 Gambas a la Plancha (Shrimp in lemon sauce) - 5/5 Viernas con Patatas (Scallops in garlic mint sauce) - 4/5 Rolittos de Carne (Steak stuffed with goat cheese in red wine sauce) - 4/5 Like I said, I'm glad I tried the food, because I came home raving about how delicious it was, but if it wasn't for the soon to be expired Groupon I had, my friend and I would have left before ordering. When we walked in, we saw that there was only one server on the floor and she was taking care of 5 tables of 2 people each. After waiting for a few minutes at the door, we sat ourselves. The server did not make eye contact with us nor did she say, I'll be right with you. We figured we'd give her a couple minutes to catch up. After 15 minutes of no water, no menu, or no acknowledgement whatsoever, (she did see us), she finally came over and said that she was a little busy. We quickly ordered something to get started. Management - I don't care if you are trying to save money. If you don't have a manager on duty, nor a hostess, the least you can do is hire a bus boy to help fill water glasses, bus tables and seat people. One server for dinner time cannot handle everything. I'm not sure if someone called in, or if this is the way it is normally done here, but I suggest to hire someone else! If you skimp on this, you are shooting yourself in the foot and losing more money. End rant. I will definitely come back for the food. But I'll make sure I'm not starving, in case I have to wait a bit.
(4)Megan C.
I come here every once in a while with my family when my parents get a Groupon. Our waitress if always fantastic and the food is delicious. I definitely recommend La Roca to anybody who is a fan of tapas!
(5)Carrie E.
this place is ok. Nice decor but service is slow, not attentive. We really enjoyed the goat cheese stuffed peppers but the paella was SUPER salty. We couldn't say anything as the server never asked us how the meal was at any point
(2)Rosie M.
I don't know where to start :( I bought this groupon, totally mistaken it for another tapa place. But I thought to myself, why not give it a try? First the food took forever to deliver. The waitress didn't bring us our drinks. The food was over salted and dry. Lesson learned. Should watch carefully what I order on groupon next time :(
(1)Kate W.
Went here with the hubby for dinner. I read most of the reviews on Yelp so I was prepared for a good or bad time. First off, the servers are all so nice. They are very attentive and friendly. Our server looked to be the only waitress at the place and she still took the time to stop by and chat and check on us. The food was less than desirable. We ordered the following: Bacon Stuffed Dates - 1 out of 5 stars. They were mushy, the texture was horrible and the taste was bland. Goat cheese with Marinara Sauce - 5 out of 5 stars. This was the best thing we got. Creamy, tasteful, good. Thin steak rolls stuffed with goat cheese - 1 out to 5 stars. I don't eat meat, but my husband said they were gross. He said the meat was not good and no flavor. Roasted Portobello Mushrooms - 3.5 out of 5 stars. I love mushrooms no matter what. They were good, but not much to them. Nothing that cried out amazing. Grilled Calamari - 2 out of 5 stars. This was incredibly chewy because they were such thick pieces. I didn't care for it so much, my husband thought they were ok. Once again the flavor was bland. Sangria - Pretty tasty, very smooth. Good but not great. Overall for the tapas and 3 drinks it was around $60 before tax and tip, so I wouldn't say it's awfully expensive, it just sucked a lot of the dishes were lacking. Unfortunately, I don't think I would go back.
(2)Michael S.
Ok, after reading reviews here I was prepared to wait....and wait I did...and wait, and wait....and wait. Just too long of a wait. Especially considering they never bothered to check on me and get me more delicious imported Spanish beer. I came in with three people to eat dinner, check out some of the game and then head somewhere else to finish the game. First, they don't have cable TV. Ok, Tapas restaurant, I can live with that at the bar. Second, they say they take reservations but they really don't. They just say yes on the phone Thrid, the service is incredibly slow. This is a two parter 1) Wait staff is incredibly slow and inattentive. Only way to get another beer was to flag someone down. And then they are doing me a favor. 2) The food took about 55 minutes to begin coming out for our group of 4. It was about 85 minutes after ordering before it was all out. Absolutely unacceptable when combined with part 1 of this complaint. I don't mind waiting, but at least keep my beverage filled. Fourth, the food was excellent. Although I'd suggest they include more cheese in the goat cheese dish. First class food. Fifth class service. Just can't do this place again unless they get someone in there to run the show a bit better.
(2)amy T.
My husband and I tried La Roca for the first time this evening. I read all the reviews before we went. Other then the extremely high bar (were we ate), our dining experience was excellent! We each had the Sangria which we like more then what is served at another AH Tapas restaurant. We loved the three Tapas we tried; Sliced pork served with a creamy pepper sauce....delicious! The "Special" Prawns, perfectly seasoned! Leg of Lamb served on potato....Yum! We have dined at the other local Tapas place at least a dozen times. We left La Roca completely satisfied with the service, Sangria, and food! The portions (for Tapas) were generous, everything was seasoned to perfection, the staff was attentive and friendly! We will definitely be back.
(4)Bea S.
I noticed this restaurant on Groupon for the past couple of months, so I decided to try it and purchased the Groupon for a date night with my boyfriend. Finding the place was fine, even during the afternoon rush hour. Overall, the decor, space, and food were just OK. The mural on the wall was a bit in-your-face with letting you know you were at a tapas restaurant. It was clean and I didn't get a chance to check out the restroom. I like busy, lively places, but there was only another couple there when we arrived and another one showed up as we were getting ready to leave. The wait staff was courteous, though a tinsy bit slow with checking up on us. As for the food, I have had much better and there wasn't much to it in terms of flavor. We ordered the following: Plato De Embutidos (Spanish meat platter with Serrano ham and chorizo), Calamares A La Bilbaina (Sauteed calamari rings with potatoes, garlic, cayenne pepper and paprika), and Gambas A La Plancha (Grilled shrimp with a lemon butter sauce); I ordered a red wine sangria and a Captain and coke. The meat platter was OK - there was no depth or kick to the meats, and with the help of the bread condiments and olive oil, I doctored up the flavor. Same goes with the calamari and shrimp - absolutely nothing worth wild, but they were cooked perfectly and hot (no chewiness here). I wanted the wine, but in order to use our Groupon to the full extent, I ordered the Captain and Coke, which brought our total just over $45. Generally, I don't think I'll be eat here again, mainly because of the lack of flavor in the items I tried. If desperate, I may go again and try different ones, but I would really have to be in the mood for it. I'll give the other tapas place in Arlington Heights a shot and see how it compares.
