La Mancha

I’ve been here half a dozen times and the food is excellent. I always get the churrasco platter, so I can’t speak to any other menu items. The steak and pork are very tasty, the steak nicely cooked to order, and huge portions – this is a meal for two. The sides are all interesting and well-​prepared. My one disappointment this visit was the beans. Two years ago, they were a feature of the meal – you got a large bowl and they were delicious. This time, just a tiny little bowl, and they were just kind of standard pinto beans. But it wasn’t enough to dock them a star. We enjoyed the potato wedges and potato salad and there’s a nice green salad as well.

What an awesome dining experience! 5 stars is not enough. Started with the red sangria and it was refreshing. Our server ChaCha recommended the scallops mondragon and I loved the poblano sauce so much I ordered the grouper mondragon. Both were divine. My husband ordered paella alicantina and he absolutely loved it– and he knows paella! Will definitely return. Cannot recommend this place strongly enough. You will not be disappointed!

It was hot during our stay on Amelia Island… we were staying at the Amelia Hotel At The Beach on the corner less than 100 yards away and walked to La Mancha. We elected to sit outside because there was a slight breeze. and the patio was empty. this was probably a good call since our server informed us that the AC was broken inside. We were the only ones on the patio until the Piano Player and the Lounge Singer showed up and they had two older women in tow… «OH No, not loud music and singing while we try to have a quiet meal!» Actually they were quit good and it was fun… especially when the singer, in the style of Frank Sinatra started doing Jimmy Buffet songs. (I’m not kidding) The one issue was that my wife, who is a vegetarian and had ordered a special salad (beet chips and some other interesting stuff), did not get it until 10 minutes after my entrée was served. Seems the new girl had taken it to another table who had eaten it. The funny part was that we watched her do this 3 more times, but by then the server was watching her and chasing her down to correct it. I think her native language/​home might have been some where in eastern Europe. What was another chuckle was my wife asked for some olives and cheese as recompense for the wait, they brought her some… wrapped in anchovies… even with these problems we had a good time and over tipped both the waiter and the musicians. The food was outstanding and we would return.

My husband and I had the best experience tonight. Our waiter Damion, was fabulous. We eat steak often and normally chose the ribeye; tonight was different, so we went with the strip. It was the best we have ever had! Everything else was so great as well! When we come back into town, we will be going back!

Excellent meal of tapas served by a great waiter. The gambas Carmen Miranda was the best item we had. The gambas mandragon and the Portuguese style chorizo were delicious, as was the queso de cabra. The only thing that kept our meal from perfection was the lamb meatballs, which were a bit overdone and dry. We will be back!

The food is ok. But everything else sucks… seriously. The service was so poor that it ruined my entire dinner. I had to ask for water 5 times for my friends and I. The rude and gloomy waitress brought one glass at a time and only for 2 out of the 3 guests. The service here is terrible and slow! Avoid at all cost, not worth my time and the aggravation.

Went there with my wife. VERY nice. Food is fantastic. Price was higher than expected but worth it.

Excellent food! The most tender filet I have ever had! The mussels are delicious and so was the seafood pasta with the alavodka sauce was great! We just happened to find this place on our short vacation and I’m so glad we did. Highly recommend.

Wow. what a good dinner. We split a tray of meat and a seafood paella, for four of us and we are full! A pitcher of white sangria finished us off. Damien, our server, was very attentive to our needs.

Great Anniversary celebration dinner! We heard from friends that their Paella was «deliciosa» so I wanted to surprise my other half with an authentic Spanish dish. Made reservations (highly recommended) and once we arrived, the hostes greated us and took us to our table. Once seated, our server Damion, introduced himself and offered us the Chef’s special of the night. After some debating between what to order (Paella was already on our mind) but after listening the description of the Chef’s special Damion had us convinced! We were sipping our drinks (wife had a suculent Sangria) while we waited for our Dinner for two: Whole fried Red Snapper layed on top of a huge Prime Rib accompanied by a generous portion of yellow spanish rice, baked potatoes wedges, warm salad, baked sweet plantains, potatoe salad with corn, green salad and last but not least Damion told the Chef that we were celebrating our anniversary and the Chef added to our plate jumbo shrimp in a coconut curry cilantro sauce and a Sea Bass filet. Everything was cook to perfection (I know that there is nothing perfect but everything tasted AMAIZING!). Once again, Damian suprised us with a second round of drinks… on him and for desert, flan and champagne on the house. Definetly we had an awesome, wholesome culinary experience and we highly recommend La Mancha for it’s great food, exeptional service and undivided attention!

