If you recall, we reviewed Si Tapas in Richmond a few months ago. Our conclusion was “if Si Tapas can overcome a difficult location, a very large venue and do a par or better job with service, then Mas should watch out, in fact, everyone in Charlottesville should watch out because small plates with unique tastes are winners in this town. I’m really looking forward to Si Tapas and I hope you are too.”
So, what’s going on at the Charlottesville Si Tapas?
With comments like “We (X-Lounge) finally got our bartender Calvin back from Si” and “So Si has cut bartender’s shifts because nobody is going to the shows at Is, and now all these poor tenders have to beg for their shifts back at the places they ditched for Si” something is wrong.
Is Si suffering already? Who knows, but Anoop’s review elicited an interesting comment which ended “Anyhow, C-villians will find out soon enough.” We’ve also heard that their music venue, named Is has a pretty good design, but had some problems with its original promoter/booker. Now, to the experience…
Food
I can’t say the food is any different from the Richmond location. I have sampled a lot more of the menu and I can say that about half the menu comes out of the kitchen in a few minutes and the other half takes a “normal” amount of time. My rule of thumb: avoid anything that comes out of the kitchen extremely fast, *COUGH* fried. The fried food at Si is overpriced and not good. The potatoes and polenta fries are bland, the calamari still is undersized and the empanadas aren’t quite there. On the sauce front, dining gets boring because many of the dishes are paired with the same two sauces, aioli and marinara. It’s not that the sauces aren’t good, it’s that when you spend $8 to $10 per tapas, you want to feel some unique love from your chef, not like just another dinner hookup.
Mas and Si share similar regular dishes: the broccolini, the bacon wrapped dates, and the olive mix. Mas is only beat in the olive mix, but then again you do have to pay for olives at Si. On the meats and seafood, Si has a much better menu. We’re fans of the short rib, but when it gets down to it, price wise, Mas has Si beat in almost every food category. I also feel like it’s more expensive to go to Si which makes me think that it will be hard to justify going here in the future.
Ambiance
I don’t have pictures to share with you, but I like the design. Some have described it as a hodgepodge of Pier One decor, but the layout gives you four distinct areas (i.e. bar area, front, middle and back dining areas). While it is a large restaurant, you never feel like you are sitting in something too big. It’s inviting and a nice deviation from your Charlottesvilleau-brick.
Service
Si listened to us when we told them to focus on service. So far, I have yet to have a bad experience with any server at Si. The team actually seems happy to be there, enjoys making you feel worthwhile and wants to help you. I haven’t been there after the recent departures by the original staff, but I hope they can maintain this, because it’s not normal to have good service in Charlottesville. Go Si!
Overall
I think I got lucky with my food experience in Richmond, because I’m starting to think that Si needs to step it up in the food department. When you can charge $10 for stuffed red peppers, you need to serve the best freaking red peppers ever. And, they aren’nt.
Sure, you can expect a table and high quality service on a Friday night, but that’s not the whole thing. Even if you ignore the fried food, I’d say your dining experience will be better at Mas. That’s it. Food trumps service in this town and I hope Si brings takes us to a new level because the place has potential, but it’s missing the mark.
What do you think?
Tagged as: Charlottesville, dining, Food, Mas, Restaurant, review, si tapas, tapas
I went and the service was really good and the food was tasty. But then I thought about dropping by for a snack one night later and realized there wasn’t any one item on the menu I was craving, except maybe the fondue. With Mas, I yearn for some of their menu items. I salivate thinking about them. Si just doesn’t have that effect on me.
But what did you think of the aioli, Thor? Was it real? Was it good? You are the Aioli Nazi.
“On the meats and seafood, Si has a much better menu”… last I checked beef tongue, pork shank, duck confit, chicken, rabbit, venison, jamon iberico, jamon serrano, kobe beef and veal were not on Si’s menu. Also, Si’s menu is not Spanish tapas… just because it has “tapas” in the name doesn’t put it in direct competition with Mas more or less than with Zinc or Bang: all different takes on small plates
@3, i.e. better than its vegetarian menu.
Si is ok. But given the stiff competition for my food dollar, I cant imagine going back any time soon.
I’ve heard similar opinions on the food. Adequate, but nothing that leaves an impression they way Mas’ bacon wrapped dates or ham roll thing do (my mouth just started watering). Someone told me they “over hired” for the bar, which is an interesting spin on the bartender situation.
i’ve never been to si, & i don’t plan on going. but seriously, what is up with you hating on service in c’ville? i can’t think of a single meal i’ve had where my complaints about the service stemmed from anything but my idiosyncrasies. service here is good.
i didnt like the sound of the microwave constantly going off, and then to have the meatballs arrive immediately after ordering… weak IMO. very similar menu as mas, for me, there is no comparison. mas pays way more attention to the details, even though their service takes a hit, much more worth my time. at least this will keep the uva kiddo’s at bay, as the “JV” Mas.
i’ve never been to si
And you never stood by their bar and licked tequila off your breast either. Nosiree.
