El Toro Bravo

Looks like El Toro Bravo is now closed. Viva Espana is the new business name of this location. Disappointed to discover this; but, the last two visits were a bit of a let-​down compared to our initial visits. The food quality had shifted and what we once loved about El Toro seemed to be going downhill…

The last two visits to El Toro Bravo were disappointing.
It was the food that had let it down. Definitely not as good as the first few visits. Some dishes were not very hot either.
Most of the wait staff were still lovely though. One waiter however never seemed to be happy though.
I saw my last review was getting a few useful, funny, cool votes on Unilocal so I wanted to set the story straight with this updated review. Something I’ve been meaning to get around to.
Also, noticed the last two days El Toro Bravo has not been open.

Nice service, really poor tapas (sauce tasted like the sauce from a can of beans), poor atmosphere. Really disappointed as had high hopes.

Please do not go to this place!!!
The tapas appeared to be straight out of the box from the local grocer freezer section and cold.
Dirty tables and floor added to the poor ambiance. Just skip it! Try Pinxo all locations.

This was really bad, my friends pork and beef meatballs were under cooked and most of the food was warm at best. When we complained about the meatballs the replacements took almost thirty minutes to arrive, the service was bad, our waitress had poor English. Overall cleanliness was less than ideal, it seemed the floor hadn’t even been swept in some time, I picked a piece of glass from underfoot. Avoid!

It’s a tricky one for me. I think it all started because someone who’s taste I highly regard recommended this place SO MUCH that my expectations were like… to the standard of a good local place in Spain. Unfortunately my stomach has an accute memory for really good tapas it had in the past and you can’t really compare a tapas place in dublin with one in Spain.
It’s not a bad place but both the atmosphere and the food are average to me, a bit like both Salamancas are now (actually I’d say Salamanca Dame is not as nice as El Toro based on recent experiences)
The spicy chorizo had a yuk taste and way too much of it on the plate. The iberian ham was super good and so was the cheese. The roasted veg were smooth and nice and whatever else we had is gone from my memory.
Wine wise it doesn’t come cheap by the glass but the one I got (rioja 2008 if I remember well but I’m bad at that) was really nice.
Tricky one really, because when you read the other reviews, it could well be that I wasn’t in the right frame of mine or I expected to much of this place.

This place is awesome. My housemate and I went here on a girl’s night out and boy are we glad we did. The food was decently priced and perfectly portioned. They even made a really good suggestion when they were out of one of the dishes my friend wanted. The service was delightfully continental, which wouldn’t have been a problem if we weren’t on our way to the movies. I highly suggest this place for first dates, second date, or just out for dinner with friends.
Plus they have Spanish musicians who wink at the ladies. Not too shabby.

Came here with a Unilocal event:
I’m glad that I started liking wine and olives about 6 months ago because we got a TON of each. Still more a fan of white wine (and not Chardonnay, going along with the owner on ‘no one likes it’) but after this I’m liking red more! My friend won the bottle of red and we shared and drank it all – glad they gave us so much delicious food! I am glad that Annie said to eat before, because otherwise I would have been a mess after having multiple glasses (I somehow ended up with 2) in front of me.
As always, its tons of fun to catch up with Unilocalers and meet new ones!
I want to come back with some Spanish friends and eat more!
The décor is really nice and seems great for an intimate/​quite night out.

I can’t honestly recommend this place. My wife and I availed of a voucher and visited El Toro Bravo. We’re massive fans of Spanish cooking and we were looking forward to this ‘authentic’ tapas bar which we had heard good things about.
While the atmosphere wasn’t bad and the staff were good, it was the worst meal and stingiest deal I’ve ever had.
A glass of poor quality white and red wine each, three measly croquettas and two bits of tinned anchovy on an unripe tomato and toasted French baguette. Then a very insipid ‘gambas pil pil’.
We’ve eaten across Spain and have eaten the simplest dishes that have blown our mind.
Unless you want to be ripped off, go to the other, better tapas bars in Dublin. I wanted my money back.
Very disappointing.

I’ve been meaning to write a review on this place for a while.
I went here for lunch with a friend and it’s charming and has a very authentic feeling. The waitress and guy putting up wine (father and daughter I think), were all smiles and we were seated instantly. The waitress came over took out order we chatted about the wine and if the paella was good or not.
We ordered and for starters I have what can best be described as deep fried ham and cheese balls — not my thing but my friend loved them. My friend had some toasted bread with chopped tomato and something else that was delicious (a little like bruschetta).
The mains were to die for! I had the seafood paella and boy was it good! My friend had some sort of stew which she seemed to enjoy. The wine was also great we had a glass of white each.
All in all a very pleasant experience with excellent food and service.
It was very quiet when we ate there (around lunch time on a Saturday)… We were the only two people. I’d like to go back to see if they work just as well when they are busy.

I’m very happy El Toro Bravo opened up as its very close to where I live and is good enough to for me not to feel like I need to walk into town to the port house.
I’ve been three times now, lunch twice and dinner once. All three times all the dishes I tasted were excellent. With the beef stew and the ham with paprika special being my two favourites so far.
I’ve only had wine once but it was very nice.
The staff are very friendly and the restaurant although not having the atmosphere of the port house is very nice indeed.
Prices are not bad as dishes are a nice size for tapas. Two dishes being plenty for lunch for instance. Although the fish dishes I have seen did seem a bit smaller. Probably because of the cost of prawns etc.
Overall a great restaurant.

One word — «Yum»
Myself and a couple of the ladies what lunch came here last friday for a treat, and a treat it certainly was!
When we arrived it was empty but it was packed out by the time we left. We arrived about twelvish so it was still fairly early for lunch.
We had calamari, meatballs, paella, chicken and croquettes between us and everything was delicious. The girl who greeted us and served the food was an absolute delight, couldn’t have been more friendly.
For desert we shared the churros and the santiago tart and each had a coffee. The coffee is amazing, just like what you would get in Spain and not bitter in the slightest. I could drink it all day!
I really hope this place is a success because they certainly deserve to be. We will definitely be back, this time in the evening though so that we can sample all their vino ;-)

One of the better tapas bars in Dublin. Shame it has opened with a whimper instead of a bang.
Disappointingly quiet when we had our meal (we were the only ones there). Décor was nice, it felt authentic, though a bit sloppy in place. A minor quibble when the food was of such high quality.
Fried calimari was tasty and not rubbery, a rare pleasure. Baby squid was soft and succulent, and damn tasty. Goat’s Cheese was nice, but perhaps the most interesting dish was pork in «Oporto sauce», a slightly sweet sauce presumably made from port wine. The sweetness blended well with the pork (not tough, again a rarety) which was well seasoned and on a bed of crispy bread and fried peppers. The only problem with the food was that the patatas bravas, the barometre of tapas bars, was somewhat underdone. Churros for dessert was crispy and warm.
Staff were good (though they should be in an empty restaurant), and friendly, and the prives were reasonable too.
I’ll certainly be returning, and glad to have a tapas option in the Dublin ⁶⁄₈ region, especially when it rivals any of the others.