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Andalucia Tapas and Taverna

A A A Comments (1) By Paul Galvani Wednesday, Dec 2 2009

Adding to the list of restaurants opening in the Houston Pavilions is Youssef Nafaa's Andalucia Tapas and Taverna (1201 San Jacinto, 832-319- 6673). Nafaa is the owner of the Mia Bella restaurants as well as Saffron, the city's only Moroccan restaurant, and Coco's Crêperie. "Since I sold Mi Luna in the Village six years ago, I have always wanted to create a very authentic Spanish restaurant," says Nafaa. "At Andalucia, we have a great energy. It's warm and rustic with dark woods, an iron chandelier and a huge mural of a bullfighter. We're serving tapas and a few entrées like paella for two to 16 people. We have flamenco on Thursdays through Saturdays, and we serve sangria, ports and sherries.

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Mia Bella Trattoria Pavilions

1201 San Jacinto
Houston, TX 77002

Category: Restaurant > Spanish

Region: Downtown/ Midtown

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When asked about the kinds of tapas he's serving, Nafaa says, "We have all the traditional tapas like gambas al ajillo [shrimp cooked in olive oil and garlic], and albóndigas [meatballs], but then we also have some interesting ones like veal tongue and oxtail."

When Dish visited late on the first weekend they were open, the crowds had already gathered, and the festivities and sound were already at a high level. The tapas are divided into two sections, hot and cold, with an incredible selection and prices starting at $3 a plate. In addition to the oxtail and veal tongue, both of which were superb, we also thoroughly enjoyed grilled sardines and fresh anchovies (no similarity to the salty kind). For a couple of brief hours, we were transported to a bustling taberna in the middle of Madrid. Nafaa has captured the food and atmosphere perfectly. Warning: the sangria is the most potent (and best) we've ever tried.

Got the latest info on restaurant openings, closings, special events and gossip? E-mail us at dish@houstonpress.com.