And you never stood by their bar and licked tequila off your breast either.
That may happen again tonight.
/just throwing it out there. Take it our leave it.
oh, sorry. i’ve never EATEN at si. but i have stood by their bar and licked tequila off my breast.
& i don’t plan on going to si to EAT, but i would return to lick tequila off my breast.
of course, i could do that anywhere, preferably someplace with good food.
@10 i almost said “like mas.”
The bacon wrapped dates I had at Si were mush with a bacon skin, awful. The stuffed squid with black rice was good as far as the squid, but the rice was burnt and crunchy. Just not acceptable. Ambiance is okay, but nothing special. Mas is superior in every way. I want Si to succeed. They need to resolve the food issues. The food should be the easy part. As an aside, it might also bode well to renovate the ladies room. From what I was told it has the same broken toilet seat from when the place was Blue Ridge Brewing.
didnt like the sound of the microwave constantly going off
We addressed this in the other thread. Si doesn’t even HAVE a microwave. It’s called a timer, dude. Most restaurants use them cause they keep the time and shit. Handy.
I think Si could work on the mall, but on W. Main. It needs to be more of a destination for that location. The menu’s too limited (unlike Mas). I could see going there for app’s before going elsewhere for dinner, but not when you have to schlep “way” out there. I liked the food, I liked the service - I like the place - just not enough to leave my mall cocoon on a regular basis …
We (I) should’ve told the owners that the reason they were busy on Fridays, and that everyone there knew each other, was because of who was behind the bar. Cutting back on her shifts was a major mistake.
sdigga is a goldmine! You really effed that up, Si management.
Is Si non-smoking? Mas would be a lot better if it was too. When are people gonna go outside and smoke?
went to si last night - loved the warmed up decor, not so much the ladies broken toilet seat, loved the lamb meatballs and patatas bravas (loved tomato condiment but thought aoili should have been thicker, a bit runny for our taste), but thought scallops with wayyyy too many olives not a good match. Thought bartender under-hired (we’re hiring surly high school kids now??), waitstaff rather casual in their hangin’ around the kitchen door like they were just getting out of class, but then was impressed with the service from both our waitress and the assistant manager as they seemed to want and appreciate our comments/suggestions.
Let us not speak ill-will of Si. Though the one time I ate there the food was baby-shit(!) compared to Mas, and the music venue was inundated with creatures eating dick sandwiches, I say with certainty that Si is the guardian of the coveted “ILL NANA” of Charlottesville.
She keeps our Mas, Aqui, and Michoacana safe.
The little we have left of superior light-bearing music coming to charlottesville is being received at the Outback(aka the Taint of the Underworld). Si is the potential cum-dumpster to keep the evil away, allowing a new light to shine for future Charlottesville venues — Let her receive the hope of minions who want to be the next OAR and/or Hootie and the Blowfish. Let her receive the Sublime and Red Hot Chili Peppers cover bands!
fuck, where did my lighter go?
am i in the high tide burrito thread yet?
@17 nope…smoking at both places.
@7 goddammit, i have to retract my statement about the good service. proved wrong on the day i said it, even.
Orchid, do we get details or are you too traumatised?
@21: What, did it take like 15 minutes before I even got a drink?
@11 hot
@23: Yah, it was easier for you to solicit random anonymous pr0n
@24: Do you have an iPhone? We’ll send you a picture of it. $20.
we went in a few weeks ago. My husband and I had different menus, one had a forth column. When we asked the server which was was the right menu, she was really confused so we pointed out the forth column and said we just wanted to make sure that we could order from the 4th column. She took both our menus, and when she came back she said, well actually neither of these menus are wrong, the one just didn’t have the last column. I don’t go out to dinner to be told I’m wrong by the wait staff, even when I am in fact wrong (which I wasn’t).
We ordered calamari and papas bravas because I think you should be able to judge any tapas menu by those two items. They might not be the best two things on the menu, but they should be done correctly, and if there not, then probably not much on the menu is.
The calamari was criminally overdone to the point where they weren’t edible. We sent it back. The second calamari and the papas bravas both were fine. The papas bravas were deep fried, which in itself isn’t wrong, but they just weren’t right.
We left and got dinner somewhere else.
Si’s papas bravas= French fries with a tiny ramekin of aioli and a tiny ramkein of marinara
Mas’s papas bravas= skillet filled with hot fried potatoes smothered in rich greasy aioli heavenliness
There is way too much aioli conversation on here. Yuck!~
Aioli is the glue that holds the world together, Thurston. Good aioli.
@29: Don’t make me throw brussels sprouts at you dude.
-just wondering why our favorite server, Eric isn’t there???????…best one there from the beginning!
