Tapalaya

We had an excellent lunch to celebrate birthday. My friend had recommended going here and it was delicious! I’ll be back.

I went to Irving Street Tapas on July 3rd for dinner. The food was delicious and they provided attentive and courteous service even on a busy night.

In a word: WOW!! We were missing Spain, so on a whim decided to go for tapas; and we found a real gem. The staff was amazing (and the bar manager Robert is incredibly friendly and helpful), the drinks were wonderful, and the food was absolutely delicious. One of the things we really loved about it was the international twist on tapas. There were absolutely Spanish items (Croquettes for example), but such wonderful additions as a Mediterranean platter that included lamb, couscous, and literally the best pita we've had anywhere- including in Greece. We also tried the Gyozas (fabulous) and Gambas al adillo (shrimp in a wine/garlic/butter sauce). It was amazing. The drinks are also out of this world. I started with a flight of mules (yes, a flight). It included a Gin Buck mule, Kentucky Mint mule, Pimms Cup mule, and a Spicy Reposado mule. With the exception of the spicy mule (which was made with habanero tequila), they were all fabulous. Even the spicy one wasn't "bad", I just don't really do spicy food. It was good enough that I still drank it! My bride started the night with a Persephone- a gin base drink that was great; very refreshing. The prices were about average dining in the Pearl District of downtown Portland (for two it was just less than $150 before tip), but well worth it (you truly get what you pay for). We will undoubtedly be back- probably sooner than later because there were so many things we still want to try.

Absolutely loved this place! The food was great, the staff was super friendly and the food came out really fast. It's perfect if you want meat, vegetarian and vegan options. We will definitely be back.

We had a delightful experience at Irving Street Tapas! Our server was accommodating to our group of nine. He made great drink suggestions, and guided us well with our tapas choices. We love the seafood paella, lamb curry, mushrooms, potato dishes, and more! My cocktails of choice were the Pearl and the Maripósa Reàl and I would absolutely order them again. Highly recommend!!!

The bartender was AMAZING! Would highly recommend. Our waitress was so pleasant and such a joy. Will be visiting here soon!

Absolutely fabulous. They also have tango lessons on Tuesday nights at 6. I had a first date there and everything was perfect from the high quality of food and service to the ambiance. I highly recommend going!

Excellent service! Great job Rolanda! Food was exceptional and love the ambiance. I’m now a regular and can’t wait to try more dishes.

the is no way one could possibly go wrong, choosing this place as their food destination for the evening. the menu, it's preparation, the service, the atmosphere. even the padded chairs at the tables. fab 👌

Ruby was great! We watched her running around taking care of everyone in the restaurant and staying on top of things. We saw a couple other servers but seemed as if Ruby was doing most of the work. The booth area was a little warm, could have used some more airflow

We were at this venue for a wedding reception, and it was an absolute treat to enjoy the good food and fantastic atmosphere! Paresh was so fantastic and the pride he had in his food and customer service was apparent! Thank you for making our nieces special day memorable!

We were so lucky to come across this restaurant. First of all, the atmosphere and the decor was a lot of fun. Secondly, I know this shouldn’t be a major reason to go to a restaurant, however, it was very easy to find a parking spot and in downtown Portland, that is a plus. Most importantly, the menu is fantastic! There were so many vegan and vegetarian options on top of their normal menu that this will be a place that we will take friends and family moving forward as everybody can find something delicious to eat. Everything we tasted was spot on delicious. Finally, the service was very friendly and quick. To top it off, we noticed that we were double charged for our dessert. However, we had to take off to Keller Auditorium for a show and didn’t have time to say anything to the staff. We figured we would just eat it… No pun intended….oksy, maybe intended. However, sometime during the show, I got a notification that I was refunded for the double charge. It was such a nice surprise to know that the staff was able to catch it on their own and take care of it without us, even having to say anything.

We came not knowing what to expect, with the word “Paella” catching our attention. House drinks were fantastic, everything we tasted before the Paella arrival exceeded expectations, and of course the main dish did not disappoint. Flan to finish off our delightful visit was the cherry on top. To the entire team at Irving Street Tapas, we thank you. Bravo !!!!

Irving Street Tapas is a fantastic spot for vegetarian and vegan food in Portland. The plant-based tapas are creative, flavorful, and clearly made with care—nothing feels like an afterthought. The small plates make it easy to try a variety of dishes, and every one we had was satisfying and well balanced. Cozy atmosphere, great service, and one of the best places in the city for elevated vegetarian and vegan fusion tapas. Highly recommend. Laila was our server who explained the menu and provided a great service.

This place is a hidden gem. We had a cocktail and a charcuterie board. It wasn’t very busy but should be! The service and staff were very friendly and super interested in taking good care of us. The cheese in the charcuterie board was amazing!

