After seeing the White House from afar, we walked a few blocks over to Taberna del Alabardero for an early dinner. When browsing quickly on Google, I completely overlooked how elegant the restaurant would be since I was just excited for some tapas. Needless to say, we felt fairly underdressed in our vacation-wear, but the staff didn't seem to mind and took great care of us throughout our meal. With this being more of a fine dining spot, pricing is steeper. Some sections of the menu note that the listed price is per portion (like for paella), so you'd need to multiply the price by the number of people eating it. If you're sticking with tapas, like we did, you don't need to worry about this. While waiting for our food, one waiter came by with a bread basket and I selected a slice of their raisin bread. In general, the service was outstanding. They traded our plates out halfway through and kept our waters full. The waitstaff appears to work together on tending to all tables, which they did with great organization. + PULPO A LA GALLEGA ($20): Tender pieces of octopus were served with potatoes and sprinkled liberally with Spanish paprika. The octopus was perfectly firm and not rubbery at all. The dish overall tasted very natural. + TORREZNOS DE SORIA ($15): This cured pork belly had a super crispy exterior and was sprinkled with what I believe was paprika. The pieces of pork were meaty and had pretty proportionate layers of meat to fat. + GAMBAS AL AJILLO ($19): Plump and deshelled shrimp in a garlic olive oil. Between the crispy garlic pieces and mild heat from red pepper flakes, these shrimp had so much flavor. My favorite plate of the night! + TXIPIRONES EN SU TINTA CON ARROZ ($20): Baby squid with ink sauce and rice. The squid was so tender and I could not get enough of the creamy buttery rice. Definitely order this. + POLLO AL AJILLO ($16): Pan-seared rosemary chicken in a garlic & white wine sauce. While the chicken was nicely cooked, I actually didn't taste much garlic and instead, the rosemary dominated the flavor. Meh, I'd skip this dish. + MOLLETE DE TXANGURRO ($16): The menu describes this as just a crab cake, but it actually came in sandwich form, like a slider. The bread overpowered the crab cake which was somewhat bland by itself. It came paired with a small side of greens, tossed in a slightly tangy, sweet, onion-y dressing. + BERENJENAS FRITAS CON MIEL ($10): Thin slices of eggplant fried to a golden brown and drizzled with honey. I've never had eggplant like this before... it was truly addicting! We loved the eggplant and shrimp dishes so much that we got a second serving of both. At the end of our meal, they served complimentary butter cookies and chocolate crisp treats for a sweet ending. The classy atmosphere, attentive friendly service and variety of food made this a worthwhile splurge and wonderful experience.

The food was so good. We went for happy hour. The olives were European quality. I could have eaten 4 of these bowls! The service was efficient. The ambiance was impeccable. It felt like you were in Spain with the decor and quality of food. There was live music that started at 8pm. We went on a Thursday. Highly recommend.

Nice Spanish restaurant with an extensive and traditional Spanish menu. Unfortunately my dining companion wanted to eat paella so I did not have the opportunity to try a different dish. However we did have the Serrano and manchego cheese plate which was just the right size as an appetizer. We also had the gazpacho that we both loved and the mixed paella was delicious. Our waiter was very attentive. The hostesses however, we're a different story. They seemed a little flustered with the line of guests and were short in courtesy. Worse part was on our way out I asked if they could call a cab (pretty much the norm in any restaurant) and I was told "they didn't do that". I was with a person with disabilities and wouldn't have asked except I was not familiar with the area. This is a nice restaurant with pretty high prices. I would have expected a little more on the service part. That's the difference between a good restaurant and a great one.

Came here for happy hour after a long day at work. Enjoyed sitting on the patio with the fans offering a cooling breeze. The staff were quite attentive, though one female server took away our utensils when one of my colleagues said she wasn't staying past one round of drinks and the server assumed we weren't ordering tapas or entrees. My caipirinha was delicious and I would have loved some Brazilian cheese bread but after my two remaining colleagues & I finished our drinks, we chose to go elsewhere for dinner.

Totally delighted with this restaurant. Beautiful and classic decor. The service was more than perfect and the food was simply finger-licking good. "Patatas bravas o con allioli" is something you can't miss, the most delicious potato I've ever eaten, "sollomillo de cervical whriskey con patatas" I have no words to describe that sauce, if it wasn't rude I would lick the plate and the "Pollo en salsa de cerveza con patatas" best chicken ever. The price is completely fair and not overpriced for the location! A big plus is that by checking in on Yelp you get 1 free sangria. And it's delicious!

This place is unexpectedly authentic and not a tourist trap,which would be very logical considering their location. Parking was convenient and fully validated.Service was superb,food was almost perfect! We got paella,gazpacho dessert. Everything was very good to perfect. The biggest difference between Alabardero and other places is a flamenco show,which was beautiful performance. Now to cons. Restaurant doesn't have a dedicated scene for show,do very few tables got a full unobstructed view of dancer and musicians. Lastly,prices are pretty high,so this is not a place for regular weekend activities,you can't eat for less than 60-70 dollars per person,even if you opt out drinks. If you have something to celebrate,this is a must to go.

Spanish restaurant with great atmosphere. Every worker was helpful and attentive. I was not very hungry so ordered a shrimp tapas and pork tapas and the shrimp was seasoned perfectly. The pork was cooked as advertised, but the shrimp was a hit. I completed the meal with apple pie and a coffee. The apple pie was so tasty! Two days later I ate here again and ordered a Tapas calamari and egg plant. I really enjoyed the egg plant it was cut very thin and was crispy like chips. I completed the meal again with another apple pie. Clean place and cool atmosphere. A must try place.

I suppose with all of the restaurants available in DC, if I find somewhere I come to twice in a week - it probably deserves 5 stars. I stumbled upon this restaurant when looking for a flamenco show. I love flamenco and wanted to see some. This restaurant popped up as having flamenco on the weekends. I immediately snagged a reservation. You don't have to buy tickets for the show, just make a reservation during the show time. You can tip the performers at the end if you are so inclined. I was. The first time I went was as a double date, the second time as a girls night. The wait staff remembered me! They even remembered I have a food allergy! Imma call that service. The food? Amazing. We got tapas, paella, and dessert. I loved all of the taps I had, the tomato bread one with iberico ham is so good, the tortilla is prob one of the best I've had, and the apple pie...the apple pie! Delicious. I didn't find anything I tried that wasn't extremely good. I couldn't try a few things on the menu because of my food allergy, which was disappointing - but it was great that the staff knew the menu, ingredients, and cooking processes well enough to safely advise me. They also confirmed everything with the kitchen. The flamenco shows were great. They had musicians and dancers both nights. I am going to return. Next week perhaps?