Food was very good but expensive! Unilocal details state full bar but they only had beer and wine and were out of many beer brands. Menu on Unilocal needs updating as it was incorrect. How do you not have crab (listed on Unilocal menu) when you’re literally a block from the ocean? Not sure we would have chosen this restaurant if we had known there was no crab, they were out of the beer we wanted and had no liquor as advertised.

Go there ask for Sean and be ready to eat. We got the surf and turf for two. It was. Seriously this restaurant is slap your grandma delicious.

We had the red sangria to drink, snails as an appetizer, paella for two as our entrée, and tres leches for dessert. All was to die for. And the free bread they bring out is equally as delicious! If we find ourselves at Amelia Island again we WILL be back.

This is a two part review in that we have been for lunch and dinner.
The lunch gets the full five stars. It was delicious and affordable!!! We had hearty plates of food and really excellent and attentive service. There were three of us and asked for recommendations. It was a very enjoyable laid back experience.
Dinner on the other hand, not at all what lunch is. It turns from laid back to upscale dining. Well I had zero idea when I walked in and felt totally underdressed in jeans. It was a rather uncomfortable service. Our waiter focused on the larger parties that were drinking alcohol and ordering tons of food. We had to flag him down to get drinks and place our order. It really was not an enjoyable experience. It was overpriced to the max too. Small plates for $ 30. Really a huge turn off going from fun and laid back to over the top white table clothe service.

Great food, great service, basic atmosphere with music. We enjoyed our Caldeirada a Portuguesa. It was delicious! The staff was friendly and helpful.

Wanted to try this Spanish restaurant out, and it was decent. We weren’t overly excited or pleased with any of the dishes. They were more expensive and the food/​ambience didn’t match the price. It was a great experience with service though. Server and manager were super kind and helpful.

I had one of the best filet mignon I had in Florida and my buddy had a great NY strip. Both were cooked as ordered, perfect. The service was very good: our waiter brought my filet with a cheese and spinach sauce, but I ordered it with a mushrooms and red wine reduction. However it was good as it was. The waiter realized the mistake in the kitchen and offered to replace my steak. I told him not to worry, it was very good anyway. Still, 5 minutes later he brings the mushrooms-​wine reduction as a side and he even gifted both my friend and I with two glasses of 20-​year aged Porto wine at the end of the dinner. Can’t beat that!
As for my steak, it was juicy, very flavourful and like I said, one of the best I had in 17 years of Florida living.
Top that with a great Tempranillo by Ribera del Duero, unfiltered wine (that was promptly decanted by the waiter) for a very reasonable price (around $ 45/​bottle) and this place was a great choice.

We came here with a group of folks during the conference held a few miles down the road. We sat in the back room, which was just a room off of the main dining area that had some sliding doors on it. Overall we were impressed with what we found and it’s a place that I would probably come back to if we lived in the area. Interestingly, this place has the look of being a Mexican restaurant at some point in the past that either underwent a transition or was bought and changed. I’m not sure what the whole story is, but that’s what it seems like when you really stood back and looked at things.
We started off with some appetizers which included so delicious calamari, a beef dish that was served in a garlic cream sauce, and some grilled shrimp that were in a garlic oil with some delicious seasoning. All three were excellent, but the beef dish was far and away the favorite. The nicest thing about all three of the dishes however, was the fact that the sauces from the beef and shrimp dishes or excellent to dip the calamari in. If you get multiple appetizers consider such information when choosing!
For the main dish I had the grouper, which was lovely. It had a sauce with just a little bit of zip on it and is prepared very nicely. The paella was a fan favorite as was the filet.
The beer selection was predominantly Mexican beers and the wine was predominantly Chilean in origin. Both reds and whites were delicious. The sangria was also lovely and a fan favorite.
All in all, this is a very good place for a big group dinner. It had a very relaxed atmosphere and felt much more like a Mexican restaurant then a Spanish tapas place. It provided for an ambiance that was different than what I expected, but that overall got the job done. This isn’t the sort of place that you go for a fancy dinner, as most people expect for a tapas restaurant, but does give you access to some solid food with less of the pretentiousness that can come with nicer tapas places. That said, this is the sort of place where it’s hard to be «The spot» in town. Again, if we lived in the area, this would be a place that we would go every so often when we were in the mood for Spanish food. The quality of the food was really good, the ambiance was relaxed and the service was excellent. It won’t be the nicest place you’ll go, but it’ll be a memorable place. Well worth checking out.

