Raval Restaurant Tapas & Cocktail
“*mushroom croquettes – crispy on the outside and just pillowy perfection on the inside.”
“From the tapas and raciones we ordered the albondigas, croquetas cremosa, costillas ala miel, tortilla espanola and Paella de Mariscos.”
“Griping aside, some of my favorites are:
pan con tomate – so simple and tasty!”
Raval Restaurant Tapas & Cocktail
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Happy Hour: Yes
Coat Check: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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I have probably visited Raval a hand full of times mostly for cocktails and enjoyed myself. Im not a big fan of tapas because lets be serious I like to eat a full meal LOL. I must say though when I have had food it was good.
I definitely treat Raval more for a drink spot than an eat spot. They have great cocktails and probably one of the best sangrias I have encountered. To top it off they can get you buzzed easily.
Sat at the bar most of the time which is spacious except for the one corner side which the coat rake is. Also, ONE bathroom… that's pretty obnoxious. Other than that I really like this place should probably come more often to try some food and more drinks.
Service is slow and inattentive. Food took forever for three small plates to arrive, but when it did it was tasty. I've been to Spain so I get the concept of tapas but still these were still small portions for the price. We had the croquetas jamon, which were delicious, pork belly with a great honey sauce, and tortilla española, hearty and the largest amount of food of the three we tried. We had a terrific pitcher of red sangria, and while it was not very strong it also wasn't sweet (I hate overly sweet sangria). Note to bartender: it is good service and good for tips to fill your customers' glasses. To summarize: tasty food and drink, but maybe not worth it if you like healthy portions or attentive service.
I first went here for a Yelp Elite event and couldn't wait to make it back. Not too hungry, but in the mood for a cocktail, their drink concoctions and small plate themes made for a go-to occasion.
Went with the following tapas, probably in order of most favorite to least favorite:
– Crispy chickpeas & kale
– Patatas (crispy potatoes, pimenton, toasted cumin aioli and scallions)
– Jamon serrano
– Pork belly
If you're really hungry, you may want to go with the paella for two, which is the only entree they have on the menu. I do want to try that at some point, but can't help but to get sucked in by the variety of the tapas.
I spent a semester in Spain. Raval's cuisine brought back great memories of that experience, but the quality of its cuisine far exceeded anything I ever had in Spain itself. Bravo!
The owner has two other restaurants in JC, one of which is Satis Bistro, a place I HIGHLY recommend as well.
Came here for winter 2016 restaurant week – not a bad deal on paper with $25 for 1 drink (beer, house wine, or sangria) and choice of 3 tapas.
High notables for the:
*pork belly -2 big chunks of belly in a mapley glaze that's not overly sweet
*crisp chickpeas and kale – so good! Everything in this is well seasoned and crispy! Was this deep fried?!
*mushroom croquettes – crispy on the outside and just pillowy perfection on the inside.
Friends also shared some bikinis, patatas, hamburguesitas, tortilla espanola. All the food was good, but I was still hungry afterwards – tapas just aren't super filling in the end. High marks also for service.
I really love what Raval has done with their new concept.
I'll admit that when they first came to the neighborhood, I was a bit apprehensive to try because of the high price tag. However, after a bit of rebranding they've transitioned from less of a high end restaurant vibe (think 25-30 dollar entrees) and are now exclusively a tapas and cocktail bar. Practically nothing on their menu (not even their fabulous cocktails) has a price tag of over 10 dollars.
I came in for restaurant week, which included 3 tapas and a glass of sangria for 25$. So basically, our party of two was able to each drink a large glass of sangria and share 6 tapas for 50 dollars. Definitely not bad.
My favorite was the manchego and chorizo. I'm a big fan of cheese and meat platters, and there were several hearty slices on each plate. My second fave were the potato croquettes and pork belly. Each came with two pieces, and this was the perfect share. What I could have done with out were the sliders and the meaty grilled cheese. Both felt a little greasy, and looking back we probably should have gone with a few of the veggie tapas.