(3)Eeva L.
I was pleasantly surprised. Loved the interior, music, friendly service. Made me miss Spain. Food was flavourful. We ordered seafood, eggplant and meat dishes and liked them all. Flan was rich and tasty. Would go back if another deal comes up as it is bit pricey for me. Overall, pleasant and memorable experience.
(4)Colleen W.
I hate to leave so/ so reviews but I feel it's necessary to comment. We went here with a group of 6. We had a nice table and the hostess was very nice. The mussels in the cream sauce were very good. Each of us ordered tapas and they brought them all out at different times. Some of us had food to eat some of us didn't. The waiter was all over thr place and he was a bit Exhausting-The sangria wasn't bad. I don't understand AH restaurant zoning regulations. 2 blocks down is another tapas restaurant. I feel this restaurant won't make it. We walked by on a saturday night around 8 and there was only 2 people at the bar. I hope they make it for their sake.
(2)Michele Z.
Absolutely fabulous! Each dish was amazing, yes you wait a bit for food (our entire meal lasted an hour) but each dish is amazing. Obvious pride and care in preparation. No pre-prepared food here! WILL BE BACK!!!
(5)Kammie G.
It was just that, it was okay. We ordered a whole bunch of stuff but honestly there was not that big of a selection for a person who prefers to eat more vegetarian foods. There were a lot of meat and seafood tapas but not that many veggie-based ones that I felt I really wanted to try. The one tapas that I always order is the queso del horno (the goat cheese) and I couldn't help comparing it to the one I had (a few times) at La Tasca around the corner.. and I was dissapointed. The cheese was more crumbly than smooth and creamy and there was far too much tomato sauce. I felt the one from La Tasca was perfect. So much for that. Oh well. I liked the roasted veggies and the steak with goat cheese inside. I wasn't a big fan of the mushrooms, I felt they were not roasted enough. And the calamari was supposed to be fried but it tasted more baked or boiled or something, I'm not sure, but I'm not a huge seafood eater so I wasn't enticed by the true calamari flavor. All of the dishes were intensely garlicy. I could see garlic parts in every tapas dish, whch is awesome cause I like garlic but it's bad if you go for a date or have something to do afterwards... garlic breath is not the most attractive thing in the world. Now about the decor and feel. I think there is something missing in this place. It's nice, it has a nicely painted wall with pictures of Spanish dancers and whatnot but there is just something missing from the place to give it a nice atmosphere. It kind of felt like a diner. I can tell they are trying but it's just not hitting that note with me. It's too bad. The staff was nice and friendly and great which is a reason why I gave this place 3 stars instead of 2. Oh well.
(3)Bob B.
Very nice cozy, clean, newer, restaurant in downtown Arlington Heights. Wait staff was very attentative. Ordered 4 tapas ranging in price from $7 to $8.95. Bottle of Malbec was reasonably priced at $24 and a glass was $7. Portions were extremely small, grilled octopus was under cooked, steak stuff with goat cheese was cold (suppose to be a hot tapas). Glass of wine poured was smaller than compared to the table next to mine. Overall, I wouldn't go back there. Dinner came out to $88 for two (2). Came home and went to sleep hungry after dinner.
(1)Samantha V.
Wow! Tapas is awesome. Not a hungry man's meal unless you want to spend a LOT. But a lovely wide array of cold and warm dishes. My taste buds had a tour of deliciousness! Try the figs they're awesome! If you're on a date, beware dragon breath! Many of their dishes center around garlic.
(5)P M.
Came here with thw wife on a Groupon and didn't expect much as the place down the street was our usual go-to. We were both pleasantly surprised. With some Spanish favorites and other more eclectic selections we found it to be more authentic than the neighborhood rival and the sangria is fantastic. Also a fairly large seafood menu and the prices and portions are just right.
(4)P M.
Well we actually planned to go to that other place around the corner, but there was a 40 min waite which really isn't bad for a Friday night. We were just not in the mood to hand out waiting for a table and the noise level was just a bit high for our mood. On the walk over we saw another tapas place so went back there. So glad we did love the intimate setting great music yet quit enough to talk. The food was really good love the shrimp with avacado salad the dressing was the type that was just to good not to sop up with your bread. The best of all was the bacon stuffed figs with the brandy cream sauce just lucsious!! We also ordered the fried eggplant, garlic potato salad, clamari and potatos, and paella which we just could not finish so we took it home. Shared 2 desserts the flan and the banana tart it was creamy fresh and not over sweet. Also enjoyed their red sangria! Would return for sure!!
(4)MJ E.
Is it me or does everyone find the reviews of Groupon users to be snarky? 4 things you need to know before reading this review: 1) I've never been to Spain 2) I've only had tapas 3 times before (twice at La Tasca trying to figure out what the hype was about) 3) we didn't use Groupon and 4) we were relaxed and in no hurry. The food was fantastic. I thought I hated tapas and Spanish food based on my previous experiences! I have nearly zero frame of reference for judging La Roca Tapas for the quality of their tapas or the quality of their Spanish food. But, I have a terrific frame of reference for great food. I have to say this was pretty great. Each dish we tried was so good that I wanted to lick a few plates. Be patient, though. Imagine cooking 2-3 tiny, delicious plates of food for every customer in the place. It's gonna take some time. We let my 17 year old son choose our dishes. He is either a tapas savant or it is a can't miss menu. Seriously. The 4 of us tried 8 different tapas and a nice glass of grenache. The chicken in rosemary cream was one of the lick your plate dishes. The tilapia Bilbao style (can't remember actual name) will bring us back. Go with people you like enough to spend an hour or two. Have a glass of wine or sangria. Settle in and enjoy some really delicious food. I don't know...sounds like a great evening to me.
