Sangria Restaurant and Tapas Bar in Chicago

Sangria Restaurant and Tapas Bar in Chicago, is in the heart of the Weed Street District, an area known more for its late night crowd and clubs than its restaurants. Recently Sangria opened its doors to the late night crowds and hosts well attended Latin nights. After attending a couple nights of dancing myself, I decided I had to try the tapas.

My first dining experience at Sangria, has kept me coming back. From the candle lit table settings to the warm décor, Sangria provides the perfect setting for a romantic date or a group dinner with friends. Sangria's menu has a huge selection of cold and hot tapas, as well as several seafood, veggie and meat entrees. Even though Sangria has a mostly Spanish cuisine, several of the items on the menu are creative new Spanish dishes as well as a variety of other Latin American favorites. Five different types of paella, a taco menu and four specialty sangrias will keep you satisfied all night.

Living in Spain I came to enjoy traditional tapas, and I get highly annoyed when restaurants prepare just any appetizer and slap the word tapa on it because it sounds European. I was very pleased with the tapas that Sangria serves though, favorites like sautéed mushrooms, ham and cheese croquettes, and spicy meatballs tasted exactly like they should. In order to best test the skills of the chef I ordered the seafood paella, paella from anywhere is generally a hit or miss dish. It could have used a little more saffron, but otherwise it was perfect.

With a menu this diverse it really is up to you on how you decide to dine. If you want to go the tapas route you can order a few dishes to start and then reorder as often as you need. For those who want a full size dinner though I recommend choosing a couple tapas to start you off and then finishing with an entrée. As is traditional in Spain, you can order small or larger sizes of tapas so a large group can share a couple platters.