Tia Pol

Doesn't Recommend

aplv

Joined 5 years ago

Below average tapas in a tiny restaurant with uncomfortable seating.. I went to Tia Pol on a weekday evening. It was packed. The waitress said we would have to wait for 40 mins for a table but we were given one in 15 mins! The ambience was good - young after work crowd. It is an extremely small place and it's hard not to stop people from bumping into you. The tables are extremely uncomfortable with very high bar stools with no backrest so I kept getting off the stool to stretch my feet or else I would get cramps! The food was below average - very salty and greasy. I lived in Spain so I know what authentic tapas taste like. These were not close. The portions are miniscule and the wines and drinks are only average. I wouldn't bother with this place. It's overrated.

Recommends

feedbags

Joined 5 years ago

great tapas. This is the real deal. Great food, a really fun staff and terrific selection of wines. The wait is a killer though, even for the bar. But if you can handle being jammed in at the bar sipping on some cava, the wait is well rewarded. Outstanding food, love the squid in its own ink, when they have suckling pig its wonderful. The real secret (and i can't believe I am going to let you in on this) is brunch on the weekends. Only a few regulars and neighborhood people are in on the secret- AND you can get seated right away.. PS, the patatas bravas are amazing.

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kalmnyc

Joined 6 years ago

Top of the line Tapas, with great atmosphere.. Although tapas is still on the fringe of the American palate, this restaurant makes the food accessible with great atmosphere and drinks.

Although the restaurant doesn't accept reservations, we had a great time sipping the red sangria and chatting at the bar while waiting for our seat.

The menu itself mixes traditional tapas: patatas bravas (fried potato with garlic aioli), croquettes (blue cheese was the special on Saturday night), and spanish omlette, with newer items: salt blistered chile, salt cod with potato. All were excellent and left us wanting more.-- and the spanish almonds were great to nibble on between courses.The food was truly on par with the more well known tapas bars (Boqueria, Pipa, etc...), but the location (10th ave) may be a bit far for some.

The wait staff were top notch and service was excellent. Despite the small size of the restaurant, they never pressured us to leave, which left us to finish our second jug of sangria in the romantic atmosphere.

True to the sign of a good restaurant, we had good food, great drinks, and came home to finish the night off with wonderful s e x... What better way to celebrate the Spanish lifestyle!

Doesn't Recommend

alfavil

Joined 6 years ago

Much ado about very little.. THE FACT TAPAS BARS GET SUCH HIGH PRAISE FROM THE FOOD MEDIA, AS TIA POL JUST DID FROM THE NYT GOES TO SHOW THAT NO ONE IN THIS TOWN KNOWS WHAT REAL TAPAS LOOK LIKE. TAPAS, FOLKS, ARE FINGER FOOD TO ACCOMPANY SERIOUS AFTER WORK IMBIBING. IN NY, THEY ARE A WAY TO MAXIMIZE PROFITS WITHOUT TOO MUCH WORK OR SERIOUS COOKING. I TRIED SEVEN: THE FRIED CHICKPEAS, THE ASPARRAGUS WITH CAVIAR, THE CHORIZO WITH SHERRY, THE CHORIZO WITH CHOCOLATE, PIQUILLO PEPPERS STUFFED WITH POTATO SALAD AND A MICRO DOLLOP OF TUNA ON TOP, AND "SPICY FISH." THE TASTE COMMON TO ALL EXCEPT THE PEPPERS: SALT. THE PORTIONS: MINISCULE. THE WINE LIST: $40 FOR A BOTTLE ONE CAN GET FOR $5.99 AT TRADER JOE'S. THE SPACE: YOU HAVE TO PERCH ON HIGH STOOLS, NOT MY IDEA OF COMFORT. THE SERVICE, VERY ATTENTIVE, I MUST SAY. BUT I CAN PUT THE SAME DISPLAY ON MY TABLE FOR $20 AND SOME FU N IN THE KITCHEN!

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ammf00

Joined 6 years ago

good service but the food variety could have been better.. The place was quaint and small. The food was alright. I expected more given from the reviews it has. Doesn't have a mix variety of authentic spanish tapas. Small and expensive portions.

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ellenbrody

Joined 6 years ago

best true tapas in New york. Whenever my girlfriends from out of town come in, we always go out for tapas since a few of us studied in spain together. We've found tia pol to be the best around, the most authentic, although it is a tiny place. Despite the size of it, they make fantastic food and we ordered almost everything on the menu. We didn't wait long for a table and had great wines and some sherry. It reminded us all of when we were in Madrid back in college.

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munch2

Joined 6 years ago

Great Neighborhood Place. This is a teeny but great place. Cute & friendly with great and interesting food. Staff are happy for you to sit long after they stop serving lunch. Love the croquettes which seem to have a hint of truffle, the squid in squid ink and the chocolate and chorizo combination.

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coleyas

Joined 6 years ago

Top-notch Tapas. There are small plates and there are tapas. If only restaurants (though restaurant goers aren't innocent, either) would refrain from using the word "tapas" to describe items like satay strips and potstickers, then we'd all have a much better understanding of where we were going and what we were ordering.

After living in Atlanta for the past 3.5 years, I had pretty much given up on the idea of authentic tapas. However, my faith in finding authentic tapas in America was restored on Thursday night with Tia Pol, a tiny Chelsea restaurant with a small bar, 5 two tops, and a large booth in the back.

We got there around 6 p.m. (note: I've heard that more often than not there is a pretty good wait for a table later on in the evening) and sat right next to the bathroom. Normally, this would have bothered me, but considering the size of the restaurant, a beggar could not be a chooser. Here's what we ordered and what we thought about it: patatas bravas (perfectly crisp potato wedges with a tasty ali oli), croquetas de jamon (again, perfectly crisp and so yummy, melty, and all around wonderful that we had to order another round), navajas y almejas (the clams were tiny, but the garlic butter that they were in had me wishing that we had some bread to sop it up with), paquetitos de jamon con alcochofa (these were triangles of serrano stuffed with ham and artichokes and were perfect because I couldn't have left the restaurant without serrano), chorizo con chocolate (this is a must order here), and a special that had sliced mushrooms, which were sauteed with onions and tomatoes. I would order all of this again, and my only complaint is that I wish they would add mussles to their menu.

I thought the Sangria had just the right amount of sweetness, and the fruit was fresh so that I didn't feel like I was drinking something that had been sitting in a jar for the past week or two. Overall, we were delighted with the entire experience, including the polite wait staff!

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suebeelin

Joined 9 years ago

consistent and very good!. My friends and I ate at a fancy french place the night before, and I must say, the food is, albiet more "lo-brow", just as tasty as any 4 star place. Plus, Tia Pol is much less expensive! My friends raved and raved about the each dish, and still talks about flying cross country to eat here again. This place has consistently tasty tapas and amazing sangrias! As with any good value place in NYC, be prepared to wait.

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hgtsgrl

Joined 7 years ago

Best Spanish tapas. I have been to this place a few times and am never disappointed by the food. The standards are great like the Spanish tortilla, chorizo, croquettas and serrano ham. There are also specials every night that are interesting and creative dishes. The sangria is amazing and reasonably priced. Beware of long waits for a table because the place is tiny. Arrive early and hang out by the bar.