(4)C. G.
First round of tapas excellent! Caliente was Pork dish and Frias was spinach/ avocado salad. Second round Frias was manchego platter and Caliente was bowl of mushrooms in white wine sauce. Final round was Caliente steak rolls with goat cheese. All food was very good. The mushrooms were a huge bowl of button mushrooms would liked to have seen a variety i.e. shiitake, oyster , etc... Red sangria was very good. Overall I would definitely recommend LA Roca!
(4)David B.
Nice place. A welcome, quieter alternative to LaTosca. We arrived without reservations at about 5ish on a Monday or Tuesday, I forget. Friendly greeter and waitstaff. We were the only ones there. Place looks new. Not a bad thing--obviously it was clean. But just devoid of much character or "lived-in" look that more well-established restaurants seem to have. This still was not an issue. We are fond of tapas in general, and LaRoca had a pretty sizable menu of both hot and cold--twice the hot than the cold, if I recall correctly. But we actually decided to order off the entree part of the menu--and were glad we did. My wife ordered the paella and I ordered the salmon. As you'd expect, the food arrived rapidly. Obviously, each dish of paella was cooked to order, and it takes about 10 minutes. That's how long it took. The paella was very good. Plenty of different types of seafood with large slices of sausage. All were fresh tasting. My salmon was fantastic. Seared then broiled, simmered with lemon juice, capers and butter. It was melt-in-your-mouth tender. Very fresh tasting. Oh, and possibly the finest accompaniment were these fried potato wedges which were crispy and flaky and soaked up all that lemon/capers/butter goodness. 5 stars for this dish. The paella was a huge serving for one, so we only ate about 40% of it. The salmon was well-portioned also. But given how good both the fish and the potatoes were--we ate it all. Yummy. No dessert for us. My wife had a glass of sangria. It was fine, not great. I think it was $6/glass. Kinda steep, but you figure there's a markup for the booze. The bill arrived soon after our paella was packed up. All told, about $42 and change. Fair deal for very good food. Service was friendly and attentive--but there were only two other tables to wait on by the time we left. We look forward to having some tapas next time, that is unless that salmon is not available. It's definitely an alternative to La Tasca. Hope it lasts.
(4)Rita S.
Love this place. The food is great, the quality and the quantity it leaves every dinner memorable. I have been here twice so far and will continue to come back. I have recommended to a few of my friends who live in the area. There prices are very reasonable for Tapas.
(5)Kathy P.
This was our second trip to La Roca. We went two months ago with another couple and tonight. Both times we had excellent food and service. The interior is pleasant. The sangria is tasty. I rarely like calamari or clams and both were delicious at La Roca. I would probably give this four stars in the city of Chicago, but this is the suburbs. For the suburbs this place is great. My husband and I both prefer it to La Tasca which is also in downtown Arlington Heights. If I could make 2 suggestions it would be to add another vegetable dish or two to the menu and add a CHOCOLATE dessert to the menu. There were wonderful mariachi players tonight. This is a lovely date night spot. It is a small space so large groups probably wouldn't fit well, but it makes a nice place to go out to dinner with a few friends. We would definitely take our daughters here, but it may not be the best spot for toddlers.
(5)Joseph L.
Horrible. Shrimp was the size of quarters. Too small for this place. No bus boys. Waitress tried to keep up with plates. No luck. La tasca blows it away.
(1)Jacqueline S.
We went here to celebrate a special occasion. I love paella (my grandfather used to make it) so I was really excited to have a good paella since I thought the one from La Tasca was lacking in flavor. We also ordered figs with bacon (our mistake we thought it was bacon wrapped dates), patatas bravas, and steak rolls with blue cheese. I also had a red wine sangria. The bread basket was fine but it would have been nice if the bread were warm. It was nice to have some parsley, garlic, and red pepper to dip the bread in on top of the olive oil and cheese. The paella came and I was really disappointed. The whole thing smelled and tasted really fishy (and I love seafood) and the most important part - the rice wasn't done right - the rice at the bottom of the pan wasn't even scortched a little. I think the fishy flavor came from the fish (sounds obvious but it can come from any of the seafood). The shrimp wasn't very good and the mussels were so dry and the squid seemed on the rubbery side. The pieces of chicken were on the hard and dry side and the pork was from a pork shop I believe because the pieces I got had a large piece of the grizzle you get on the edge of a porkchop. I guess the chorizo was ok. The figs with bacon was a large fig with a small piece of bacon placed inside - I thought there should have been more bacon and it should have been crispy not soft. I would never order this again. The steak rolls I thought were terrible - the thin steak itself didn't taste that good but was terrible with the blue cheese and sauce. The patatas bravas were ok - the potatoes were crispy but it tasted like spicy marinara sauce on top. This was not what I was looking for - so much so that I decided to have a different celebration dinner. I did like the red wine sangria and the service was good and the people were very friendly. We won't be back.
(1)Walt S.
The service is v e r y s l o w, it looks like it is family run and some of the family just doesn't chip in to help. Food was actually really good, but I don't think they will make it if they don't get there act together. Found some good wine on the menu and had a nice time. I wouldn't recommend going if you are at all in a hurry. The bar is way too high for the stools, you actually have to reach up.
(2)Michele S.
We have dined here several times and enjoy it, for when we are meeting friends etc. There are more meat tapa options. This is a smaller place, so ok to call ahead and let them know you are coming if you have a larger group. I don't think this place is stellar, but the service is good, the food is good, and we've never had to wait, even on a Saturday at 730.
(3)Kym B.
