La Paella
214 E 9th St., East Village, NY
map & more
We’ve walked by this place a million times and based on looks alone, never considered it for a meal. But when a reliable source recommended it, we decided to hit La Paella up. Apparently our friend likes his tapas on a level playing field with airplane food. Lesson learned, just because a friend generally has good taste in life doesn’t mean you should trust his or her taste buds. Don’t be fooled, although it’s written differently on the menu, just about every dish is served in the exact same sauce; a thin, spicy, garlic and tomato broth that is both oily and forgettable. The service is choppy, music cheesy and everything tastes the same. Bottom line, this is a place you can easily skip. The EV is packed with restaurant talent and we don’t want you wasting your money here like we did.
Food Rundown:
Sliced Rib Eye
This was an embarrassment. Looked and tasted like it was cooked on a George Foreman grill.
Clams in Garlic Sauce
These clams are actually tasty, but six clams for $9.50 just aren’t going to cut it.
Mussels in Spicy Tomato Sauce
Half the mussels weren’t cooked through or were still closed. The sauce they were served in was exactly the same as the clams, just billed a little differently. Bread dunking in mussel broth is one of Infatuation’s favorite pastimes – =bu unfortunately, the sauce was suspect and the table bread was pretty much plain white wonder bread. Oh well.
Patatas Bravas
Roasted potatoes served with garlic and paprika that were undercooked completely lacked in flavor.
Tortilla Espanola
Egg, potato and onion combinations are usually nothing short of dreamy. Unfortunately, this one was dry and bland.
Basque Paella
Being that this is their namesake dish, you’d think this would be the highlight of the meal right? No dice. This mix of chorizo, chicken, sausage, pepper, tomato, langoustine, shrimp, clams, mussels and squid is served over rice that tastes like it came from the bag in a supermarket.
