La Rioja

Wait staff was very helpful and friendly! Excellent Sangria and tapas.

I ordered the octopus and it was very fishy tasting and smelling. I’m not typically one to complain or write a review. Things happen all the time, it’s not a big deal, but I would not go back there because of the Management and they way they handled this.

We let the server know, and we were very polite about it, and she understood and took it off the bill. BUT THEN the older gentleman who is the owner/general manager came over to our table to start an argument with me, saying that the food was fresh and I just didn’t like the way they prepared it, but don’t say his food isn’t fresh. I let him know that it did smell and taste fishy (we had to get it off the table!!) and then I just yes’d him so he would go away, which he did, but he was looking for a fight. Maybe he had a rough night.

Regardless of whether my taste and smell was working that evening, the fact that the ownership of this establishment came over to try and make a scene and convince me I was wrong, and argue with me, is why I would not go back. He could have just said sorry, or better yet, just not come over to us at all, as the issue was resolved and we were ok with it just being removed.

I tipped the server normally as I was not going to punish her for his overstep. Disappointing experience though.

Amazing food and great owner

Great service, our server was very attentive and gracious, and the food was amazing!

Great food and wonderful staff!

Service was slow and confused. Food was terrible. Ambiance was nonexistence, loud, and dated. Initially got sat at table that is literally 2 feet away from the bar, where a couple w/ a loud baby sat hovering over us and the draft from the door kept us freezing. (very cold day). Until we asked to be seated at table not in the direct path of the draft after nasty reaction from the staff.

I will recommend if and only if they are in the neighborhood.

Food and drink were great. Authentic and high quality, with a reasonable variety. The service is friendly and professional. The decor is not great, but acceptable. Astoria has many very good restaurants, and this is one of them.

Great place !!

The jamon was not cut well and not presented in a way so that the oil from the meat would be tasted. Service was so so and slow and was forgotten about for a long time. Otherwise food and drinks are great. Service and presentation need to improve

Horrible service, inattentive and waited extremely long for food.

The Food was amazing!1

I had the seafood paella. The taste of the rice was phenomenal! The rice mixed with the juices of the seafood made my taste buds want more. I enjoyed el Caldo de Gallego. Good soup to start. My wife had the meat paella. My wife is not a seafood person but definitely enjoyed my rice compared to herself. Definitely a place to return. We did go at 5pm which is their slow time.

We enjoyed the well prepared Spanish specialties on a great block in Astoria, in which there are at least 6 different cuisines represented. The staff are attentive, and particularly yummy were the bacon wrapped dates, anchovies, boquerones, and paellas. We will definitely return.

We decided to surprise my father with his favorite dish of Paella; and since the reviews of their paella’s were amazing , we decided to try it out. The experience was very well, it was a bit of a slow night so it was a quiet but it was a nice because we had our intimate family dinner.

The staff and owners were so gracious and kind. We love coming here for the food and jovial environment

Had a fun time!

When the “floor to ceiling front glass is so dirty that one cannot see thru it, we imagined how much they care about washing their plates and utensils. The reviews say that this place is good, but we couldn’t go past their dirty windows.

Seafood wasn’t fresh and after telling the server we got lecture about Paella styles by the owner (excuse me??) — server didn’t tell the real reason Paella was sent back. Let’s just leave it there.

The Paella was well worth the wait. The seafood was fresh. The 28 oz steak was prepared perfectly and priced well below local steakhouses.
The owner was persomable and treated us as if we were regulars.
Will definitely return!

Super tasting food and excellent friendly service.
However, I forgot to leave a tip. Two days later I returned with $25 in hand
and was informed by the Manager that without my knowledge HE charged
to MY credit card an additional $25 as a tip !!. He apologized. Normally I would
never return to such a place but he did apologize and the food was super.
I will return and recommend La Rioja.

bob

Excellent paella! Excellent fish! Nice atmosphere.

Authentic Spanish Tapas. This is the real deal - the dishes are well prepared and tasty. The jamon is cut off the bone in the front of the restaurant. Lovely assortment of chorizos. We found the pulpo de gallega to be a bit bland and a bit undercooked, but all the other dishes were very nice. Recommended for authentic tapas in a nice well run place.

La rioja was fantastic although we arrived early in the day so there was little ambience , Penelope was great always smiling which made our night more enjoyable and of course after those grapes that they have ,,,shhh their secret , what a find ... definitely be back for more paella and grapes.

My friends and I found this place after a show and what an Amazing Find! The music in the background was at a perfect level and the atmosphere was as if we were among friends. We were given the special of getting the crespelle with ricotta and it was delicious!!...we ordered other different items which were out of this world. My friends and I have been to various tapas restaurants but this one made it to the top of the list. Sangria was perfect and everything else was outstanding. We will definitely be coming back!

The hot tapas are great. And the paella is meant for two regardless of what they say.

Disappointed with the service when we dined here recently. The manager was also incredibly rude. We dine here often but we won’t be coming back anymore.

The food is fantastic and Penelope, our waitress is very energetic! We all loved it , we all ordered more food to take home.

We had only one complaint of this restaurant, I ordered a paella mixta and the chicken was dry. All other aspects of the dish were perfect. Also there were six in our party and all the other dishes were perfect. The service was excellent. In addition, one of our party lost a gold pinky ring that night and when we called to ask if they had seen it, it turned out that the staff had found it on the floor by the wall while they were cleaning. Beyond the fact that we very much appreciated the honesty, it is obvious they take the cleaning seriously and we all liked that.
We'll definitely be back.