Nothing horrid, but nothing great either. Food was okay, service was "eh," kinda pricey for just average food. Calamari was chewy and scallops tasted fishy. Small servings were expected, but if you're going to charge $8 for a few bites of food, then it better be outstanding. It wasn't. Sorry, but I won't be going back.
(2)AJ B.
Tom Hanks in Castaway was rescued faster than we got food!!! If I could give this place no stars, I would. I went here because of a Groupon. BIG mistake...and I'm going to let Groupon know that too. Worst service ever. We only ordered three plates. The only plate to show up in a timely manner was a potato dish, which was mediocre at best. 40 minutes after the potatoes were gone, the owner cleared our plates and table like we were going to leave. Then, our plate of rubbery, grilled calamari showed up. The calamari was tasteless...but out of hunger we choked down half of it. At this point we asked for our check. After the check showed up for $25 and our server pointed out that we had not met the $40 Groupon amount, our third plate showed up. The calamari and steak rolled with goat cheese could not have thrown on a plate any worse. The only savior of this misfortunate adventure was the great bottle of wine I bought next door that they allowed us to bring in. Groupon or not, this place was not worth it. The astronauts on Apollo 13 ate better than we did at this place. Thank goodness for Sake down the road.
(1)Whitney D.
Went to La Roca as a gamble to show my family tapas-style dining. They delivered! - The sangria was amazing! - Out of the 10 plates we ordered, there was only one that was questionable in taste. Everything else was delicious. - The staff is helpful and polite. - The bathrooms are clean and nice. (I know this is kind of a weird comment, but nothing kills a nice evening like a terrifying bathroom experience.) - The bill was a bit high, but we were completely stuffed with wonderful food by the time we left. I have also been to the neighboring tapas restaurant. I will say that while their competition has a better atmosphere, I preferred the taste of these tapas much better. I will be back. I would recommend.
(4)Tejas B.
This is the second time we have been there. The service is absolutely horrific. We had to wait an hour to get some basic tapas. The food is good if you can deal with the poor service. Last time we will be coming here.
(1)Elizabeth M.
Went to La Roca Tapas with my guy on a Wednesday night date. The atmosphere is lovely and the food was delicious. The sangria was also wonderful. Also, our server was the most polite, kind person I've ever met in a restaurant. Thank you for that. We will definitely be back.
(5)Gianni S.
Surprised at what a great place this is - friendly chef, beautiful ambience and fantastic dishes, Combinaciones de Maris co, Calamares al Ajillo y Pork loin in cream sauce. Fantastic place. Going there again :)
(4)Mike A.
I hated this restaurant. I'm so glad I got a Groupon because after I ate here I asked for a refund right away; which I rarely do. The food was pathetic, my friend and I ordered sea food and the only good thing about her dish was the sauce. My dish was a punch of seafood mixed together with bland pasta and cheap ass frozen vegetables. The service was very unprofessional, the waitress was very late with our food and she was just really awkward with us. I actually felt sick after eating here and I wouldn't want anyone going there .
(2)Stella A.
Let me preface this by saying that I came here on the last day of the Groupon. However, the place was half empty and the service was still super slow and annoying. We ordered 7 tapas plates. One tapas plate was delicious- the Lomo De Cerdo Al Ibérico which was Iberian pork loin served on toasted bread with blue cheese. 3 others were tasteless (The steak rolls stuffed with goat cheese, the New Zeland leg of lamb served with potatoes and mint butter sauce, and the sauteed mussels with garlic, shallots, parsley and a white wine cream sauce). The sauteed scallops in the Vieras Con Patatas were not cooked. In fact, they were still pretty cold on the inside. Inedible. The sauteed mushrooms with garlic, cayenne and a white wine sauce was just alright. The time in between each plate was slow, like unreasonably slow, especially after the second to last plate. So much time had passed that I thought they forgot about our calamari. When I asked one of the waittresses about it, she coldly asked if we still wanted it. It seemed like it wasn't even in the works. So I said forget it and asked for the check. Some of the plates we ordered had lots of leftover sauce. My table finished the bread so I asked for more to use to dip in the sauce. I was told they ran out of bread. I'm not sure how honest that response was since it was near closing time and the servers looked annoyed and wanted to not be there. This is definitely one place I would not go back to. Their food was meh and their service was really meh.
(2)Richard A.
We thought the food and most of the time the service was very good. We loved the potato salad! BUT if you have a gluten allergy be very careful! I ordered a dish that I was told could be made gluten free and there were hidden bread crumbs in it, I unfortunately took a bite and became sick. I informed my waitress about the problem and they did NOT take the dish off the bill!
(3)Northshore F.
The service was outstanding. The server and everyone there was great, extremely friendly, and service was excellent. They made it a nice dinner. They give you a plate of bread, and a plate filled with crushed garlic, parsley, hot pepper flakes, and parmesan cheese. There's olive oil on the table. The bread was good, and it was a nice touch having the plate with all the little spices. The olive oil was not top quality though. I have an appreciation for good olive oil. The baked goat cheese appetizer was probably the best item, it was baked in a dish with red tomato sauce and lightly toasted bread. We both liked it. The majority of the rest of the items we had were *SATURATED* in a plate of Olive Oil (and like I said this was not top quality olive oil). So you are eating a ton of oil. Everything felt extremely heavy, oily and the potatoes a bit salty. he food is not unedibly bad and we enjoyed going there once, but I would never ever go there again and I would never recommend it to anyone. There was nothing that was wow I have to go eat there again and I'm still feeling rather sick from all the oil. We normally eat at Tapas Gitano in Northfield and it is by far no comparison way better. My husband ate at the other tapas restaurant in Arlingon Heights and said it was better than here, but also felt Tapas Gitano was the best.
(2)Nikka A.
