El Tapeo

Began the evening with the Corpse Reviver martini, fun twist on the classic cocktail. Our shared plates were quite flavorful and filling. We enjoyed three desserts! Each one better than the next, my favorite were the cookies with rich, thick cocoa.

Delicious, fresh and good size (even the tapas) food. If you are on the adventurous side, try the Paella de Catalana. It's paella with generous amount of seafood and cooked with squid ink. Service was good and there's a view! It's the view of Oakbrook Mall, but hey, where else in Oakbrook you can eat, drink and be merry with a view.

A great experience; the food was great, not outrageously priced, great view from the high vantage point, servers were great. Especially recommend the Meat & Cheese tray and the lamb meatballs.

On Valentines Day, after Mamma Mia, at Drury Lane, we had a wonderful dinner! Joe, our Server, is always friendly and easy-going, and he made sure we were relaxed and ready to enjoy the scrumptious cuisine.

My wife & I celebrated our 49th anniversary with a stay at Le Meridian and dinner at El Tapeo. We shared 3 tapas plates and a desert and loved it all. Nice atmosphere, easy to talk and friendly attentive service. We will definitely go back and introduce friends to El Tapeo.

Tapas was good but the paella was poor. A lot of salty rice but only a few overcooked shrimp and burnt chicken. The sausage was cut up smaller than the rice so you couldn't taste it. If you can't make paella your not a Spanish restaurant.

This was our first time to this restaurant. It's on the 9th floor providing elevated views of the area. We had the corner table for two overlooking two sides of the area. We focused on the tapas and charcuterie board portions of the menu. Our server, Joe, provided great pairing recommendations; both food and wine. Although, I don't think you can go wrong with anything on the menu.

We will definitely back!

Great Ambience and views. Food and drink were wonderful and good variety.

Went for a birthday dinner. Ambiance was very nice with lots of windows and low noise level. Food was disappointing. I had heard good things about it but nothing we had was memorable or impressive. Bacon wrapped dates were very good but no different than other places I’ve had them- that was the best item we ordered along with the beets which were served warm with goat cheese. The braised short rib- meat was good but the cheese and jam were nearly non existent which made the toast very plain and dry. We also orders the octopus- cooked well which gave a good texture and enjoyed the sauce. Just an ok experience.

Actually a family get-together. We decided to try a place we hadn’t tried before. The waiter was wonderful, food very good (especially the Brussels sprouts, mini pork shanks and carne Asada), nice selection of wine. We thought it was somewhat pricey at more than $60 per person (not counting the child who ordered off the kids’ menu.) Highly recommend if you can afford it!

I was looking for a breakfast spot where my friend and I would not be rushed- the restaurant delivered. Service was impeccable - they let us chat, enjoy our breakfast/brunch, and finish with a gift exchange. I think this is a great hidden gem in Oak Brook. I almost didn’t review for fear of others finding, but the chefs and servers deserve recognition!

The food is trendy tapas and less traditional, my date referred to it as hipster tapas. We started with an excellent cheese plate. Tried the octopus which was in a delicious pepper sauce, but a little over cooked. The Brussels sprouts were great but a little overpowering in mustard taste. The sangria was not very good. The ambiance is amazing, on the ninth floor overlooking the mall during Christmas and was worth the price of the meal:

We were pleased with the delicious food & excellent service!

The dates stuffed with almonds and wrapped in bacon that we got as an appetizer was five-star level. Unfortunately, the two different paellas we got for main courses were both very disappointing and no where near what we had in Spain during the five years that we lived there. We have already told friends that they should go for the dates and the soups, but never for the paellas.
Our waitress (the only female working that night) was excellent.

We’ve been here many times so obviously we enjoy it. Interior decor might benefit from a little oomph but all in all, wonderful tapas and paella

Worse restaurant ever. Food was not tasty, portions were too small, inaccurate description of items in the menu. Service was poor. Very expensive and low value. I wouldn’t recommend this restaurant, at all.

Food was good, not great. Glad we tried it.

I had a great time food was excellent. Drinks great.

Service was awesome. First time and definitely looking to go there more

The food and drinks were great, will be back again.

We had several of the small bites. Most were mediocre. The pork shanks were the highlight of the meal being quite tasty. From the menu and gallery on line, we expected items to be well-seasoned. Other than the aforementioned pork shanks, that was not the case. The chicken entre was so dry and bland that only a few bites were taken at the restaurant. We took the rest home. The next morning the odor was bad enough that we just threw it out. With so many great restaurants within an easy walk of the front door of this one, there is no reason the eat here again, and I would not recommend it to anyone as an alternative to the other choices in the area.

This is the second time we’ve had Joe for a waiter and he was an excellent host once again.