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01/21/2012 3:20:00 PM

There are certain restaurants in Houston that have acquired a trend factor so that people flood them and their geometric shapes that are designed to make them seem loud and popular maybe like people are having a great time. There is a place for loud but not being able to enter your order over the noise is not one of them. When the younger waiter who seems like he is not introverted and bothered by noise seems affected by trying to talk over the noise then it is a little uncool- not super uncool, I don't retreat but you know it's like the off rythm and very loud laughing at Oporto on a crowded night, it's eventually not a cool version of noise. There are long tables like I think they have in Spanish places where family/friends go together to eat and it gets packed in. The kind of people who were here on my day were mostly young and then a large crowd of black people and a few minorities. The kind of people who you don't usually see at El Meson, currently the best Spanish food in Houston. The girls often wear the very short and bareback outfits while they pace back and forth in the place on multiple occasions. Yes and no. The noise factor works great if like them you want to excitedly talk in short phrases while drawing attention to yourself. Ok I get to people watch and check them out. It works if you are a younger guy or some other male and don't know what to say and want to fake it because you overthink about talking instead of staying in the moment and improving over an unforeseen timetable and hey I get that one, it's one of my many problems too. The Flamenco was great. The woman sang off-key but that is the tradition and expected (I have read) amongst the purists because it allows the singer to express true or more soulful emotions about the joys and disappointments of his or her life in a spontaneous and oral manner that is not written down. It's really amazing when you think about it how much drama and passion you can get in the music and with the crowd noise from an acoustic guitar, a wooden board and hand claps. The dancing was cool. But I can go to their theatrical performance at the theater for that and really experience what they can do in a better manner, and so on. As for the drinks and food- the drinks were pretty high- wine pretty much starts at $8 or $9 a glass and from there as a gage. The tapas were $8 or $9 for in our case just the tapa and nothing else on the plate. My partner said that the lamb tapa she ordered that was raved about as the house specialty by the waiter was very tough and they took it back and promised they would bring out the beef version- they = waiter plus managers?/owner?- version of the dish that would be much more tender. This never happened and somehow I didn't check and they didn't take the lamb off the bill. My paella was a good standard seafood version, a little more than you usually may pay for it but not unreasonable and with a great assortment of seafood. I don't know how to judge it so much because the tastes are more base than say Mexican food. I like Mexican spices, Cervevie, Campuchana and the rest of it but this is not about any of that- it is a Spanish variation of seafood and different but also very good. So I will say that based on what I saw the cooking should be more consistent. Maybe less items on the menu and concentrate on more uniformity in the quality. My dining partner made the mistake of ordering the cheese and meat plate. For $15+ dollars the two pieces of toast, and del cut cheese slice, meat and about 4 olives were not a great addition to the meal. I can get a better version of that kind of cold plate at Cafe Pita + on the other side of town for about $6-$7 last time I was there and get to be with the locals. My partner is big on dessert so we had it. It took a lot longer to come out than the Paella which was out in about 3-5 minutes. Maybe !5-20 minutes? I'm not the world's dessert eater but I will eat what I see and I don't hate dessert although I order it a lot less on my own. The apple tart had god filling. If you want your crust doughy then it was good too. The creme brulee that I got so she could try it was standard, good. But I'd rather see more unique desserts on the menu than the Ceasar Salads of the pastry industry. Maybe that's just what people expect to see or the crowd at this place isn't very demanding in terms of choices. Although dessert should not be the breaker at this place- it should be deemphasized. The bill was pretty high after 15% at over $100 but we did get two desserts, a beer, wine, coffees and cheese tray. Seafood Paella costs some too. So it was not too over the top, we just feed into the itemized billing that they probably get from the medical industry down the block. But over all with the $10 parking, circling around the place to figure out how to park and the obstructions of people, workers and so on making it hard for me to navigate the traffic, the no rectifying on the bill for the too tough lamb (once burnt, lesson..) and so on I would not go back. No I didn't say anything and my partner just paid the bill but still. I love the idea of experiencing different things that I like but louder is for a cool Indie Rock show or say if you are getting caught up in South by Southwest. I am more found of experiencing different cuisine I can like where the experience is more based on the culture surrounding the food not the migration of the Richmond crowd to downtown. I would rather get that experience at a sports bar or somewhere else in that range. Ir's about seeing the waiters work the Sushi and then the presentation of the meal and variety of items and using chopsticks to eat it. Or say eating with the Asian families at Tofu Village and getting to interact with the African owners of the place or having the coffee cermony. Watching the Eithiopians debate back and forth and the music without the crowd noise over it. I don't know I don't want to spend $10 parking and the high end of fair price at today's market prices to have an American trendy distract bar experience when I am trying to experience unusual foods. I can get that experience already at Hugos and get ripped off at $20 for a taco or two with low-grade meat and avoid the parking fee. If I want the crowd it's going to be the owner going crazy on me with the native born at Hamalays although having said that he did serve and charge for without even asking the most tough meat I have even been served and that was totally inedible at an inflated price and then told us we could put it in the oven and it would be the most tender meat ever and more tender than the most expensive steak. I guess that's why dude is considered so authentic and all part of the show that causes people to flock back to him. My Table raves about the place but then says you are only supposed to order one dish there. funny they often rip a place for one dish that I imagine isn't even supposed to be a sigaiture cuisine of the place like they haven't eaten anything else. And you like ok things at Clabournes are bizzarely bad as reviewed by critics I get that and I am a Luby's man myself so far but I seem to remember that Clabournes had excellent looking Med food and you know they only focus on teh worst food and leave out options that you woudln't expect at such a place so sometimes the reviews are a little unfair. . A little annoying because that inconsistency in review makes it harder to get to the cool dining experiences in Houston. However if and when I can do it minus partner I would go back to Himalaya if I order right and get the authentic experience amongst the crowd and go for a Seinfield night O' entertainment and whatever else in the area. Ok so I liked Andulacia but not enough to want to go back not after I was jerked around with the trying to park, parking fees ($10!),, not getting the refund for the tough meat and other things and I can see the tourist show in a better format/place in a theater. It's great that a tourist show can be real and cool. If you want Spanish food El Meson in the Village is better (for instance the gazpacho is better with more of the flavors you expect) and the bill is cheaper. I like that you can sit at the bar and talk to the Mexican guy there and not have to face the party scene while eating. Sometimes a scene is good though. The alternative of having a club membership and deciding the chicks are too off to consider and increasingly just staring at your ipad and eating the same menu there over and over on a weekly basis with a lot of the food tweaked in the same ways for the generations of older people who were never foodies while probably reducing your comfort zones is a danger zone according to Psychologists and man I don't want to increasingly be in that place either. But the migrated Richmond crowd or the kind of scene like at the current trendy Indian place on Upper Kirby- I don't know you have to make it the night's entertainment to really benefit from it and be able to make cool sound bytes above the crowd. I'd rather enjoy some other form of entertainment after or before eating. Although in the right bar setting and for sports or music that experience can be great. And one day I may be down there to check out House of Blues. There is a lot to love about the new downtown scene so it is kind of sad that so many commercial elements that critics rightfully remind us in their non-direct ways we should not like as true enjoyers of experience get in the way of things. And it's kind of bizzare to see it next to HOB because this is a night out standalone expeirence as far as I am concerned unless I guess you want to dance to canned music afterwards. I would want to have my fat for the week on a good diner meal or burger or something else before or after a rock music show- and I wouldn't gotto the place and then really want to go see a midnight film. Or that range of combining experiences which is way too much analysis but when phrased better than I wrote it at the heart of diverse experiences in Houston versus the commercial aspects. But ultimately I'm just at the no place for not going to this place again. There are if I can know about and find them too many places for me to try and do in Houston if I can know about them and get to them because things aren't in one area and well hyped and you can trust they are as advertised like in Austin and you go to the Paramount and yes that is the real deal and why the theater experience can be great and cause the kids to be in total awe of what it really means to see a movie. And at least in Austin they don't over-trend you like this place in Houston. And at Meson you have the option of very good Tex-Mex or Cuban and it's a good place to go to before you go to an event in the area such as at Rice or the Bach Society. Albeit they rip you off on the parking at Rice too now so man on some things you still can't win. But when you get to the bottom line it's really all about finding diversity of experiences in Houston that allow you get to what you value in a cool setting or experience for you and in a way that works well for that situation without the super itemized bill. The addition of all the commercial elements at Andulacia and the inconsistency of the menu is a detraction. Extra usually unwanted noise or feedback can be cool but in the right place. Like a midnight screening of the Warriors where the black man has his leg up on the seat talking to a younger guy and looking very confident while the crowd is talking before the show and then talking back at the screen during- that is cool and the way it should be. If I want to observe the chicks walking back and forth I can do it at Richmond and avoif the higher prices and $10 parking fee... I need to start learning how to get more bang out of my entertainment funds like I imagine some of the gay men do in experiencing what the city has to offer in food and the other forms of entertainment. I feel like I'm not really getting my whole dollars worth somehow...

Andalucia Tapas and Taverna

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Mia Bella Trattoria Pavilions

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Andalucia Tapas and Taverna

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