La Vina

Dined at La Vina, Harringay the other night and unfortunately the poor service and less than excellent food was a little disappointing. The French beans were on the stringy side and the garlic mayonnaise was too voluminous and overpowering what should have been a delightful simple dish of patatas. The waitress plonked two glasses down without asking whether we would like to taste the wine and did not make any eye contact. The poor male waiter tried his best but did not seem to have a firm enough grasp of English to explain the cod and chick pea dish was in fact, soup. On a positive note the tiger prawns in spicy sauce were still as succulent as ever, the salad lovely and the liqueur at the end a nice touch. It would have been nice had we been asked whether we would like a dessert or coffee, but as it was a Saturday Bank Holiday, perhaps they needed the table. I've been going to this restaurant for several years and it is as real shame this has happened, though perhaps inevitable and in the cycle of things. Personally, I blame too many glowing reviews!
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Matt Sinha
Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 4
Friday, May 05, 2006

This is a gem of a tapas bar in the least likely location, right next to Harringay station. Tapas are good value, and feature dishes ranging from tasty Fabada Asturiana (Asturian bean stew) and the too-complex-to-make-at-home 'Cuernos de Toro' (breaded cheese covered peppers stuffed with prawn!) through to Chorizo cooked in red wine, and a king prawn-stuffed squid number so good you'll be fighting over the last bit of bread to mop up the sauce.

House wine's fine at just over a tenner, or you can go for the house Rioja at just over 12.

Service has been friendly both times I've been - the second time we were even given a complementary digestif (crazy hazelnut liqueur) after the meal.

Earlier on in the evenings it's a bit quiet, but trade normally picks up as the evening progresses, which helps the atmosphere.
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Tom
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 8
Wednesday, April 19, 2006

I'm at a loss to understand the previous reviewer's comments about this gem of a restaurant. I've been half a dozen times and my experiences are:

* the tapas (the only food we ever order - it does seem a bit odd to go to a tapas bar and order steak!) varies between good and excellent. The tortilla isn't great, but the fish and seafood are terrific, and include some dishes you'd be hard pressed to find outside Spain - try the spinach with yoghurt, the fresh (a rarity) calamari or pretty much anything

* the service can sometimes be a bit flaky, but is always helpful and good-natured. In fact, the waitress once noticed our uneaten salt cod dish (not my taste - salt cod has the texture of a face flannel!) and insisted on knocking it off the bill

* It's great value for money; you'd have to work hard to spend more than £20 per head, with the decent house wine.

* last time I was there, all the staff were Spanish!

I wouldn't normally bother to send in a review, bit the last review was bizarre and, I think, quite malicious.
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David Lubich
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Monday, February 13, 2006

The service can be quite lax on occasion but the food more than makes up for it...
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mixu
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Thursday, January 05, 2006