Amada

amazing as usual more

Awesome! more

One of the best tapas restaurants in the city! Even if you've never had tapas, this place will make you a believer. The staff is very knowledgable and the service was quick. Fun for a big group dinner or just an intimate dinner date. Overall great atmosphere. I can't wait to make it back! more

Our favorite restaurant in Philly, hands down! We've celebrated many special occassions and date nights here, and have never, ever been disappointed about any of the food. Ever. (The only ""problem"" we have is, the tapas is so good that we rarely have room for the equally delicious dessert :) ) Here's what we ordered this time around: Caldo Gallego (White bean ham stew): Very Good! More of a brothy soup than a stew. Nice flavor, beans and ham were cooked perfectly. Ensalada Verde : Beyond exceptional. Every time. Dressing is perfectly light, cheese is perfectly shaved, and the favas and asparagus added just the right crunch. Patatas Bravas: Excellent! Served piping hot, nice and crispy with a dollop of heavenly tangy aoli on top. Arroz temporada (rice with mushroom and peas): Very good this time, exceptional last time we were here (this time there was a wee bit too much orange zest) Costillas de tenera (beef shortrib flatbread) : Beyond exceptional - between the shortribs, horseradish and parm, this takes flatbread to the next level! Madre e hijo: (mother and son/chicken and egg) Excellent! Chicken was moist and perfectly cooked, fingerling potatoes were delicious, and the sauce was perfect. Other notable ""traditional tapas"" we've had from their menu include the croquetas de jamon (ham), Gambas al ajillo (garlic shrimp) and tortilla espanola (spanish omelet), all excellent. Overall? I could go on and on and on about just how wonderful this restaurant is, but I'd rather not write a book so I'll stop here :) more

A friend and I stopped in at Amada for a quick after work dinner. After returning from Spain, I was eager to try the 'authentic tapas', but after my Chifa experience,* see Chifa review* I really didn't want to try another Garces Restaurant. more

One of the best restaurants in Philly! A must try along with any Jose Garces restaurant. more

We recently visited Amada for the first time and were extremely disappointed. We have been to Tinto and loved it so we were excited to try this out. Several things were uncomfortable from the seating to the noise but what topped it off was our server's obvious lack of interest. We ordered a bottle of wine and a lot of tapas to try and asked to have them staggered due to the small two top we were seated at. Instead of staggering the food he brought the majority out at once and moved the next two top table over to ours with a loud crack. Our food got cold before we could even try everything. The waiter, Patrick, then came over, noticed my empty glass and asked if I would like a glass of wine. I said no thank you and my partner ordered his. Patrick then asked me again if I was sure I didn't want a glass of wine and when I declined once again he asked if I wanted a soda because it looked like I was going to be sick. If I looked like I was going to be sick why would he have offered me a glass of wine twice? I had enough and wanted to leave right away so my partner left his business card for the manager to call if he was interested in feedback on our disappointing situation. After a round of phone tag the manager decided not to call back. It's been over 2 weeks since my partner left the last message. There are plenty of excellent places in Philly to go and have a great time with great food. If you want to pay $200.00 to be insulted ... go to Amada. Pros: good selection of wines Cons: bad service more

My fiance and I went to Amada last December and had a great time. We had made reservations in advance and got a nice cozy table in the back. The experience was so great last year, so I decided to go back there for my birthday last night. What a horrible disappointment. We made reservations 5 days in advance and when we got there a little early, we waited at the bar for a drink. The host forgot about us! We had to go back up and see if our table was ready. They squeezed us into a crowded area of two seaters. The seating was so tight my fiance could barely get to his seat without knocking over something on the other table. We asked to be moved, and they moved us down a bit to a rickety table that moved when you touched it. Not to mention the chair was so high and my fiance's seat was so low, it was awkward. We asked the hostess if we could be seated in the back where we sat last time. We mentioned that we made a reservation in advance and had hoped to sit back there. We were told we'd have to go back to the bar to wait. We did, and they forgot about us again! This was the first time I ever walked out of a restaurant. I will never ever step foot in this restaurant again. Maybe Jose Garces should stop in to check on his hideous staff. Pros: Nice sangria Cons: Everything more

