Iberia Peninsula
“I would give Iberia 5 stars but that rating is reserved for the rodizio at Fogo De Chao in Philadelphia.”
“You can't go wrong with this giant metal pot filled TO THE BRIM with clams, mussels, shrimp, lobster, etc. Shrimp in garlic sauce are A+.”
“For this particular outing though we bypassed the apps and went directly to the entrée.”
Iberia Peninsula
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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I came here after eating dinner at the restaurant across the street. We decided to do dessert and drinks here in the outdoor seating area. First off, you can smoke outside at their tables which made my night! I ordered tiramisu, my friend ordered the Creme brûlée, and my other ordered the tres leche cake. We all tasted each other desserts and the tiramisu was the best, which was surprising considering we are at a Portuguese restaurant not an italian one. The tres leche cake was good, you can tell that the cake was a homemade cake not a cake made with a mix but I felt it needed to be soaked more. Since the cake was homemade it was a dryer cake and absorbed a lot of the milk. I did not like the Creme brûlée too much.
We ordered a large pitcher of white sangria that was very strong. The live music started to play and I was in heaven and forgot about our so so desserts.
They also had someone walking around selling flowers and taking pictures for $5.00. I got my $5.00 group shot. It was a really nice touch to the evening.
I didn't order dinner here but the good that was coming out looked amazing. It had a great atmosphere. I will definitely return.
I really like the atmosphere, so I'm giving Iberia a 4 star rating…I absolutely love the ample outdoor seating, it's one of the few places in NJ that really makes me feel like I'm in Spain/Portugal. I went here on a Friday night & the two man band they had was fantastic, people were up & dancing too which made it so much fun. Definitely get their red sangria, it's amazing (we ended up telling them no ice in our pitchers, it's worth the extra money). Their menu is very extensive, tons to choose from & the fish always tastes fresh. All in all I would give their food a 3/3.5 stars, it was a bit salty. We ordered two of their combos, which comes with a good deal of food inc vegetables & Spanish potatoes. Their calamari is amazing, reminded me of being in Barcelona. Adorable/fun spot. Great for a date or a group dinner & fun to people watch! Service was ok…but like I said, it's very European.
Once a favorite destination of suburbanites such as myself, who would trek into the heart of "scary" Newark to partake in the wonder of Portuguese grilled meats, fish, and sangria, Iberia, and the Ironbound as a whole, has started its long slow descent into mediocrity.
My fiancee had never been to dine at the splendor that is the Ironbound. She was taking a train from Philly to Penn Station, so I was so excited to give her a great dinner at a classic spot. Sigh!
First of all, the Ironbound as a whole was dead. It was Saturday night at 8:30, and there was plenty of parking and no wait….Warning…Warning! I remember when Ferry Street was bumper to bumper on Saturday Night. Not now!
We walked into Iberia, expecting to have to wait, and half of the tables were empty. Our waiter brought us menus, and then came back to take our order about 20 minutes later (I was getting a little concerned when the guy at the table next to us grabbed a food-runner and said loudly "get my waiter, I've been waiting for a half hour for him to take my money!).
I ordered a steak and shrimp special, medium rare. My fiancee asked for the lobster special that was advertised in a large full page ad on the menu. "We don't have that". Hmmm. "Instead you can get the stuffed whole lobster" Wait…you can't make a fresh steamed lobster but you can make a whole stuffed lobster…We must have been in a daze, how did we not see the problem with that. Anyway, sure enough our food came out in about 4 minutes. I like timely service as much as the next guy, but that seems a bit odd for fresh food. My steak was a solid grey mass akin to the black rubber matting on the floor of my gym. I told my waiter it was supposed to be medium rare, not well well well done. He took my plate without a word or apology or "I'll get you a new one" or anything, just took my plate walked away, and returned with another one 3 minutes later….can you say…precooked food? This one was slightly on the more done side of medium, but I'm not sending it back again, and it was edible. Her lobster was also precooked (obviously, 4 minute wait time). The meat was rubbery, and the crab stuffing dry.
To top it all off, she ordered a diet coke and it tasted like seltzer with a hint of brown food coloring.
I used to love the rodizio and would recommend Iberia to everyone…Never again. With the spread of ethnic cuisine around the country, you don't have to go to Newark anymore. There are better Churrascarias in the City or even Kearny.
Old world Portuguese at its best. Saturday night for family birthday party. Food is fantastic. Chicken and frog legs in garlic. Omg seafood platter was also amazing. Service is professional and friendly. Will definitely be back here
Came with family for Sunday lunch. We were promptly seated and the servers were courteous and timely.