Order the paella . Chimichurri, the bread ask for the house made bread, omg so not forget. The calamari and the birria are chefs kiss. Amazing. Calm tranquil and ohy the food. Just go. You will not be disappointed.

Amazing experience!! Grace took care of us the entire time and she was a sweetheart. The food was amazing. Definitely coming back.

Went here for Valentine’s Day, for the first time. Our waitress was Layla, and she was FANTASTIC. So bubbly and friendly and hospitable. She was truly wonderful, and we loved her service! The food was also amazing. We got the potatoes, calamari, and charcuterie. Food was top-notch and high-quality. Atmosphere was cute and homey. Just loved this spot and can’t wait to bring my friends!

Our group of four had a very nice experience a few days ago. We walked into the lovely space and were very happy to find that the food was delicious. We tried the mushrooms, ahi, beets with burrata, Brussels sprouts, peri peri chicken (this was the only one that I would rate okay, not OH MY GOSH that's good), patatas bravas, and two other things I can't remember. I have to eat gluten free and that was easy to do. Our server was pleasant, helpful, and fun, too, when I joked that I needed a long-handled spoon because the four of us were going to share a dessert. He actually came back with a serving spoon for me.

My experience at IST was very good. I really appreciated the hotel’s strong focus on vegan cuisine, which made the dining experience especially enjoyable for me as a vegan. There were many well-prepared vegetarian and vegan options with great taste. The drinks were also good, and the desserts were the highlight of the meal. The vegan biryani was my favorite dish. Overall, a very satisfying experience at IST.

Amazing restaurant for a date night. The food, drinks, and atmosphere were awesome. We had 6 different tapas and all were great. The salmon in particular was outstanding as well as the beets and burrata. The house bread with tomatoes was also surprisingly good. As far as cocktails, the espresso martini was one of the best we've had. Can't recommend this place enough for a night out!

Ruby was amazing! She made the whole experience so comfortable and welcoming while still accommodating our very active conversation. Ruby was so perfect, if you can ask for her personally, you won't regret it!

A tapas place in my neighborhood. It is a quite a large place with so many seating and seatings are nicely distanced. Great for a large party. Food is good and many is fairly extensive. I will definitely come here again.

Our waitress was so wonderful and so kind. The food looked great but tasted sad and lacking seasoning. It would have been so much better with just some salt and pepper. The place looks so great but was pretty empty on a Friday night. My husband and I were wondering why it was so empty but after eating the food we understood. The crabcakes smelt like old fish and looked and tasted like they were deep fried. We got all the sauces on the side and we were so glad we did because they were not good. I think this place could be great with just a bit more seasoning. This was my first restaurant where I added salt and pepper to all my good.

The location is great. Their drinks were pretty good. The food was decent, but some dishes could be improved, like the paneer and lamb curries. Paella was pretty good. Their Pappas fritta could be better.

Nice location. I went on a Thursday evening and was surprised that it wasn’t busier. I had the edamame, the calamari and the steak with Chimichurri sauce. Food was good. The steak was medium rare but still tasted a tad tough though.

Food was ok, great service we sat by the fireplace food was good needs more sauce mushrooms were a bit bland overall filling shrimp as light and tasty the winner of the night was the beef samosas!

Shandi, our server, made our whole experience! She was personable, professional and made great recommendations! The edamame was amazing! The holiday special hot cider (also recommended by Shandi) was exactly what I needed! So good!!!

We went in a large group and considering how many we had the the food seemed to come out a reasonable pace (though not all at once). All the food I sampled was delicious! Since we were there on a Tuesday night midwinter it wasn't terribly busy but our group had a great time. House special old fashioned was excellent too

Great ambience and location, quite an international menu . Our server Leila took good care of us. I bit into a very spicy jalapeno and she was attentive and got me a glass of cold milk - thank you!

We couldn't have been more disappointed. We started with a lovely introduction. Our server was very nice, but quite chatty. It got to be a bit much, but so friendly! The food, however... we ordered the charcuterie and did the 4 options, which means $30. It came with hilariously small portions. 4 extremely thin slices of Cappicola, 4 little slices of Manchego, 2 halved grape tomatoes, 4 dried cherries, 4 tiny cornichons...I have never, in my life, seen more pathetic portions on a charcuterie board. 2 grape tomatoes... come on! The Brussel sprouts were good, the croquettas were bland, and the steak chimichuri smelled so bad we were afraid to taste it. Which i did, if only to confirm that it was bad. Over cooked, and both smelled and tasted like it had gone off.

Well, the place is nice. Parking is easy. Its in a decent part of town. The service was excellent. Unfortunately, the food was very underwhelming. We love Spanish tapas and while this place was supposedly fusion the food was simply not that great. Nothing stood out. Very little in the realm of distinct flavors or even true Spanish tapas flavors. I reluctantly write this review but it's true. The ambience is pretty good. Its a bit cavernous but comfortable.