He’s not there anymore? Well, then there is no longer any reason to go.
@27….what was the problem with the server’s response? I think I’m missing something.
@34, i think he/she’s just saying the food wasn’t worth it
@35 - Yeah, that part I got. I didn’t ask my question well. I’m confused about what the issue with the server was about the menu in the first paragraph.
When I went, one of the people I was with had to open the bottle of wine that we ordered because the waitress didn’t know how to. No one is immune to screwing up a cork, it can happen to anyone… but literally not knowing how to use an opener?
@33 no reason to go to CDC if he’s not there, either.
@37 that happened to me back in the day. i mean, i was the one who didn’t know how to open a bottle of champagne. thanks, managers for making the customer teach me. but it just happened the once. i recently had to teach a friend how to use a wine key, & she’s always made much of her years of restaurant experience. of course, she IS really dumb.
/one thing that can be said for our waitress on monday: she did know how to open wine. …eventually…
@38: Um, B-yo’s gonna be there. That’s enough.
Im afraid CDC won’t dig the choons - they are a fairly mainstream lot, no? I wish i’da known this was going on I coulda been better prepared. Ah well, do my best, and keep the volume down, I suppose.
@39 i meant EVAR, not just tonight.
@40 hopefully the most mainstream of them will be scared off so it’s not so crowded with whitehats as it usually is.
Byo… best to play it safe… might I suggest you open with something like this popular ditty
@41: the tattered hatters!
@42: I. Can’t. Turn. It. Off. Please. Help. Me.
The best openings to dj sets lately have been coming from a dj named deadmau5.
Check it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7tI1E6kp0o
Protip: Not really him in the beginning, real beginning is at 1:30.
40,000+ people and you’re rockin it in in a cartoon mouse head. And here I am worried about the tattered hatters…
Lulu… don’t fight it… you are one of us now.
@45….Byo check out the competition he’s running on his myspace…
Just throwing this out there… is there a chance that, subconsciously even, Charlottesville residents would prefer for a restaurant to originate in Charlottesville than to have it imported and recreated here? Has this already come up? It’s kind of like dating–the sloppy seconds concept.
And that our reaction is purely offense, much in the way I’d be pissed if the dude I was dating had gone after my sister first? Good freaking point. We take our restaurants just as seriously as dating, tis true.
@48..one would think an imported recreation of a sister restaurant would be able to get things right. Training techniques should be in place and menu prep down pat. Didn’t see that either visit. Will give the chance for proverbial third strike. We’ll see.
@48 we like 5 guys.
Maybe its just me but….
Right, if all five guys had my sister fisrt, AND gave bad service, I’d be upset.
Is that supposed to be fist or first?…. in your own time duck.
Floozy, I was actually timing you to see how long that would take. Making sure your reflexes are good.
Need to amend that statement:
Right. If all five guys had my sister first, had weak sauce and limp fries, AND gave bad service, I’d be upset.
That’s funny Floozy but I was thinking you’d say the we took our restaurants more seriously.
‘Cause at a restaurant, everybody expects you to swallow on the first date.
hahahahaha… did I disappoint?
@57: Except at Si. Then it’s being spit out all over the floor, and there’s a terrible sticky mess to clean up.
never
@57: that’s just crude. thanks for your support, charlottesville!
oy….late to the party Josh. Grab some Tater Tots, grits, deer jerky, a fine Merlot and 2 extra hot wings, nachos, Gentlemen Jim’s and a PBR. And some cheese. I’m the chick sitting quietly at the end of the bar. The most dangerous one of the bunch.
or not really…I’m doing laundry and my cats are annoying me…but I thought I would go all leather and Matrix on you for a minute..
i’m wearing a black wifebeater and a hoodie and black suede boots. and i smell like smoke. less serious? perhaps. f y’all.
@64: I blame you, btw.
i’m wearing white leggings and a white t-shirt and bare feet. and i smell like nag champa. less serious?
perhaps. f y’all.
@65 blame barboursville. dammit, i forgot to order the case of cabernet sauvignon france! @64 i suck at life, and that’s that.
the smoke is left over from last night, obvi.
@66 i may be fetal on a badly decorated armchair but i am still cute. white leggimgs? nosomtuch.
Not Barboursville. I blame you re: Miami/VT. Not enough bitching about Mr. J (yeah, the “mister” is a stretch).
Hope you feel better.
huge strethc. we won? i mean, not we. those baddies. seriouslt? bc i am perfectly capatble of bitching mroe about him.
i am. it was really just THA T half hour. let’s drink some more!
@69: Check you email and come join me. Unless you have a bottle of wine you had your eye on.
Dear, dear orchid - are you that drunk at this hour? I’m still working up to a good buzzzzzz.
@70- where are you?;)
@66- i hope for your sake you shaved before putting those leggings on.