Wow! Many restaurants say they have ‘made fresh’ or ‘made from scratch’ food. This restaurant delivers! Luckily, the restaurant was located right next to my hotel. We had a lunch buffet as part of the conference. I was instantly hooked on the homemade bread served in thick slices, and still steamy. We had pasta with meatballs. Between the balsamic vinegar dressing (so delicious I could lick off the fork) and the meatballs (spectacular flavor, not your average meatball!) I could have left happy. However, Amy brought over her sweet iced tea and I knew there was no limit to her culinary genius. I loved the lunch so much I returned for the homemade paella. When we entered it was simmering in a huge pan. The only thing that can top the flavor of the dishes is the aroma in the restaurant. A fragrant mix of herbs that is delightful.
One of my colleagues received a slice of tres leches cake which she swore by. The restaurant is beautifully decorated and if you go on Sunday night they have live guitar music. A woman sat down to sing a short song during our dinner. We were completely blown away. She had the most amazing opera voice.
All in all, I highly recommend adding this to your list of spots to visit. There are lots of options close by but this is definitely one that will appeal to someone wanting a meal to linger over and enjoy every bite.

A friend and I were staying in a hotel nearby and not wanting to go anywhere near downtown Ameila Island for dinner during the Shrimp Festival, we walked over to La Mancha. Authentic Spanish tapas and seafood? Ok.
Not sure how crazy it was gonna be we made a reservation 2 hours before with ease.
By 7pm we walked in and were we sat down immediately. There were quite of few people there already, probably like us based on some of the convos I overheard, up for the Shrimp Festival and the beach. The wine list was impressive and I almost ordered a glass of Moscato until I remembered where I was and ordered a glass of Sangria. That was phenomenal and I knew I was just gonna have one glass hahaha. We decided to order only tapas because it’s the best way to try everything. We started with the Antipasti platter: «Platter of serrano ham, chorizo, fresh mozzarella, tomato, roasted zucchini, eggplant and squash, drizzled in extra virgin olive oil and balsamic glaze» This was wayyyy more food than we thought it would be and we ended up taking at least half of it to-​go. Everything on it was fantastic. One of their nightly specials was a smoked salmon appetizer. Excuse me… what? I love smoked salmon! I couldn’t pass it up and ordered it. My friend doesn’t dig salmon as much as I do so I ate the majority of it. It’s served raw and drizzled in balsamic glaze as well and for a minute I thought I was in a sushi bar. So good! Then we ordered the Gambas Carmen Miranda, shrimp in a pineapple (get the reference?) with get this: creamy coconut honey mustard curry sauce. Who does that? This dish was the hardest to eat because it was so delicious. I wanted to eat the pineapple as well but I didn’t think that it would be appropriate. After that we got the Almondegas de Carneiro — Lamb Meatballs in a Spanish Blue Cheese sauce. The meatballs themselves were awesome but I think the sauce was a little weak. If it was thicker and coated the meatball more that would be good. We were full by now but we still wanted dessert. We split a piece of Tres Leches. The cake was good but I think the presentation could be better.
Would we come back? Absolutely! The atmosphere and the food are definitely worth the drive up from Jacksonville.

What are signs of finding a great restaurant?
You first read about it on Unilocal and read about many great reviews.
You walk in to the restaurant and immediately was impressed by the atmosphere and friendly staff that greets you at the door.
You open up the menu and quickly realize you simply cannot order everything you want to try (even in ‘cooperative mode’ to share dishes amongst your party of four, and immediately have an internal debate on what to choose and coerce others to pick the items you want to try.
You get your beautiful pitcher of sangria and tapas, and paella and everything just tasted from good to great to fantabulous!
You shed a (imaginary) tear because you want to eat more as you leave, but you just don’t have any tummy space anymore. So you vow to come back again soon.