Im sorry but people rating this place do they lack taste buds or is they figure salt is spicy. We ordered lamb sliders that was 1/5 the lamb was on diet, tried to mask gamey of lamb (when usually they aren’t even gamey with sauces that lacked flavor. Patatas bravas 2/5 a plate of potatoes no sauce, really dry and lacked seasoning on potatoes on half the plate (don’t know how that’s even possible). Croquettes 0/5 1) they are not supposed to be a circular item with no seasoning 2) not supposed to be a big circle of potato 3) its supposed to melt in your mouth not fighting for the frozen cheese and ham that was inside. Flan 3/5 rough but taste like flan nothing special screams for me to get it again $16 worth of an item i can get a 2 pack from traders joes for 3.49 and it’ll be much better in quality and texture Saving grace is the drinks probably want the people drunk to think the rest of the food is good. Overall mid food for $108 glad I didn’t come during valentines I liked my guy Josiah though

Wow, what a disappointment! Over over OVER priced! The server was not good at all, didn't seem to know much about the menu, service was slow and billed us for stuff we didn't order. Food came out in shifts, not all at once. Food was decent, decent not spectacular, just decent. Servers clearly had somewhere to be, because they close at 9 and were clearing the table and definitely pushing us out the door. I would never go there again.

Great spot to people watch during First Thursday! Absolutely Terrible food. Ordered the Peri Peri Chicken and the Beets and Burtata. Both tasted like it came from a can and expired jar of sauces. The canned beer was good!

Server did great but only one person covering a busy floor with sporadic assistance from the bartender. It made for a slow and sporadic dinner and it was hard to get attention. Food was uneven. Some quite good other dishes just average. Not a good value for the price. But the biggest outrage is the wine pricing. $56 for an undistinguished but decent Spanish Rioja. That very same wine is currently on sale at Freddy's for $7.99. Their bottles go way beyond a 100% mark up and that's just wrong. Restaurant owners lament that people don't eat out as often as they should. This place explains why on every level. We had high hopes, celebrating a granddaughter's birthday but we were disappointed and felt ripped off.

How can paella be $40 and so mid, it was way too burnt, more than a Spaniard would want. Curry was also just not great. It’s like an expensive food court that tries to do too many cuisines but charge high end restaurant prices. The live musician was neat but way too loud. It would have been better as background music. Also we had a very large group and the servers seemed annoyed by the thought of trying to figure out where plates went. If the plates cost this much they shouldn’t come with attitude. Maybe they are better suited for small groups.

Second Visit - We visited Irving Street Tapas for the 2nd time yesterday and had a terrible experience. I had noted in my first review that they were short staffed. Looks like they haven't solved that problem and seem to have made it worse by taking on more customers than they can handle. Staff was trying hard but obviously overworked and swamped. One bartender making drinks for a private party of 50 people plus a restaurant full of people. So drinks took 30-40 minutes to make....even a glass of beer was taking that long to get. Took my wife for a birthday and she sat at the table for 45 minutes without her drink! Entire evening was a mess....food and drinks would arrive at random intervals. Food and drinks for other tables kept coming to our table and had to be sent back. Dishes (like the bread) would arrive cold. One dish was sent back twice because they got it wrong (vegetarian even though we ordered meat) When we sat down, we had requested 4 separate checks and were told that wouldn't be a problem. In the end we go one big bill and were told to mark who got what item with a pen. Ended up spending about $100 per couple for a terrible experience overall. A good restaurant is more than just a good ambiance.....you need to figure out service and staffing issues too. Don't seat people if you don't have the staff! And though this negative review is for the terrible service, it's not directed at the staff but at the owners. First Visit - Such a beautiful ambiance. Food was ok. Cocktails were pretty good. But the highlight of this place has to be the staff. Laura was our server for the evening and she was awesome! They were obviously short staffed but she had such a positive attitude and took really good care of us. Thank you Laura!!!

Have never seen a place in greater need of an executive chef. Seriously. Food was nearly inedible. Nearby restaurants were full - not this one. There’s a clue!!! Service was great though.

So here's the long and short of it. The food was an utter disappointment. Patatas Bravas: not even close to the traditional salsa that's served with this dish, the potatoes were literally air fried. Pan Con Tomate: if you like eating a burnt toast with flavorless tomatoes, this is the place to have it at. The original recipe is a baguette with olive oil base and pureed tomato. The Gambas al Ajillo, this one topped the shame list, shrimp in a watery lemon juice. The size of the Shrimp was an obvious low quality due to size. Last but not least, the Paneer Tikka Masala, way too spicy (not all Indian dishes are spicy), no Almonds or Cashews (as mentioned in the description) I guess the substitute was green bell peppers and a crap load of onion. So, take my advice, save your $$ and go to a place that still serves something authentic. An utter embarrassment to the international #Tapas!