/just reading “leggings” made the hair that isn’t on my legs feel squirrely from days of yore.
@72: Ventana
in means window in spanish.
parlie, you’re like the villains personal rosetta’s stone.
genius!
@73. if i show up, it will be in my pajamas.
you can see me from the bathroom.
if i show up in scoriole’s pajamas, you can call the cops and i will understand.
i just got home from showing up in my own pajama’s and slippers at ventana. you all should have shown up.
/please call the cops if parlie shows up anywhere in my pajamas.
@70 i think i fell asleep in the intervening 15 minutes. good thing–driving downtown probably wouldn’t have been possible.
Dear Josh Hutter,
I’m sorry you had to see my chablogurum friends dissing your new place. But seriously, your management needs to step it up. You and the fonduta are the only things I love at that place.
xoxo,
shenanigans
@78: That’s probably a good thing.
that chef josh is h-o-t-t HOTT
Yeah he is!
I ate here tonight and it was awesome. Atmosphere was great and the olives were amazing. Papas bravas= don’t try them…Broccolini…do try and the Empanada’s were amazing. Different than Mas, there are things I must have at Mas and now there are things I must have at Si.
Si is great. I work there so maybe I am biased, but whatever. Josh puts out some amazing dishes. Everything… EVERYTHING is made from scratch with as many local ingredients that we can possibly use. So think about that before you say things are overpriced. The wine list rocks, the atmosphere rocks. If you don’t go check it out you are truly missing out. Oh yeah btw… EVERY Tuesday night is 2 for one tapas. Think its overpriced? Two for one on the bar side every Tuesday should make it fit into your budget. Thanks for reading. XO
there are also other specials that I cannot mention here that are def worth checking out every other night of the week…ESPECIALLY Sundays. Hope to see you all soon. XO
Si is great! The food is great, the atmosphere is great, and the prices are reasonable. We ordered 2 glasses of sangria, 4 tapas (we were stuffed), 2 desserts, and 2 coffees. The total price without tip was $68.
Well I went to Si last night and had the WORST dining experience ever with the WORST, RUDE service ever.
My beau and I had an 8pm reservation for a 7-course wine dinner, which was going to be our Valentine’s Day dinner. This time was posted both on their website, and in their ad.
We arrived 10 minutes past 8 and were informed that they were already on the 3rd course.
Turns out they changed the dinner time to 7:30 without updating their website.
They did not want to serve us the early-serve courses we would have been paying for, and the manager had the nerve to tell us that “Since you were late. . .” What a lack of finesse!
After hesitation, we left and went to Zoccalo where our similarly-priced dinner was delicious and served by a pleasant, informative waiter.
STFU already. You were late and that’s that.
WTF, it looks like somebody discovered the cut and paste function for the first time. One post, maybe you’d get some sympathy, someone might tactfully point out that you were late. But keep reposting and everybody just thinks you’re a git.
For what it’s worth I have found that Si Tapas in Cville is absolutely amazing and have yet to have a bad time: the food is always hot and tasty, the servers are always smiling, friendly and timely, and their drinks are outstanding from bartenders formerly of The Boar’s Head (where can you get a Strawberry Margarita made with freshly muddled strawberries?!)! I’ve never had to wait, unlike at some other tapas restaurants around here, and I’ve never been made to feel uncomfortable or looked down upon by the waitstaff. So far I’ve had the Pork Empanadas, the Broccolini (very garlicky), the Bread and Fondue (very cheesy), the Polenta Fries (again, deliciously cheesy) and the Avocado fries (I used to hate avocado but these have made me a convert).
If all of this doesn’t just rope you in, they have a great happy hour with $3.50 rails and although they don’t have any beers on tap, the availability of domestics and especially micro brews is fantastic, they’re well-priced as well. Half-priced bottles of wine on Mondays? Half-priced martini Wednesdays? 20% off tapas on Thursdays with a UVa ID? How could you go wrong??
Although I haven’t been upstairs to the music venue they have plenty of bands that come through every weekend including some local favorites. And even if you don’t head upstairs, they have 2 local guitarists that come in on Fridays to play downstairs.
If you haven’t been, go and enjoy some tapas!
meh, this comment looks extremely pre-planned and the same one is posted on the HOOK’s review of Si Tapas as well.
http://www.readthehook.com/blog/index.php/2008/09/26/si-arrives-next-week-bringing-is-with-it/
Should we call her bluff? This looks suspiciously like someone that either works for the restaurant or is related to one of the owners/managers/employees.
Yeah… too much detail.
& she’s only had 5 things. how many times has she been there?
or is she one of those boring people who goes to a tapas place & orders the same thing every time?
& i agree with echo.
I’ve never had to wait, unlike at some other tapas restaurants around here…
There’s a reason you never have to wait. It’s because no one goes there because it isn’t good.