Spanish Pavillion
“Great environment, been here before and after the show aired on kitchen nightmare' s it is amazing and it's now even better.”
“We ordered the monkfish which is a new dish introduced by Chef Ramsey.”
“After food we went outside to the patio and played some "league" poker with the regulars.”
Spanish Pavillion
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: 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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One night I was in the mood for tapas and found that Spanish Pavilion offered a good selection. Before I get to the food, I must mention that on a Friday night the service is extremely slow. It took about 30 minutes for any food to arrive. For someone that was starving, some cold bread and water doesn't cut it. The waiter explained that it was a very busy night. We only ordered 5 types of tapas, and instead of staggering the plates, they brought out everything at once. So be prepared to wait.
As far as the tapas, overall they were generally good but not extraordinary. Some comments on each:
– Grilled Octopus – out of all the tapas, this was my favorite. The octopus was well cooked , not rubbery, and served with roasted peppers, onions and olive oil dressing.
– Chorizo – I'm a big fan of chorizo, and the sliced chorizo here was fairly good. The plate had just plain chorizo, no veg or onions with it. My husband and I ended up taking some of the complimentary bread and the onions from the octopus dish and made mini chorizo sandwiches.
– Braised pork belly – the meat was fairly moist and the skin was nice and crispy but it was incredibly salty. Also had to eat it with the bread, to minimize the saltiness.
– Fried Manchego – basically like Mozzarella sticks but with Manchego cheese. Came with a spicy dipping sauce which was tasty. My toddler loved these.
– Chicken Kabob – ordered this for my kid and requested no spice. Basically it was plain grilled chicken on a stick. Probably should have kept the spice.
Overall, we had a decent dining experience except for the long wait for the food. I wouldn't recommend bringing small children b/c of the wait and also would not come here starving. Between 2 adults and 1 small child, 5 tapas are not enough. I would order an entree as well. The dining area was nice and looked like it was renovated recently. Not sure we would come back here, given all the other Spanish restaurants in the Ironbound.
Not to date myself but I've been coming here since they first opened with my parents so it's always held a special place in my memories and I was happy when they won their eminent domain case and didn't have to close/move.
But for a while they seemed to lose their way and visit after visit was disappointing.
Perhaps it was Gordon Ramsey's visit for Kitchen Nightmares back in 2011 that got them back on track because they are once again knocking out some serious eats.
Good (large) portions, well-seasoned, decent prices. From the sangria (tasting better than I remember from a few years back) to the garlic shrimp (supposedly Chef Ramsey wanted them to ax that from the menu… he must've been high) to their damn delicious Pavilion Burger to what is still my favorite item – their Café Pavilion (hot coffee chock-a-block with various liqueurs that's definitely not for the lightweights out there) – everything was a hit.
Coming up to 40 years in business and it's wild that I'm bringing my kids there like I used to go with my folks…
First time here and it was pretty nice! I never heard of it and just moved up to Harrison from South Jersey, so I would always pass by Spanish Pavillion and thought I would give it a go one day. I moved into the area because my cousin had a friend who had a room, so one day my cousin came up to visit and she told me about this place and how it was on Kitchen Nightmare. I was interested in coming so we all went together on a Monday where tapas were half off! Each plate was about $2-3 so it was VERY AFFORDABLE! Everything was delicious and inexpensive and the service was alright. We had a a beer that they imported from Spain and it was delicious! All in all the night was nice, we chatted and the atmosphere was very chill. I would totally recommend this place to other people! It's a nice place to just hang out with your friends and eat some small dishes and drink. They even have a "backyard" set up outside where people can just go and enjoy the summer night!
Very Good! A Diamond in the Rough! Friendly, warm, inviting waitstaff. All our food was delish! Comfortable interior. Dinner served promptly & perfect temperature. I had the Filet Mignon & my dinner guest had the Chicken & Garlic. Expertly prepared. Fresh high quality ingredients. Sides were yellow rice & homemade unsalted potato chips. For dessert I had the Creme Brûlée & my guest had the Banana chocolate mousse. Very good.
I wanted to write them another review after realizing how negative the other one was that I wrote a few years ago. I think the management has changed although I am not sure. Regardless, had a much better experience here today. My family came here after my graduation for lunch and we all really enjoyed the food and the service. The potato croquettes were okay but the fried manchego was awesome. We got one free through the Yelp check-in deal and they comped the lower price one even though they made it sound like they would take off the higher one. No big deal but maybe a little misrepresentation. Sangria was really excellent-some of the better sangria I've had at Spanish restaurants in the Newark area. Our food was quite good as a whole. I still found some items bland like my dad's chicken and mom's shrimp verde. But everyone was happy with their dishes on the whole and my shrimp with garlic was really good. It's an easy dish to make but some Spanish restaurants manage to screw it up still and they did a nice job with it. The prices at this restaurant are also really reasonable and the lunch specials even more so. Finally, make sure you try the bread. It's really excellent and you won't be able to stop eating it.
Spanish Pavilion redeemed themselves (from a negtive review) once the appetizers and red sangria came out. The moment we sat down we waited a good 25 minutes until a waiter came over to ask us for our drink orders (By this time I was ready to walk out).
We ordered the old style calamari (DELICIOUS), red sangria, seafood paella, and filet mignon with potatoes. The paella was a large enough portion that it fed us for lunch and dinner the following day. The food was delicious and the sangria was amazing.
I drop in here to order for lunch for my office once in a while and have never had complaint. Today they apparently were out fresh spinach which makes sense if they want everything fresh. I wasn't upset at all I completely understood, however the manager/owner gave me the entire order (over $50) for FREE and a cappuccino. I even tried to give him money to cover at least the other meals but to no avail. I gave them a tip to sorta make up for it and because of the service they always provide.
Met up with a group of good friends. Here us what we all thought:
-Tasty food , great atmosphere.
-Good food place to stay with friends. Delicious.
It's good.
Very pleasant atmosphere, good waiter And I enjoyed my food.
The shrimp in garlic sauce and bread and salad and olives and sangria and atmosphere and music was delicious and wonderful. The bathrooms were also in good shape.
Great place to hang with a bunch of friends
And it won't cost an arm and a leg.