OMG! They have the worst service ever!!! We went on a Wednesday evening to use our Groupon. They were packed so we have to wait 30 mins so we can be seated. When we were ushered to our table, this lady just gave us water & the menu without even greeting us. Then we have to wait another 15 mins until the server/hostess took our order. When we inquired about the entrees, she told us that it's going to take really long for our food to come out. Same thing if we order hot tapas. I told her that was fine thinking it would be just 30 mins tops. An hour passed still there was no food even our appetizer. I asked for some more bread and was just told they ran out of it. My husband was so pissed that he told the server to just cancel our order. Probably she spoke with the chef, 'coz when she came out, she told us our food will be ready in 5 mins. So we took the chef's word for it. It was not 5 mins., but 30 mins before we got it. And the worst part was, our server forgot to take down one of our entrees. So we have to wait another 30 mins for it. Their hostess/server is very unprofessional. Just for the heck of it, I gave it 1 star 'coz their food is good. But we were at their restaurant for almost 3 hours for just 2 entrees & an appetizer. Very bad service!!!
(1)P K.
I would give them 3 1/2 stars if I could because the food is so good. The complimentary plate of parsley, garlic, cheese & red pepper flakes that comes with the bread is awesome!! Just mix it all together with olive oil and dip your bread in the heavenly result. Yum. Food was fantastic. We only had 4 tapas for the 2 of us (because we had champagne & cheese at my house before we came for dinner). The Spanish meat plate - excellent quality and quantity. Great choices. The patatas bravas - nice crispy texture outside with a spicy tomato sauce. Thinly sliced steak rolled up & stuffed with goat cheese & a creamy sauce. Figs, bacon & brandy sauce. The brandy sauce was spectacular. We used bread to soak up every extra drop of sauce. The sangria was delicious but the serving was very small. A few things to sort out there as a new restaurant. We hope they do so that we can continue to enjoy the wonderful tapas.
(3)Colleen M.
I was hesitant to come after all the poor reviews, however I found nothing poor about the place! Friendly and well timed service, good food and knowledgable staff. The groupon made it even better, I will definitely be back!
(4)Lily W.
Hands down the food here is much better than the other AH tapas restaurant both for tapas and sangria. The atmosphere was also more our style - small, intimate, quiet with some music in the background. As stated by other reviewers, you don't want to come here if you are in a hurry. The staff was friendly enough, it just took a long time for the food to come out.
(4)Nate K.
Went here a while ago.. food was nothing great.. wait staff kept forgetting what we ordered and forgot to bring our drinks multiple times.
(2)Dan S.
Excellent tapas. Experiment and and explore. Solid good. Great service. Chef's specials are amazing.
(4)Schmoopie M.
We wanted to like this place, because we love tapas, but our experience was pretty bad. We had an 8:15pm reservation on a Saturday night. The place was full when we arrived and there was a line out the door. The first thing that hit me about this place are the cheap, glaring pot lights recessed into the office-like dropped ceiling tile. Everything about this place screams cheap and low budget. This very small restaurant space does not have any waiting area other than six chairs at the itty bitty bar. Since the door literally opens onto the dining room, you have the choice of standing uncomfortably by the doorway while other diners stare at you until they seat you, or get a seat at the bar IF it is available. We stood for 15 minutes before seating at the bar was available. We sat down at the tiny bar, which is quite an awkward setup. The bar chairs are far too short for the height of the bar. While seated the bar is at neck height. There is a TV mounted high behind bar, which overlooks the dining room and can be seen from nearly every table. It's totally out of place and brings down the level of the ambiance, especially since it was tuned to loud, bloody, gory scenes from Law & Order SVU. No ambient music in this restaurant, just bloody SVU. Finally, after another 15 minutes of waiting at the bar and never being asked if we wanted drinks by any of the staff who wandered by (there appeared to be no official bartender), we were waved over by one of the staff to an empty table. He sat us down without any menus. We waited some more. Staffed bustled by, but no one stopped at our table, so I got up and grabbed our menus myself. By this time, I'm thinking that this had better be some damn good food, or I'm pissed. And I'm starving! It took another 15 minutes to get our glasses of so-so sangria, and at least another 30 minutes to get three plates of meh-just-okay tapas. We were already in this place over an hour without getting any real food, so we completely snarfed the bread they put down with the sangria. We should have ordered all six plates we wanted at once, because it took another 45 minutes to get another three tapas. The kitchen was sloooooooow and our waiter was completely inattentive. He also took too long to get us our check. Going back to the ambiance... By the time we got the remainder of our food the place had cleared out and THEN they decide to blast some music. Only it's not Latin music, it's Indian sitar music. What the....? In summary, it was nearing 10:30pm when we finally got out of there. Over two hours for unspectacular food, crappy service and lousy ambiance. Ridiculous. Save yourself the hassle. Walk over to LaTasca instead.
(1)Gregory B.
Best paella since Florida fifteen years ago. Great sangria. I really do not like La Tasca, so it is good to know there is a good alternative. Nice people.
(5)Cleo P.
I read the other reviews for this place and while they weren't great the hubs and I decided to check it out. We got a GroupOn and went there this past Friday. The music was inviting and the place was dimly light so we were excited to try it out. The service was decent so no problem there. I know that tapas are expensive and we frequent a tapas place in the city but they offer even less food for the same price as the other places. The pitcher of sangria was 23.99 and it wasn't even a regular sized pitcher and you got 4 scallops for 8 bucks. Talk about a rip-off. The food itself tasted fine but not worth the money they charge for it.
(2)April P.