The atmosphere is great. Even though they served kinda slow, but every tapa is absolutely delicious! Pros: delicous food , good atmosphere, Cons: Pricey more

Leaving Amada we decided to walk home because we were so satisfyingly full. This was my 2nd favorite meal I've eaten in the 7 years living in Philly. The food & drinks were wonderful and we were never rushed - though the room was full they allowed us to spend 2 hours lingering over the wonderful tastes we were having. Go and eat there with a great group of friends. Pros: white sangria. slow-paced meal. varied menu Cons: food was slightly salty for my tastes - but wonderful. more

I went to Amada this past weekend. It was a wonderful experience. We arrived for our 9:30 reservation and were promptly seated. Not that I would have minded otherwise, I never mind having a drink at the bar first. The service was informative and the menu extensive. Lots of little plates enable you to try several items. There were 4 of us and we each chose about 3 dishes. The server staggered them so we always had a couple on the table at a given time. The food is DELICIOUS. I am vegetarian and there was plenty dishes for me to choose from. Be prepared to be there for a while if you're in good company, we were there about 4 hours! more

Amada is a place for people who enjoy food. The combinations are traditional yet imaginative-- salmon with saffron emulsion and spiced almonds paired with tempura-fried artichokes and grilled onions. Shirred eggs with shrimp and wild mushrooms and indescribably luscious crostini. (My dining partner said this was what breakfast must taste like in heaven.) Green salad spiked with sliced figs and almonds, the whole thing rolled in Serrano ham. The only caveat-- hardly a complaint-- is that these are not small ""small plates."" A few-- two, three at most-- make a lovely meal. The service is delightful and this popular, yes, trendy restaurant makes you feel extremely welcome. Try the white sangria. No, try the red sangria. But go to Amada. If you like food. Pros: Food, service, ambience Cons: Parking in Old City is never easy. Amada offers valet. more

I know that this is a well thought of restaurant, and the food that we ordered was good. I felt that their online menu was lacking. When I order Chorizo, I expected it to be traditional tapas chorizo cooked in a sherry sauce with garlic, but what I got was sliced like deli meat. Not a place I would order from again. more

My two girlfriends and I went to Amada on a Wednesday night because we had heard great things about it. We were not impressed. Even thought we had made reservations, we had to wait at the bar for a good 40 minutes. The sangria was tasty, but I can't same the same for the food. We thought everything tasted ok, but nothing spectacular. They certainly did charge above average food prices--it's not worth it. I wouldn't go back for dinner, only for drinks. Pros: Tatsy sangria Cons: Food is overpriced! more

This is the first time I have ever felt compelled to write a review but after eating at Amada I felt it was absolutely necessary to give compliments to Chef Jose Garces. The atmosphere is very relaxed, the staff is friendly and professional and the food is absolutely amazing! My husband and I ordered the Chef's selection as we had never eaten authentic Spanish tapas before. They brought out three separate courses, all small plates of tasty foods, unique salads, lamb meatballs, flatbread, shrimp, etc. Everything tasted exquisite. Every time one of the staff members brought out a new dish they gave a brief explanation of what it was, how it was made, etc. Not to mention their signature drink ""Sangria"" is soo good! We didn't get to see the Flamenco dancers, but maybe next time. For anyone looking for a truly unique restaurant, place this at the top of your list - You will not be disappointed. more