Ribeye steak 24 oz- Amazing! The 24 oz did NOT include bone, much to my surprise. It was done medium and nicely accomplished. Taste was meaty in the middle and smokey towards the edge. Lower $20's
Family ordered:
Rodizio – Priced nicely at lower $20's. Cheaper items (chicken, sausage) arrived first so if you want, ask for the beef and steaks.
I would come again for a special occasion.
Weird experience… I called originally for reservations for 8pm. Apparently there was some miscommunication between myself and the host as he had written down 7pm even though I had repeated myself about 10 times… The hostess at the front of house was rude and combative, giving me an attitude because she thought we were late (even if it was my fault, which it wasn't, if I were her I definitely would have apologized to the customer and proceeded to fix the issue, which she didn't do). But anyway, despite there being an issue with the time of our reservation and hostess with an attitude, a youngish waiter accommodated us immediately stating he would seat us within 5-10 minutes. After being seated we ordered the rodizio with our waiter (not the same nice guy, an older man) who was seriously a dick, not sure what his problem was but he was salty… We're in there spending money (party of 12 mind you) and he just had a huge attitude, slamming the menus down, rushing us, unhelpful when my friend asked him to split the bill, etc. The food was decent, I enjoyed much of the meat in the rodizio but let me just say it's NOT FERNANDES. Not even a close second, I'm a bigger fan of Solar Di Minho even.. Oh well, I might come again but only if it's my only option for rodizio. Maybe they should concentrate on treating their customers better than they do…
Where has the time gone? Eighteen years ago I met my awesome nephew for the first time and nervously held him in my arm. He was a healthy, bouncy newborn. Now he's a man that's going to college soon and driving a fast set of wheels. Looking back on all the years the nostalgia gets me and I knew that celebrating his 18th birthday would have to be something special so Iberia Peninsula was going to have the honor of holding that celebration. I have to give all credit to my sister because she was the one that brought up the idea in the first place and I took but less than a millisecond to agree. When I visited Iberia for the first time I was so impressed with the food, ambiance, and service that I had no doubt that it would be a great spot to have a birthday dinner. And I have to honestly say Iberia more than met those expectations.
There's definitely a distinct and rich Spanish-Portuguese ambiance to Iberia. It's intimate, sophisticated, and casual all at the same time. I feel like the customers are treated like family more than patrons. This attitude of making the customers comfortable starts from the beginning. As soon as you sit down you get a bread basket and salad to whet your appetite. My family got multiple pitchers of sangria (I don't even remember how many we ordered by the end of the night) because of how delicious they make them. It's definitely a closely guarded secret of sangria goodness and definitely a must-try when you're there. On previous visits I've had a taste of their appetizers and it's so delicious. For this particular outing though we bypassed the apps and went directly to the entrée. We ordered a variety galore and there was so much food on the table every inch was filled. The Parrilhada de mariscos itself was incredible. It's basically a huge platter of seafood (see photo) and you have to see it to believe it! Everything in that dish was fresh and just delicious. The Bife a Iberia Peninsula was perfectly cooked and the two eggs over easy on top of the steak broke open to reveal a beautiful golden yolk that cascaded over the meat. Their Paella Valenciana is served on a kitchen pot and the rice is cooked with a lot of flavor, but not so strong as to overpower the seafood and chorizo mixed in. It's one of the best paella I have yet tried. The stuffed flounder was cooked perfectly and the stuffing was in no way mushy but had such a delicate texture. There were other dishes that we ordered I could write for hours more to mention how good they were. There was the chicken, steak, and shrimp combo, surf and turf, chicken in garlic sauce, salmon steak, etc. Like I said every inch of the table was filled with food! My family practically brought home enough left overs that would last for a couple more meals the next day. Iberia is certainly generous with their portions. We didn't bother ordering from the dessert menu because of the cake that we brought along with us. The waiters got it ready, put some candles on it, sang Happy Birthday to my nephew and sliced it table-side. It was a great finish to a wonderful meal.
I had wanted my nephew to have a great birthday celebration and hoped that Iberia Peninsula would deliver. I can say with absolutely certainty that on that particular night they hit it out of the park which made the event even more memorable. Thanks again Iberia!
I've been here several times over the years and the food is just consistently bland. This includes the paella, which really should be a star dish at a place like this. On my most recent visit I got a rodizio platter special. The rice was unseasoned. The fries were frozen. The meat was overcooked and dry. At one point, I thought the ribs and I were playing tug of war.
They somewhat compensate for the 'meh' food quality in the following areas:
-Portion sizes. Enormous. You won't leave hungry.
-Reasonable prices.
-Validated parking (and probably the only place in the Ironbound I can think of that even offers parking).
-Ambience. Old school with waiters running around in bow ties.
-Outstanding sangria (by the pitcher or glass). Reminds me the Tinto Verano I used to drink out of the liter bottle in Spain.