DO NOT EAT HERE.... EVER! Before buying a Groupon I read the reviews, and although a little hesitant, we decided to give it a try. My friend and I both live in downtown Arlington Heights and wanted to try somewhere new. This was a HUGE mistake. From the second we walked in, it was a bad vibe. We sat at the bar (which is WAY too high and felt like it came up to my chin) and were greeted by a manager. He was nice enough, but our server was TERRIBLE. She was rude, never smiled and when we asked her for a recommendation, she practically threw the specials menu at us. We asked about several dishes, and her response was always the same, "eh, it's okay". We ended up getting the Potatoes Bravas, Goat cheese and tomato dip, and meatballs. The potatoes were soggy with very little taste/sauce, the goat cheese was OKAY at best, and the meatballs were overcooked and hard. I could barely put a fork through them. We ended up sending back the meatballs and having them removed from the bill. I have NEVER sent anything back in a restaurant, they were THAT bad. The sangria was way too sweet. Nothing about this place was even slightly good. The waitress tried to clear our plates three times, even though they were still half full and we had full glasses of wine. After paying and as we were leaving and about to put the tip down, the waitress looked in our payment book and snottily said to us, "you know the tips not included, right?". I grabbed the tip and said to her, "a tip is earned" and stormed out. She was the WORST waitress I have ever had. I have waitressed in the past, and I have NEVER not left a tip. This place is a disaster and I am sure it will not last much longer. Even with the Groupon, it is not worth it! Stay away. I have never taken the time to leave a review, but I feel so strongly about this place being terrible, that I had to leave a review. La Tasca around the corner is FAR SUPERIOR in every way. DO NOT EAT HERE!
(1)Michael B.
Went to La Roca Tapas last night for dinner and was underwhelmed. The Good: Wait staff was very attentive and were at the table often to exchange tapas plates, refill drinks, etc. Also, the one dish that was really great was the tortilla espaniola. The Bad: The food was just not tasty. It had little flavor, and the flavor it had was not that good. The prices were also expensive for tapas. The bill for 2 of us was $75, which is somewhat expected for a nice meal, but unfortunately it was not a nice meal. The meatballs were overcooked (my wife asked me if I thought they were just using Trader Joe's precooked meatballs), the sauces were bland, the potatoes were spicy, but without any other flavor, the beef and goat cheese was barely luke warm and had the same sauce as the meatballs. Overall: Disappointed...would not go back.
(2)Bethany B.
I had an entree at this Tapas place--shame on me? Anyway, it was assorted grilled meats, and it was delicious. My friend's dish was also really good, according to him (some kind of seafood and pasta dish). They charge you $2 if you want another basket of bread, which I thought was kind of weird. I mean, if they are trying to prevent waste, there are other ways of doing it. To me it just seemed cheap. At least the waitress warned us. Otherwise, the prices are fair and probably good for Arlington Heights. P. S. I like this better than La Tasca
(5)Elizabeth T.
1st time in La Roca Tapas for dinner. + We were greeted and seated as soon as we came in. + We were given a basket of bread and a plate of cheese, peppers, etc. for the bread. There was olive oil available, too. Tasted very good. I'm no stickler for the bread basket since we came for tapas and paella. + Ordered hot tapas ( grilled shrimp with lemon butter, sauteed shrimp with garlic butter & angel hair pasta, pork loin with black pepper); paella valenciana; and a glass of white sangria. Save for the angle hair pasta that was cooked too much (it was not al dente, rather super mushy/soft), ALL WERE COOKED AND SEASONED VERY WELL. NOT TOO SALTY, NOT TOO BLAND. PERFECT! + Prices were reasonable. + Bus boy was very attentive. Plates taken ASAP, water and soda refill ASAP. He even took one more order from us since our waitress was a bit pre-occupied (she was training someone so we understood). He even offered to pack the unfinished food for us!!! 10000 points! (I'm not a fan of restaurant staff just handing you a box to pack you food.) + All staff were super friendly and not snotty - Waitress was a bit pre-occupied but I was hoping it was just a fluke since she was training another waitress - Go somewhere else for desserts. We ordered flan and it was not that good. Observation (this is not good/bad, just an observation): - Place is smaller than La Tasca (another tapas restaurant about 2 blocks away) but I would rather come to this place because the food, price, and service are better. - Paella Valenciana ($16.95) serves 2 people. This is cheaper than La Tasca down the street that charges $14.95 PER PERSON when you order Paella Valenciana. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! WE WILL DEFINITELY COME BACK HERE! REASONABLE PRICES, FRIENDLY SERVICE, FOOD PERFECTLY SEASONED. WAY TO GO!
(4)Michelle G.
My husband and I have been here twice now, and it has been fabulous. Both times we had the same patient and attentive waitress, and both times she made excellent wine recommendations that complimented the food perfectly. We felt the ambiance was perfect for a date night out, and really enjoyed the tapas dinner. We ordered mussels, shrimp (and they were VERY nice to accomodate my requests to keep sauces on the side), goat cheese, salad and an olive platter. Everything was fresh and delicious. I know we will be back, as we are excited to have a (much) better tapas restaurant option now in Arlington Heights.
(5)Brenda F.
Good food. Quiet atmosphere. Good wine.
(4)Sarah Y.
Some of their food was really good like the mussels and avacado salad with shrimp, but their paella was bad. It was too watery and bland, and mussels had fishy taste and the meats tasted horrible. Servers were nice, and the avocado salad with shrimp and brandy mayo on special menu was really tasty. However, service started lacking once a table of big group walked in. This place has a potential but needs some improvements.
(3)James H.
We visited on a Sunday, the night of the Academy Awards night. We were one of three couples in the restaurant. Though to be honest, we have had some our worst service in restaurants that were not busy. Tonight the service was exemplary. From refills on water and tea to taking away used plates, to checking on our progress, we were very satisfied. We chose a few plates to begin our meal with and the ordered a couple more as we progressed through the meal. All came in a very timely manner. We started with Garlic potato salad and were pleased that we could taste the garlic. We tried the spicy potatoes, they were mildly spicy. Next we tried one of their specials, avocado and shrimp served in an avocado shell, it was delicious and the flavor s worked well together. The goat cheese wrapped in steak in a red wine sauce , the sauce was exceptional. The figs stuffed with bacon in a wine were sweet and very tasty. These were fresh figs, not dates as one of the other guest had thought. For our final dish we ordered the deep fried eggplant with Chorizo, a nice way to finish our dinner. We felt the serving size for the dishes were small, but not to small. A real taste, but not overwhelming . We have eaten at La Tasca and would say the dishes were different, but the service and food dishes were very comparable. We would definitely return and recommend it to friends.
