Taberna del Alabardero

Excelent restaurant a

We had a wonderful evening. Great food and atmosphere.

We had a very pleasant evening at Taberna del Alabardero. There were three of us and we greatly enjoyed sharing the delicious seafood Paella, as well as one tapas for an appetizer. The service was excellent, as was the ambiance in the dining area. The food was a tad over-priced, but still a good value. Complimentary parking next door was a big plus, especially given the downtown location.

Whenever I visit Washington DC I try and have a dinner here. The decor is tasteful and cozy. The food is absolutely awesome with a great wine list. Highly skilled staff; Maitre D will filet your fish at table side. Subtle Spanish guitar music in the background. Low noise level; you can actually talk to your friends over dinner. If you are up for old-school dining with authentic Spanish food and great service, this is the place!

Fantastic food!!!! Everything we had was first rate. Terrific flavors and textures. Extensive and varied menu pleasing to almost any preferences. Very generous servings. Excellent wines. Reasonable prices. Easy for conversation. Gorgeous setting. Wonderful elegant old world ambiance, warm, appealing. A place one could easily while away hours. Truly one of my favorite DC spots. Only drawback was the scarce service this night. I waited ten min before asked for drink order and my subsequent guest waited fifteen. No check ins during the meal other than to deposit small plates. The check took two requests after a long period of no waiter siting. I believe and hope that this was an anomaly and hope to go back soon to verify.

This restaurant is a total tourist trap. It appears attractive on TripAdvisor. But the food was terrible and way overpriced. $450’for 4 people for food that was inedible. Paella way too salty. Chicken overcookef and tasteless. Do not go to this restaurant.

Attentive wait staff without being obtrusive. That being said there were not many diners so not sure how that would be on a busy night. The paella was tasty however the chicken pieces were overcooked and dry which brought the dish down

This was my second visit. The previous time I had had only appetizers (tapas) and wanted to try more plus dinner. Again, the tapas are all very good and I do recommend them. For dinner I tried something basic, the chicken, pork and seafood paella. It wasn’t great. The rice was more like a risotto and the chicken and pork were overcooked. The seafood was bland. My wife had the fish which she said was lovely. Perhaps I ordered the wrong meal. A word about the wine: having lived in Europe we know Spanish wines to be good and reasonably priced. The wine menu prices were eye-watering. There were perhaps three bottles that cost $55-$59 (of which they were out of one) and all the rest were close to or over $100. One was even $550. I’ve never seen such priced Spanish wines. The cost of the wine would probably keep me from coming back a third time.

Excellent food and service, as always.

Had a great night just like in Madrid
A special place

We shared a paella for two, calamari and a salad for three of us and had plenty of food. Nice Spanish wine line from which we chose light refreshing Txocolina. Seemed to take a long time to get our check but overall a very good experience

Very professional and smooth service; food was outstanding and the wine advice was great.

Always amazing service and great food. Highly recommend.

What a fantastic find. A lovely brunch venue with traditional Spanish food and drink at a very reasonable price. Especially appreciate the Spanish music playing in the background.

This place is always the best! We love it there a lot.

Excellent, as always. Outstanding food in an outstanding ambiance. The different fish plates that we tried were delicious...and the quality and freshness of the food is excellent.

From start to glorious finish, this meal was not only. One of the best Spanish meals I’ve had outside of Spain, it was also one of the best times I’ve had at dinner in DC. What a fantastic surprise and great that live music was playing along with Flamenco dancers who encouraged restaurant goers to join in on the fun while waiting on their meal. We took our daughter and her college friends here and they had a blast and enjoyed the tapas, which were perfectly portioned and delicious. The anchovies were divine, the calamari crispy and the garlic shrimp was so yummy. For dinner, we split the Fideuà Negra and we were all really pleased. Dessert with the rice pudding made everyone happy.
I would go here again and again, even on nights they don’t have music playing.

A our favorite Spanish restaurant and excellent service

I enjoyed a meal on 9/10, and the experience was so pleasant that I returned again on 10/10. I can highly recommend this restaurant

As usual, a very good meal!

Very attentive service with complete explanations of the dishes they serve. The food came out even better than expected, very tasty, not too spicy, from the potatas bravas to the baked lamb chops and baked fish. An incredible evening of food and drink, with impeccable service. Great ambience, while not an inexpensive meal, we will return and recommend others to visit Taberna Del Alabardero.

Celebrated our wedding anniversary and had a great time. Food and service was excellent! Highly recommended. Will return for happy hour!

Food was great as usual. We asked for bread a second time, waited said yes but it never came.

Location is key, close to World Bank and many embassies. Service is professional. However, the food is merely adequate. There are better places in town to eat good Spanish food. The restaurant seems to have dampened down tastiness and seasonings, so the food is a bit bland.

We celebrated our anniversary and everyone made us feel great, even guests. The food was delicious, and the table was perfect by the window but yet kinda in the center of the room, with a tasteful set up.

One of the finest restaurants we have gone to in any city or state. The service is "old school" with up to five persons involved in attending. Only a look when one is finished and then the plate(s) are removed. We would definitely go again when we are in Washington DC.

Velvet floors keep the sound level reasonable. Amazing service from staff that are invested in their work. Delicious food, with wonderful attention to textures and moisture. Excellent wine recommendatiobs. Can't wait to go back.

Awesome food and experience. Highly recommended

The server of our table was not courteous.

Nice opportunity to treat yourself with some great Spanish cuisine and ambience

Decent though overpriced food in modest portions; superb service by professional waiters.

Attentive service - classy, old school Spanish experience. Food was excellent. Ambiance was pleasant and quiet enough for a table of 8 to have a conversation.

El sommelier Álvaro Correas nos atendió súper bien. Encantador, súper educado y atento. La comida exquisita y el ambiente fabuloso. Música en español, qué más se puede pedir?

Well, I was hoping to have a wonderful experience, and I did not. Maybe because I went in as a solo eater, or what, but I did order an app as well as a tapas. The app came out first, but was missing salmon. After that wasn’t fixed, even though I mentioned it, the really kind waitstaff cleared my plates, glasses everything and set down a dessert menu. I don’t know where the miscommunication was with my tapas, but the staff seemed annoyed they had to reset a placesetting. After they finally brought the not very warm croquettes, I was fed up and didn’t even have dessert.

Maybe it was a new chef, or something was the problem, but I don’t think I’m ever going back. I just can’t imagine someone messing up literally every facet of a meal in a place that supposedly highly regarded. Here’s a picture of my salmonless tomato!

An Absolutely wonderful experience. I can't wait to go again.

Romantic and enjoyable evening. Food was elegant and delicious

Overpriced for what we got. Won’t be going back.

The food was good but the restaurant was almost empty. 175 bucks for 4 drinks, the lobster paella for 2, and an appetizers.

Place need a refresh.

The food was amazing! The paella was a little salty, but some pepper on it, and it’ll be just fine. They had live music this evening, and dancers too! It was a great way to spend our Anniversary!

A magical evening. The restaurant surprised us with rose petals, champagne, a personal note and dessert. The staff is extremely professional. The food was terrific. We will go back often.

Our group did not like the singer and guitar player WITH A MIKE. They would be fine in the little space there is without a mike. They could be heard but not make it impossible also to talk at the same time. The lady's voice and the guitar are strong enough withOUT a mike.