You can order several tapas and certainly make a meal out of that, but it's also a great place to come for a cocktail and a light bite. Oh, and for the gin enthusiasts out there, they've got an entire section of the menu dedicated to gin cocktails.
Because I lived in Spain for 6 months I often refuse to go to tapas spots. Tapas are free with the purchase of a drink in most places in Spain so it's an insult when I'm expected to pay upwards $10 for a tapa. Like what? So needless to say I stood clear of Raval until some girlfriends planned a night out to try their $25 restaurant week deal. Afterall, I'm not in Spain anymore.
The restaurant week deal consisted of any choice of 3 tapas and a house drink, glass of wine, or a sangria. Of course I chose a sangria. They also offered $15 pitchers which was definitely a steal. I regret partaking in some when I arrived fashionably late. In group outings, be prepared to take a sip and split the total price. Yikes.
But I was pleasantly surprised by the food here as I came in with low standards and expected to hate it but I won't be running back anytime soon for more.
I had the chickpea flour encrusted calamari. This was good, not as crisp and more mealy than how I normally enjoy fried calamari, but good nonetheless. It was heavy on the salt though, like whoo, child. Pass me some water.
I also ordered the pork belly tapa and the oxtail and Mahon sandwich. The oxtail sandwich stole the show. The oxtail was tasty and complimented the cheese so well in a small baguette. It was great and I could easily eat this again, any day, any time but preferably when I'm drunk. However, the regular price tag is about $11 (if my memory serves me well) which I think is too much for such a small sandwich. The pork belly was forgettable, dry, and too sweet for my taste. Pork belly is usually something I expect to be crispy, meaty, and fatty; however, this pork belly severely lacked this trifecta. Blah.
The drink was a sangria of your choice, a house wine, or a house drink. House is code for cheap sh*tty liquor, so I went for the rose sangria, a pink whisky-infused version of a sangria. Whoot! Unfortunately it was quite disgusting and luckily the waiter took it back at my request and switched it for a cava sangria which was extraordinarily better than the watered down rose crap, though I hope the bartender didn't include his saliva.
The restaurant inside was surprisingly empty despite it being a Wednesday night and every other restaurant on Grove seemed to be popping, but the outside seating was fully booked. Overall my meal was A-OK but unfortunately it wasn't anything I'm dying to try again.
Came here with a fairly large group and it we camped out in the front area by the entrance. Food overall is not bad, although it's a bit on the pricier end for tapas. Pretty good place to grab drinks and hang out – next time will probably stick to the drinks and have dinner elsewhere.
We went to Raval at 5pm on a rainy Saturday evening (with the baby, it's either dine out early, or not at all!), on the restaurant week deal: 3 tapas each + a drink. The restaurant was empty, which isn't unexpected given how early it was. The host seemed bored and unengaged. at one point he muttered something about the weather making him just want to go to sleep.
Anyway, we chose our 6 tapas and each got a glass of sangria. The sangria was pretty weak. Overall the food was OK, though not as inspired or flavorful as I hoped. The Oxtail & Mahon sandwich topped the list, followed by the Pimento Grilled Cheese. The Pork Belly was tasty, but only because of the syrup. Otherwise it was a bit dry. The Calamari and Mushroom Croquettes were a tad bland. The big disappointment were the Hamburguesitas. The bun to burger ratio was way off. An appropriately-sized slider on a seemingly full-size bun. I was tearing away pieces of bun so my bite could include some meat. Slider-size hamburguesita patty needs an equally pequeña bun. Gracias.
When we first looked at the menu we thought tapas this time, on the restaurant week deal, but ooooh there's paella! have to come back for that…. As we walked out after our meal, the consensus seemed to be there is no strong desire to return at all, regardless of paella. Ho hum, another trendy new Downtown JC spot that doesn't quite live up to the hype.