(4)TB S.
14 of us went there on a weekend. They were easily able to seat us (we made reservations). We loved the sangria - both red and white. Their food was fabulous since there was 14 of us we ordered 2 dishes each which means we tried almost everything. The staff was gracious and attentive. LaRoca Tapas is highly recommended in our book!!!!
(5)Joe B.
We recently visited La Roca last week after buying the groupon $20 for $42 deal. it has a convenient location in downtown arlington heights, close to train, shops etc. We had a reservation for 5:45 pm, but once we arrived we realized it was unnecessary as only 3 out of 15 tables were occupied the whole time we were there. Service was attentive but not intrusive. The wine menu is a bit small, but they do serve sangria. The server quickly brought us a loaf of bread with oil and spices, very delicious. We started with cold tapas dishes--- the meat platter and tortilla espanola. The meats were pretty decent, fresh and not too salty, however, overall the dish was unmemorable and i dont think we would get this again. The tortilla espanola was very good, one of the best i have had. We then ordered 4 hot tapas dishes--- calamari, ham croquetas, queso de cabra, and a dish (cant remember the name) that consisted of goat cheese wrapped in steak. The calamari was oily and tough, I would not recommend this dish. The croquetas were mediocre, I was definitely disappointed in them. The queso de cabra was good, I would order it again. The steak/goat cheese dish was very rich. Portions were OK for a table of 2, if you come with a bigger group definitely plan on ordering 2 of everything though. Our total bill for food and 1 glass of wine came to $69 with tip. Bottom line: There was nothing bad about our experience at La Roca. However, there is nothing that blew us away either. With all of the great restaurants to try in downtown Arlington Heights, I don't think we will be returning anytime soon.
(3)Kara C.
Really enjoyed it. Good food, great wine (Carmenere) and wonderful service. You will never want for water. Lol
(5)John R.
If you've ever been to La Tasca a couple blocks away, you'll be disappointed. Why they opened this place so close to La Tasca I don't know, but I think it would have been better for them if they had gone to downtown Palatine or downtown Mount Prospect. And then there's the fact that this restaurant is laid out horribly. It was a horrible layout when it was Mario's Trattoria, and they haven't changed it a bit. The service was awkward at best. We had around 4 people come to our table and try to assist us or make strange small talk (our server, a person that brought us the alcohol, a person that took plates away and brought some of our tapas, a person that brought plates away and filled water). I'm used to having multiple servers, or at least multiple people that service the table, but this was really awkward. Then there's the food. Again, if you like La Tasca, you'll probably be disappointed. We ordered 6 tapas, of which 2 were pretty good. The plating was horrible though. They put lettuce on almost every dish. That doesn't help at all, if anything it detracts from the plate. Who knows if the lettuce is clean, and why do I need to push it away to get to the food? And then the dishes without lettuce looked pretty bad too. We did have some good tapas, but they weren't worth struggling through the bad ones. The atmosphere wasn't great either. Again, they haven't changed a thing since it was Mario's Trattoria. The place is bland and the music was way too loud. Even one of our servers commented on this. La Tasca is way better and easier to hear other people. I would say this is like the poor man's La Tasca, but the prices were right about the same. Save yourself the disappointment and walk the extra 2 blocks.
(2)Mark W.
The sauces were to die for. But if you had to survive on the food, we've had appetizers that offered more to eat. We've been to several tapas restaurants in Chicagoland and elsewhere across the country, so we know what to expect, but if it were not for being able to soak up the sauces with a loaf of bread, we would have left very hungry. We ordered the baked goat cheese to start off with. It came nearly last. It was a very thin shaving of cheese floating atop a slightly spicy red sauce, the least exquisit of their sauces, and the mere shaving of goat cheese really could not be distinguished from the sauce. The leg of lamb with mint sauce, was also, three 1/2 teaspoon size pieces which you had to search for in the sauce. This, as the rest of the sauces, were wonderful. The steak rolls with pesto and goat cheese, consisted of (3) 1/2" x 1-1/2" 1/8" shavings of what looked like pressed meat, rolled around a mixture which was good, but may have only had a hint, at best, of pesto or goat cheese. The scallops with potatoes, like almost everything else, came in sets of (3), quarter sized scallops with the equivalent of 3 1/4" shavings of what appeared to be fried potato. The stuffed figs were a bonus. There were actually 4 grape sized figs floating in the sauce. Their sauces were wonderful. Smallest tapas we ever saw. Don't know if our half off Amazon deal influenced our portion sizes, because even for tapas servings, everything we ordered looked like about half portion sized. Be sure and ask for additional baskets of bread, so you can not only enjoy the wonderful sauce on something, but also not walk out starving. The photos shown were not representative. Photo portion sizes were much larger than what we were served. They should have been using tasting plates not tapas plates.
(2)Brian P.