I love spanish tapas, and have been dying to try Amada ever since it opened. What a disappointment! The food was just...wrong. We ordered some traditional tapas as well as two of the ""flatbreads"". The pan con tomate was tasty, but not authentic - it was more like a bruschetta. Traditionally it's a garlic-and-tomato rubbed toast, here it was covered with a thin layer of well-seasoned tomato puree. That was the best thing we ate. The duck flatbread (the menu identifies it as coming with dates, serrano ham, and cabrales) was an abomination.. When it arrived it was soggy, covered with orange zest, and there was no cabrales in evidence, thought there was some kind of bland cheesy substance. After tasting it I asked the waiter about the cabrales and he said ""oh, it's cabrales CREAM'.' (It doesn't say that on the menu, btw) I wanted to say - ""what, made with monterey jack?"". The serrano ham was completely unecessary and clashed with the other flavors (there were too many ingredients to start with). The beef-horseradish-bacon flatbread was a little better, though I didn't taste any bacon, and only a little bit of horseradish in one bite. That was also covered in orange zest, and soggy. Yuck. The fried baby anchovies, when they arrived, looked like Andy Capp's hot fries. They were completely coated with smoked paprika. Why? Smoked paprika is a strong flavor that can easily overpower a dish... especially something as delicate as fresh anchovies. Inexplicably, there was a soft-fried egg perched on top of the pile of neon-red fish. It was, in a word, disgusting. Completely inedible. The ham croquettas were also inauthentic and not very good. In Spain, I fell in love with these creamy fried wonders... here, they were too gamey, flavored with waaay too much serrano ham, and greasy. They just didn't taste right, or even good. I guess they're trying to impress with high quality ingredients, but flavor and authenticity ought to count for something. Cons: food is not authentic, and not good more

This place just didn't do it for me. The meats and cheeses were good, and paired well with their acoutrements, but some of their prepared foods were not good. The spicy potatoes were nice, the fried baby anchovies were like little sea-tinged french fries (a good thing). I understand it's ""traditional,"" but if that means over salted, over oiled and under marinated, then maybe traditional isn't for me. The same oil/herb/salt marinade was all over everything else we ordered, which was booring, and often there was way too much of it. The flavors in their salads and even in their sangria tasted like they had no time to come together. Maybe it was because they were busy, or maybe that's how it is. Pros: Meats, cheeses. Cons: Oil, salt and herbs all over everything else. more

My girlfriend brought me here for a dinner as a treat to ourselves. One of my few complaints was that our 8:00 reservation resulted in a seat finally becoming available for us at 9:15. While the food was delicious (we opted for the large Paellea platter instead of just tapas) the noise is overwhelming. The restaurant is packed very tightly, you almost sit in somebody else's lap. Not bad if you are the friendly type, but it could be a bit akward for some. The waiter was full of knowledge and gave us the history of tapas in general, not that we needed it as my girlfriend is native of Argentina. The chocolate wave dessert was amazing, the sorbet not as much. Also on wed. nights they offer a free show of authentic Spanish dancing. My girlfriend actually knew the one dancer, and she has been dancing for years, it was quite a nice show. I would probably go back, but i would definitely not make any plans afterwards. Pros: Food, Show, Small plates allow for a good sampling Cons: small place, long wait, sorbet more

This restaurant is fabulous. We sat at the chefs table and enjoyed watching all of the food being prepared. Our server was fabulous and we had an overall wonderful time. more

My husband and I decided to try out Amada and watch Flamenco last Friday night. We made our reservations 5 weeks in advance, asking for a table close to the stage on a Friday night. When we got to Amada, we found out that the location of stage had been changed since we made the reservations, and the Flamenco show could only be viewed from the bar. My husband and I were ready to leave, as we weren't informed about this change till we asked about it and we had waited for 5 weeeks to reserve a good table. At that point, Kevin, one of the managers at Amada, came to our table, very nicely explained the reason for the stage location change, and promised to reserve chairs for us right by the Flamenco show at the bar. So my husband and I enjoyed the great tapas selections, then moved to the bar (to our reserved barstools) enjoyed the great Flamenco show, and we asked for the check only to find out that our dinner was on Amada for the night. more