With the restaurant being located on the ninth floor of the hotel, it was a bit strange having guests walk through the restaurant (and past our table) on the way to whatever lounge was attached to it. The food was fresh and delicious, with our waitress and waiter being very kind and attentive. Overall a nice meal spot for a meeting after work or between friends.

Excellent good, but VERY loud, and I enjoy punk rock shows. Lots of screaming adult women, and no music.

Disappointing. There are a lot of excellent tapas restaurants in the Chicago area and this wasn’t one of them. Service was good, restaurant was clean and the views were lovely. The under seasoned food however was not great and due to the acoustics, the noise from a group in the bar was deafening. In the western suburbs, we’ll go to Emilio’s or Meson Sabika for tapas. This isn’t even on the same page.

The paella was fantastic! The atmosphere was a little industrial but nice. Our server was also very informative and attentive. We will definitely be back again and again!

Very good food, drinks and service. Good value and we had a nice table with a good view too.

Amazing service and outstanding food - both are sometimes rare in a hotel environment. Would definitely go back!

Good food. Server was friendly and attentive.

The service is great we, have had the same servers for the several years we have been going there and they have always been excellent. The food is always very good and the menu changes enough to keep being interesting but also keeps quite a few of the regular favorites.

Krystle made our experience at El Tapeo Fantastic! We went there to celebrate our first wedding anniversary and was not disappointed! Great food and great ambiance! We will definitely be back!

We had a 6 pm reservation and although we were seated promptly, the hostess could not have been less welcoming. A hostess should be the restaurant’s biggest champion but this one maybe uttered three words, none of which were “welcome to El Tapeo” and she never smiled. Our waiter knew the both the cocktail and dinner menu well but he never introduced himself. Hospitality 101 was absent here from the start.

El Tapeo‘s kitchen must be a well oiled machine. Everything arrived promptly and well plated. The caprese espanol was a nice combination of fresh tomatoes with the addition of avocado and a delicious cheese. The short rib was very good, moist and well balanced though could have used a sprinkle of salt. We also had coca flatbread, pulpo negra, asparagus and paella Valencia. Maybe it was our choices, but other than the asparagus which was charred beautifully and sprinkled with smoked salt, most of our dishes leaned to the sweet side. The sauces seem to all hit some sweet note and although they were offset a little by goat cheese or other flavors, half way through dinner we were both commenting that everything was a little sweet and we needed a dish with some salt or spice.

Overall we enjoyed our dinner and would make the 45 minute drive back for the sangria alone. Their fruity complex combo makes the sangria one of the best we’ve had.

When going to a new restaurant I believe we all go in with a preconceived notion of what to expect. For Tapas style dining I expect to see a cold section, a hot section and a varied array of choices in each. There were only 3 or 4 choices of cold dishes and no hot tapas featuring chicken or chorizo. They did have a main course offering with chicken but personally I don’t want to order a main course when dining tapas style. Their main dishes in tapas size would be a welcome add

El Tapeo wasn’t a “wow” experience, but it’s acceptable. The views from the 9th floor, a suprise. We would return if in the neighborhood.

A hidden gem in Oak Brook! We were tired of the usual suspects in the mall & tried this. Couldn’t believe we’ve lived here 4 years & not been here! Awesome food, great service & craft cocktails.

El Tapeo is a terrific tapas restaurant. The food is excellent and authentic. Service staff has been there since the beginning which says a lot for the business side of the restaurant. Window seats offer a nice view. El Tapeo also has a very nice lounge to have a drink after work or enjoying Oakbrook Mall. Highly recommended.

It was our anniversary & they gave us special attention & many good wishes!

We had a great time, the food was good the service was great.

For the food price point, I would have expected more. I've been to other tapas restaurants that were better. (Mercat La Plaxna) I will say the sangria was excellent!!!

El Tapeo was a great find for our Anniversary. Food was good. We have been to Tapas restaurants with a much larger menu. This menu was small but well worth it! Love you could order a half paella.

Our server Crystal was superb. She had great drink and food (especially dessert) recommendations. The food was delicious. El Tapeo is a hidden gem in Oak Brook. I highly recommend for a fun night out!

It was just us girls on a weeknight so it wasn’t terribly crowded. There were a number of people at the bar and a few occupied tables but it wasn’t weird when my friends and I got a little loud in our conversation, overall a festive vibe.
The food was excellent! We had the dates, patatas bravas, brussel sprouts, calamari and lamb as small plates and then ordered the paella mezcla (no chorizo). Everything came out fresh and yummy and in a timely manner. We had the tiramisu for dessert and it was a small piece for the $10 price tag but also very tasty. We had a bottle of rosé and a couple cocktails and the waiter was more than happy to make recommendations, offer us a sample and slightly change the mixed drinks if needed.