I don’t have a particularly good history with this place. First, it’s named an alcoholic drink that could easily be mistaken for fruit punch. Second, the last time I went my stomach seemed to think it was sick, so I couldn’t eat anything. Third, that same night we didn’t have a reservation so we were stuck in the waiting area of a crowded restaurant and ate on a converted foozball table. As a critic, however, I have to cover all bases, so I’ve come back to this Spanish restaurant for a rematch.

This time my parents actually got a reservation for 6:00 pm. A strong lemony smell was present upon entering. Sangria is the only restaurant I have been to in the last six or seven years that had a coat check. As usual with coat checks, however, I refused its services. The whole restaurant was of average size, consisting of a smaller-than-average main restaurant and a smaller-than-average bar area. The main restaurant and the bar area have different menus, with the bar’s food menu consisting mostly of tapas.

I have noted that most, if not all, restaurants have extremely low lighting, or at least lower than what you would find in your own home. I think restaurants do it to give the place a little ambiance, but it can be a real pain when you try to read a menu. Because of this, I have to judge the lighting of a particular restaurant by the standards that restaurants set for themselves, and Sangria is extremely well lit by those standards.

There was a small candle on the table, which is nice but unnecessary. The bread basket was extremely satisfying, yet not very filling at the same time. The menus were leather-bound, which is not very often seen. The menu choices were written in Spanish with the English translations written in parentheses. We ordered two tapas, albondigas (meatballs) and croquettes with ham and chicken. I ordered lenguado a la plancha (grilled filet of sole), an extremely predictable choice for me, ever the fish lover. My mom ordered arroz con pollo (rice with chicken and chorizo). My dad ordered a boiled one-and-a-quarter-pound lobster, and Mia, my sister, ordered entraña a la parrilla (skirt steak, seasoned and grilled). I don’t know what skirt steak is, either.

The service was very quick. We got our entrees about fifteen minutes after we ordered. We received a complimentary salad for starters. The dressing was very sour. When the tapas came, I was ever-so-slightly underwhelmed. The croquettes had a certain creamy quality to them, which wasn’t quite as good as I had hoped. The meatballs were okay, but they weren’t much to write home about. My mom appreciated the actual sangria she ordered (unfortunately I couldn’t try it myself for obvious reasons, so I have to rely on her critique).

Very shortly after that the food came and, as usual, mine came last. My dad got the usual lobster bib, which we all made fun of. Mia had a hard time opening the cracker before she realized she was pulling it the wrong way. She tried the lobster and didn’t like it. I tried the lobster and gave very different critique. Mia decided to try her hand at cracking a claw and she couldn’t do it. My fish was more delicate than usual and slightly breaded. The bread crumbs were even better than the actual fish, which was very good in its own right. I asked both my parents for their opinion of my food. My mom said it was nice; my dad said it was good. I didn’t ask my sister because I know she hates fish.

We decided to stay for dessert. I got chocolate mousse cake, which was good but very cold. It took a bit of effort to wipe away the whipped cream from the cake so that I didn’t end up eating it. There was also a strawberry that had been cut up in the shape of a rose.

All in all, I found Sangria to be enjoyable, if somewhat underwhelming. I wouldn’t say it was amazing, but it was good and I would recommend it to someone who likes Spanish food.