El Tapeo Modern Spanish Kitchen

Atmosphere and service were good but the food just lacked any umph…. Paella was bland and the mussels too…. Just a bit disappointed really.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 3

Service: 5

Really enjoyed dinner here. It's up on the 9th floor of the Le Meridian Hotel in Oak Brook. Food, Service, and ambiance were excellent. We enjoyed the empanadas and the churros the most. Patatas Bravas were really tasty too.

server was no where to be found, needed a clean plate, soda refill . but overall, we had good food as expected..and great ambiance

Tasty food, great ambiance, excellent and friendly service, strong sangria, good value for the money!

Food was delicious, served hot and nicely seasoned. Our wait staff, Alfredo & Emilie, were wonderful; engaging, solicitious, and knowledgeable about the menu. We had a lovely evening and would definitely return.

Saturday dining at 8 pm: We were seated immediately- a nice window seat. I have dined here numerous times and I always end up with the chair that has a stain on the seat. I wish they would spot clean the chair or just remove it! We were disappointed to find that both the white and red sangrias were not available. They had run out. Yet, the restaurant was to be open for 3 more hours. Come on, it's a tapas restaurant; sangria is a must! Instead, we each had a few glasses of white wine. The tapas were good. Chicken empanadas, beef empanadas, and bar arts with toasts were excellent! The patatas brava were not crispy at all and were a disappointment. We were looking forward to the Basque cheesecake for dessert. The cheesecake was dry and crumbly but the cherry and pistachio accompaniments were delicious. Waitstaff was good, polite, and accommodating. Our main server was very soft-spoken; we almost had to read her lips to know what she was saying. Overall, we had a good time but some improvements need to be made. El Tapeo is an attractive venue with some excellent tapas.

Food was good, service was fine (the restaurant was slow but not many people were working). The espresso martini wasn't the best but everything else was good. The portions are larger than typical tapas restaurants.

Our biggest complaint was they changed the menu and took some things off but didn't update their menu online, so we were disappointed to find what we planned to eat wasn't there. They even had the old marketing up in the elevator to the restaurant featuring two menu items they didn't have anymore.

We tried 3 small plates and were disappointed in all of them. Soggy, odd flavors and just gross. 2 beers, 2 wine $100+.😱

I remember this restaurant being better a few years ago. My family dined here over the weekend and I was disappointed with the food and drinks.

The wine list was very limited with grocery store type brands. Maybe there was a list of wines by the bottle that I didn’t see, but it wasn’t offered if so. My husband didn’t receive the cocktail he ordered until multiple dishes had already made it to the table (we ordered everything at the same time).

The biggest issue I had though was that the tapas we tried were not what was expected. The “bravas sauce” served with the datiles (which actually don’t even need a sauce IMO) tasted more like enchilada sauce/ chipotle instead of smoked paprika. The gambas al ajillo were not the sizzling, garlicky delicious shrimp I’ve had at other tapas restaurants - they were bland. We ordered a short rib flat bread that was okay, but definitely tasted more like a Mexican flavor profile than Spanish. And the pan de tomate was probably the biggest letdown. Just a sad flat bread with some bland tomato sauce and a bunch of cheese grated over the top. I love this dish at other places where the bread is fresh and crispy and the flavors of fresh tomato and olive oil really shine. Shishito peppers were probably the best dish, but even they needed a little more char. I don’t think they need the aioli on the side - it didn’t stick to the oily peppers very well.

The folks in the kitchen should try some more Spanish cuisine and adjust accordingly.

Service was more or less okay. The hostess was very sweet. Wait times for our drinks and our check at the were too long. Dining room was chilly.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 2

Service: 3

We dined at El Tapeo for the first time tonight. We had a wonderful experience. The restaurant is on the 9th floor and is surrounded by floor to ceiling windows, offering a great view. Our server was Krystal. She was everything you could want in a food server. She was friendly, helpful and patient. She recommended different tapas and desserts to us. We tried the coquettes, beef empanadas, patatas bravas & something with goat cheese & tomato jam. We paired them with sangria & a glass of Tempranillo. For dessert we paired some gelato with the churros. Every was great! We will definitely be returning and when we do, we will ask if Krystal is working!

El Tapeo Chef Billy was the Sous Chef at Henri" downtown Chicago back in 2012 which I frequented. It shut down a couple years later. Fast forward to 4/2025 I come upon El Tapeo in Oakbrook and read it's history. When I read Billy was the Chef I had to go. 10 of us went. Recently, 4 of us returned again and the 4 of us loved it. Cannot say enough good things about this restaurant. Chef Billy even came out to greet us. That was fantastic. Waitress Krystal was a delight to have waiting on us. Friendly, knowledgeable and always there. Kudos to Chef Billy's crew ! Can't wait till next time.

Interesting food, beautiful music, great view of the sunset. the waiter Krystal was first rate, and we could hear one another in conversation at dinner! Thank you.

Excellent food and services, location is great also. We will come back for sure! May be have a bigger sign of the restaurant on the street, we're getting lost for trying to find the restaurant.

The food was great - especially the dates, empanadas and desserts. Very nice server but he forgot our Brussel Sprouts.

First time trying tapas and first time going to El Tapeo and it was delicious! Went for a work outing and we got half of the menu and everything tasted amazing! We did halves on the paella and that was plenty for our group plus all the tapas. Dessert was phenomenal. Can’t wait to visit again for date night or girls night.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 4