Unfortunately this site doesn't allow 0 stars. Everything at this place was subpar. My wife and I walked in on a Saturday night to grab dinner. We did not have reservations, but were hoping maybe there would be a way for us to get a table. The hostess, who may be 13, said there is a 40 minute wait for a table. I then waited for her to ask for my name, which she didn't, so I said, "can i give you my name to put down?" She kind of snickered and responded by saying, "I guess". We then walked over to Harry's and had a drink and then came back 40 minutes later. We waited about 5 more minutes and then we were seated. The hostess gave us the menu's, but forgot to give us the drink menu. About 5 minutes after we sat, the busboy came by and brought us water and I asked him for a drink menu, he said, "Your waitress will bring you one." 5 minutes later, the waitress came by to take our drinks, at which point I asked for a drink menu. She brought us the menu and then said she would be back. 10 minutes later she finally showed up and took our drink orders. Fast forward another 10 minutes and our drinks finally arrived. This was because the waitresses also are in charge of making the drinks (P.S. the sangria is that Carlo Rossi crap out of a gallon jug). All in all, it was was 30 minutes until we finally got our drinks and were able to place our food order. The food came out in respectable time and was overall decent, nothing to rave about, but also nothing to complain about. After we finished, the waitress asked us if we would like anything else, we ordered a flan and a coffee. The flan came out 10 minutes after we ordered it, sans coffee. We began to eat the flan slowly waiting for the coffee to show up. After about 10 minutes of nursing the flan, we gave up and finished it off. As the waitress was zooming by, I stopped her to tell her we didn't want the coffee and to just bring us the check. She apologized and said she forgot. You figure after not bringing us the coffee she would rush us the check, but no. Another 10 minutes to get the check. I put my credit card in the holder and put in plain sight for the waitress to see that we were ready to be rung up. Literally 15 minutes passed until she picked up the check and ran my card and brought it back to me. If it weren't for the godawful service, we would come back. In total we waited for 65 minutes and spent only 30 minutes eating. I cannot see this place lasting more than 6 months with this type of service. Hopefully they hire a competent restaurant manager soon to solve the laundry list of issues this place has.
(1)Mindy G.
This is a very odd dining experience. There are so many different things going on in this restaurant, that it is very distracting. First of all, there is a large mural of something possibly from the 1600's on one wall and on the other wall a Spanish mural. The television is on over the bar, but it didn't seem like a place to have a television. If I am in a bar, I will watch a game, but not when I am trying to enjoy a relaxing meal. The strangest part was the 60's rock band that was in the corner. Instead of playing Spanish music, they were playing various 60's and 70's tunes. They were good, but I had no idea why they were there. The food was OK. The garlic potatoes were lacking in garlic and were in huge chunks. Nothing was really outstanding that we ordered. The portions were very small and we dine at another Tapas place all the time, so we are used to tapas sized portions. Next time we will drive to Hillside for authentic tapas at Emilio's instead.
(2)Bobbi S.
We had larger group of ladies and they were very accomodating. The server, G, was very attentive. She did insist that we order our food in spanish. How fun is that! I have food allergies and G was great with checking with the chef to find dishes that were safe for me to eat. We did tapas and drinks. Almost everything we ordered was great. The chicken croquettes were ok. Next time I go, I'd like to try one of the entrees and maybe even a dessert. We were not charged the $2 for extra bread and thank goodness because we went through a ton of it. Another tapas place is around the block. This one is more relaxed and quieter. It was nice to be able to hear people from across the table without yelling. The prices are a little cheaper than the other place too. I hope this place sticks around because I definately would like to go back.
(4)T D.
Really great flavors and a much broader range of items. They have a lot of Catalan style dishes which you don't see very often outside of Barcelona and Catalunya/Catalonia in northern Spain. The embutidos (ham and sausage plate) was really good and had authentic taste, the hot mussels with green sauce were fresh and garlicky with a heavy gravy that is true to the style for that sauce. The patatas bravas were some of the better ones we have had. The potatoes were fried really well and the bravas sauce was really good with subtle flavors of good Spanish paprika. Sangria was really good.
(4)Horeya C.
Delicious tapas!!! We tried about 7 different dishes (including dessert) and every single one was excellent. We have been to many tapas places and this one is ranked as our top one in the area. Great food, friendly service, and reasonable prices. Highly recommned.
(5)Jo W.
Food was great. I would go back again. We just thought the drinks were way too expensive, especially for the size. A small tiny glass was 8 bucks, too much!!! Next time it will be just food and pop!!
(4)Cathy J.
We had never tried La Roca before and was very excited to go. It is a very small and cozy place but they had our table for 6 ready for us when we walked in. We did not feel crowded at all. We were greeted by the chef when we walked in. We did have to sit for a long time before the server asked us if we wanted a drink. The sangria was I think the best sangria I ever had-not too sweet but just fruity enough. The server came back and asked us if we were ready to order (no guidance). I had to explain to her that it was our first time here and we need to know more about the menu, the specials, how to order etc... After that, she did help us and ordered some delicious tapas. The food was excellent and we ordered just enough (2 entrees and 2ea of 4 different tapas). The figs with the brandy sauce, the paella and the sautee spinach with raisins, almonds and olives were my favorites. We also had the salmon with a butter caper sauuce (big capers), garlic shrimp, and an avocado salad. Iwould go again!
(4)Alison R.
Service was horrible. Got a table immediately but then waited 20 minutes for someone to come take a drink order - after we complained at the hostess booth. Then it took another 35 minutes for a salad- which we never actually saw. We went to a manager to complain again and another table overheard us and told us how they were disappointed as well - they had ordered 8 small plates and an hour later they had only gotten 2 and they were cold. That was enough for us to get up and leave. It is a small place and it was not that busy. Just seemingly complacent. There appeared to be plenty of waitstaff. Table bread was only complementary for the first basket, after which it was $2. Odd for tapas...or any place. The sangria was very good, however we only drank a little bit before opting for a restaurant down the street. Won't be back.
(1)Kim M.
I have been to La Roca Tapas half a dozen times. The wait staff has always been very attentive and friendly, but what keeps me coming back is the food. Everything I have tried has been fantastic... but my favorite is the bacon figs with brandy cream sauce. The wait staff knows not to take the dish away because you will want to soak up every last bit of the sauce with your bread! They have good Sangria and wine but you can also bring your own bottle of wine and they don't charge a corkage fee. I have been to La Tasca as well but I prefer the food and service here. I have never experienced the issues mentioned by the other reviewers and will continue to dine at La Roca.
(4)Elaine P.
The tapas here are more authentic than at La Tasca and everything was delicious! I thought their Tortilla espanola was perfect, and the sangria was great. I was also impressed with the Spanish music that they were playing! If you know anything about Spanish culture and cuisine, you will love this place!
(4)