La Rambla Restaurant & Social Room

The bus

I ordered the octopus and the fried calamars—two dishes I often choose as benchmarks for the quality of Spanish tapas. While both the octopus and the calamars were fresh and of high quality, the execution completely missed the mark.

The octopus dish came with potatoes, which were great, but to my surprise, there were slices of cold orange hidden underneath. At first, I thought it was pineapple because of the sweetness and the temperature shock. When I realized it was orange, it didn’t improve things—the combination of cold, sweet orange with warm octopus and potatoes didn’t work at all. It felt out of place and completely clashed with the dish. I really had to have a look again at the menu to see what was going on.

The fried calamars were another disappointment. While the calamars themselves were perfectly cooked with great texture, they were drenched in Calabrian chili oil. The oil was so overpowering that it completely masked the natural flavor of the calamars. The heat was intense—so much so that I had to drink water to get through the dish. Fried calamars should be light and simple, with a squeeze of lemon to enhance the seafood, not buried in spice that takes over the whole experience.

I finished with a chocolate cake, which was fine but too heavy for my taste, and an Illy espresso. I was excited to see Illy on the menu, as it’s a prestigious coffee brand. However, the espresso was oversized, overfilled, and watery, which diluted the bold flavor Illy is known for. While the Illy flavor was present, it wasn’t anywhere near the strong, proper espresso it should have been.

Overall, while the ingredients and presentation were good, the flavor combinations and execution were a letdown. As someone with Spanish roots, I expected a more authentic experience.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 3

Service: 5

Wasn't up to previous standards. Service was good, but the tapas weren't warm enough, seemed tired. Maybe it was an off night.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 3

Service: 5

This is a great restaurant. We went on a Monday night when it wasn’t too busy and had excellent service. It is tapas with many good choices. We had the lamb nachos which were much more elegant than the name suggests. Also had the mushrooms, the hummus, and a couple others. Highly recommended we will be back.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Great food — every one of the small plates that our group of four tried was great. Waitresses was super-helpful without being intrusive. Why only four stars? We were cold throughout the whole meal, and it was so noisy that we couldn’t hear each other or the wait-staff.

Vegetarian options: Vegetarian options were limited but adequate.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Patatas Bravas, Lamb Skewers, Fried Green Beans with Aioli

Great dining experience, my niece especially loved the bacon dates. Service was of good quality. Recomend getting tapas plates so you can try more of a variety!

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

We had a great lunch here. The tapa portions are fairly big so order light! We ordered way too many, but they were all delicious.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Went in on a Saturday night, loud, busy, great vibes, great service, great wine, and I think underpriced, to the point that when I got the check I said, "there's a mistake here," but upon inspection, everything's just 75% the price I'd expect. Grilled octopus is truly impressive.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Pork Croquetas, Sautéed Mushrooms

Thank you Rama for the excellent service.
Food and drinks were great too.
I recommend the red hot mama cocktail if you don't like sweet drinks. It has a nice kick to it. So delicious.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Friendly but professional service; delicious cocktails and varied menu options — all excellent. Can see why this McMinville old-timer is still going strong.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Fun place with a legit Spanish variety of small plates.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 5

Delicious small plates and nice selection of wine. Great service and a warm inviting atmosphere. Best churros ever.

Vegetarian options: We had no trouble finding vegetarian items

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Churros, Patatas Bravas

We went for happy hour and the food was so good that we returned the next day and had some of the same dishes as well as some new ones. Happy hour is 4-6 pm weekdays and not too busy before 5:30, it may be different in the summer. We had great service from Dana and Nokia. We had sangria- really tasty and beer. The goat cheese is great as well as the shrimp (2 orders each day), artichokes and mushrooms. We also liked the patatas bravado, hummus, battered green beans and the empanadas. We ran out of room before we ran out of desire to try more things. Excellent value.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Patatas Bravas, Zucchini Fries, Steak Empanadas

Love this place! Delicious treats. First time ever I liked lamb. Nice wine selection . Cute bar. Great little date spot.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Sat at the bar, enjoy the food

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 3

Service: 3

Recommended dishes: Bacon Dates