What a bad experience!
Yesterday night, for Valentine’s dinner, I took my fiancée to the Iberia restaurant, now located on Alma Street in Menlo Park. Years ago, it used to be a nice place to eat, and a great food was served in an enjoyable decor.
Yesterday was... a nightmare.
Reservation was made for 6pm, 3 weeks ago, and confirmed 3 days before.
We ended at table by (in!) the fireplace. The all meal was somehow toasty!
The selection of this fixed menu, fixed price event, looked nice on paper, but it was another story in the dishes...
Scallops overcooked and poorly "gratinees". Salad served without fresh ground pepper. Soup flavorless, York steak was a third pick from Safeway (not tender at all, and overcooked), mashed potatoes were dry (plate was microwaved before serving???), and desserts were heavy and did not taste fresh.
Add to this description that I had to pour the wine once, and the water twice and you really wonder what can justify a 19% fixed service charge???
My recommendation: a place to avoid and to take off the Zagat list.    [15 Feb 2002 15:47:03]

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     ­Anonymous, San Francisco   

Fantastic Experience!!!!
I took my family of 10 to this cozy little spot in Menlo Park and had an INCREDIBLE meal. Both owners, husband and wife, came by to check on us and chat with us about food and wine recommendations. Everything ordered was enjoyed by everyone. I think this is my new favorite restaurant! Service was good, but definitely a Euro-style dining experience--expect to dine for 2 hours or more. House wine, a supple Rioja, was only $30 for the bottle but the extensive wine list featuring wines from all over the world will keep you entertained. Tapas and entrees were outstanding. The grilled fish for two was dynamite. I did not order the Paella but several large platters of this traditional cuisine were ordered at nearby tables. It smelled incredible...have to get back to try it. I stuck with tapas and "small plates" rather than an entree which allowed me to sample more smaller items. The lamb chops were perfect. Neat factoid: in summer months they offer cooking classes at very reasonable prices, $50-60 per person. I'll be signing up for some traditional Paella experience. Highly recommended.    [06 May 2003 21:54:22]

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Recommended Dishes: Grilled seafood for two, lamb chop tapas

     ­Anonymous   

lame
We went to Iberia last night, and it was definitely not worth the price we paid. I've been to Spain a number of times, and this food didn't seem like anything I had tried there. While it didn't taste bad, it was not outstanding either. The service was atrocious. We had to ask the waiter multiple times for things, and perhaps he was hard of hearing, because he would often walk away when we started to request something. The wine list was extensive, which is good, but all the bottles were $45 or more. There were no "everyday bottles" in the $25 to $45 range, except for the house rioja for $30 which to me tasted flat. When we got the bill, we were surprised to find the mandatory 19% service charge, even though we were only 4 people. We asked about it, and the guy said it was not a tip, but a service charge, and he then implied that tip was something extra above and beyond the 19%. We couldn't believe it! If the tip was extra, we left 0% because the service was so bad. We will probably never go there again.    [16 Jul 2003 16:51:24]

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     ­Edwin   

Worst experience ever!!!
Before tonight I have NEVER complained about a restaurant before... But I also have NEVER been verbally accosted by a restaurant manager, NEVER had a meal so thoroughly ruined, and NEVER had anyone threaten to call the police because we would not eat (or pay for) one of their dishes.

My girlfriend, who is vegetarian, ordered a dish listed as having garbanzo beans, spinach, and vegetables. It came with floating chunks of ham. We promptly told the waiter that ham was not on the menu and that she could not eat the dish. The waiter demanded that we pay for the dish anyway. When we did not comply, the manager, a brusque, and ill mannered fellow, came to enforce the waiter's request.
His argument: (1) You are vegetarian. This is just like being allergic to a basic ingredient. you have to explain this to the restaurant... (2) most of the dishes on the menu, don't have some of the main ingredients specified. "Yours for example", talking to me, "it also has ham which is nowhere on the menu."... i.e "but our menu is uniformly misleading. We're not just insensitive to vegetarians but some of the major world religions as well."
Needless to say this ruined the dinner. To make things worse he threatened to call the cops...
oh and did I mention, all this and we didn't even raise our voices...    [15 Dec 2003 05:01:48]

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Recommended Dishes: doubt it.

     ­clayton   

Spanish food in Menlo Park - don't bother
Last night's dining experience motivated me to enter a review of Iberia in Menlo Park. The food was VERY overpriced for its quality and portion size, and did not have any of the distinctiveness I am used to in Spanish food. Slow service is usually not a problem for me, but in this case the portions of food were so small that the slow service seemed slower. This place is not worth a visit.    [21 Dec 2005 15:54:34]

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     ­Anonymous   

A Place To Be Avoided!
I don't know how anyone could consider this place to be even a mediocre restaurant. Terrible service, terrible food, a terrible wine list and an automatic 19% tip added to your bill. Any diner would make this place look bad. The rooms are nice, and that's it.    [07 Jan 2007 23:52:35]

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Recommended Dishes: none

     ­Anonymous   

Stay away!
How can such an attractive restaurant be soooo bad? I have to think it's because the owner isn't paying attention - or doesn't care. Mediocre food, terrible service, and a mandatory 19% "service" charge combine to make this a restaurant to avoid.    [16 Feb 2007 17:44:34]

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     ­Anonymous