New Zealand Herald

Reviews for Almeidas Tapas Bar

by Ira H.
29th January 2013

I wish to give a fair and unbiased opinion of the evenings meal on Saturday January 19th. The waiting and bar staff were first class and attentive, polite and professional however, sadly in my opinion was the only good thing about the evening food. I believe a sign of a good restaurant is how many covers are taken especially on a Saturday evening during summer. The wine was far too expensive in comparison to quality. Our taster platters for 10 were Tasty but not enough quantity. Had we purchased them individually they would have cost less and probably larger portions. Hence we left the restaurant hungry.

by Robyn J.
20th January 2013

What a disappointment last night at Almeidas was for our party of regular diners. The wait staff were very nice and quickly took drinks orders as each person arrived. These came to the table promptly. We decided to order platters rather than each person ordering several dishes. BIG mistake. This is a much more expensive way of ordering the same thing individually; a difference of some $40 overall!!!!! For a group of 10 adults we ordered 2 Tastings Platters as nibbles to start…..we certainly didn’t feel like we should have eaten less to make room for the ‘mains selection’ as we do at some venues. We ordered a Platter each from the Garden, Sea and Farm. Some of the food was very nice but certainly over priced for the amount. We were told what we had ordered would be a good amount, sadly most of our group called into the Golden Arches to fill up on their way home! Considering we had all travelled to the other side of town and therefore had to pay for fuel to get to and from a thoroughly unsatisfactory meal and experience, we will not be returning to Almeidas. I have probably ranked this restaurant higher than many of our group would.

by Aleisha D.
20th November 2012

I absolutely love this place, the food is absolutely incredible and very reasonably priced. I was recently there on the weekend and the service was a bit slow, had to wait 40min to get our first tapas. But it was well worth the wait as the food is amazing. They also have a great wine list This is definitely my favourite restaurant in Christchurch!

by Tom N.
1st November 2012

This is a really nice spot, and good service too. But the pricing is crazy for such small portions; and the food, while interesting, isn’t exactly spectacularly cooked. All in all, a reasonably negative experience

by Janet C.
8th October 2012

We visited family recently in Sumner. And found our way to Almeidas for an evening. Thoroughly enjoyed the variety of delicious food offered. All well cooked and left very pleased. We sat ourselves in the little nook inside the front door and thought it very cosy for the two of us. When we are next visiting we will make sure to call in again. It really is worth a visit and thank you to all the friendly staff. Well done.

by Robyn
18th March 2012

Went to Almeidas last night and was blown away! The food was delicious and the variety was fantastic. I live in fendalton and will not hesitate to travel across town for another night at Almeidas. It was more than just dinner it was an entire evening. The atmosphere was vibrant and the staff were very friendly.
Thanks Almeidas!!

by Lisa
12th February 2012

Went out to Almeidas for Sunday Brunch.
good things:
Extensive menu
Great decor (although the toilet could use a good scrub)
However,
We arrived, and the chef had to come out of the kitchen to greet us as the waitress was no were to be seen. We were the only patrons at the time so got to chose where we sat. We were in the front near to the kitchen.
Once the waitress turned up there was no guidance to the menu or how many dishes to aim for with their portion sizes.
We ended up ordering 4 dishes. Meatballs, Blue Cod, Stuffed mushrooms and wedges. We should have ordered more than this for 2 adults and 1 toddler.
Food was good, The mushrooms and the meatballs were excellent, although I suspect the blue cod was not freshly cooked (deep fried). The batter had the texture of something that was pre-frozen/microwaved. I suspect this was the case as I heard the microwave beeper going off several times while the the food was being prepared.

If I was a local I would possibly go again but unfortunately I won’t be traveling from the other side of Christchurch to go again

Comment from gareth D. of Almeidas Tapas Bar 29/02/2012    Hide »

Hi Lisa Thanks very much for making your way out to Sumner to…    More »

Hi Lisa
Thanks very much for making your way out to Sumner to check us out!

We are currently in the process of getting new menus with more direction on how much to order, as this has come up a few times.

It was great to hear you enjoyed your meals, all of our meals are cooked fresh every time. With the Blue Cod, the batter texture changes when the herb dressing is drizzled over it.
The microwave is used to heat our Tapas dishes before serving as it helps keep the food warm.

I really hope to see you guys out this way again soon!

Thanks again,

Gareth.

by Arch C.
19th November 2011

Really enjoyed dining here. Great variety of tapas. Highlights were the stuffed mushrooms – great texture and taste!. The only downside was some of the deep fried items, such as the crumbed fish fillets and the squid/calamari – both were a little too oily (could certainly be drained a little more?) and the crumbed squid seemed to be straight out of the packet (the supermarket pre-packaged frozen fish section variety ?), or certainly was indistinguishable from this. The ‘Long Island Iced Tea’ was somewhat weak and watery for $14, and the waitress/bar-lady did say it was the first time she had had to make one. However, the rest of the dishes and the range of wines were excellent, and we will certainly dine there again.

by Sarah
2nd September 2011

We had amazing evening at Almeidas last Thursday night. We sat in the courtyard on a warm balmy evening and I felt like I was in Spain. The food was great . I love the concept of Tapas, ‘ the serving of Tapas is designed to encourage conversation because people are not so focused upon eating an entire meal that is set before them’. Enjoying a wine and a variety of Tapas in a Spanish setting …can’t bet that. Thanks to the guys of Almeidas, keep up the good work, we’ll be back

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