Royal Oak offers a tasty variety of dining options. Sangria Tapas Café has a tantalizing menu that lures you in with promises of authentic Spanish cuisine that will satisfy you beyond hopes. Tapas evolved through influences from various countries and are customarily served with a drink as a free appetizer before dinner. Here in the United States, tapas themselves are turned into a complete meal. 42 small plates of mouth watering descriptions invite you to a theme park of food; excited you want to try every dish. Dishes such as grilled salmon with a creamy Dijon sauce, garlic marinated lamb, swordfish topped with colored peppers, and various chicken combinations fill the Entrée portion of the menu. Black bean soup is offered daily along with a soup of the day. Not including their Ensalada con Queso of goat cheese, dried cherries and apples mixed with greens and a champagne vinaigrette, their salads are less interesting and more basic. I opted to try several of the small plates.
Walking in the host was friendly and eager to seat us, asking how we were she sat us at a table and readily brought over two waters. I’m excited for my meal. The waitress approaches us a few minutes later, not mentioning her name; she asks if we would like anything to drink. We are fine with water for now. Appetizers really don’t have a section on the menu, unless you chose to indulge in a soup, salad, or a small plate before your entrée. I decided to have several small plates for my meal, since this is a tapas restaurant. We tell her we would like to begin with the Champinones Rellenos; mushrooms stuffed with shrimp and garlic butter as we look over the menu and drink options. About five minutes later she sets a basket of fresh French bread and a tasty olive oil whipped butter down on the table, quickly she walks away. Minutes later she arrives with our first dish, she asks us if we are ready to order and we tell her what we would like; she swoops up both the drink and food menus and again quickly leaves the scene. The stuffed mushroom dish came with four mushrooms and appeared unappetizing, and turned out to be just that. The dish was disappointingly dry and the shrimp stuffing had very little if any flavor at all. I am more satisfied with the bread and butter, and push the mushrooms to the end of the table. The person I am accompanied by would like a glass of wine. Our waitress has not been back to check on us, though I have seen her walk across the restaurant doing side work many times. Our bread is gone and she comes over with our next plate, I have to ask her, as she again walked away without saying a word for the drink menu. He orders his wine and she brings it to him, again taking away the drink menu. Our second plate is Verduras Estofada; eggplant and onions with garlic and baked French bread. This dish was better than the first one, but again lacked intensity and presentation. The bread was too hard and the eggplant weak. The waitress comes back with our next two dishes; Bolas de Queso y Patata; parmesan infused mashed potatoes fried and served with sour cream and Queso de Tarragon; garlic soaked goat cheese atop baked French bread. The potato platter comes with six delicate rounded pieces. Each ball has a perfectly thin crisp layer. You can clearly taste the parmesan. This dish is my favorite so far. Next, two pieces of the, again over baked, French bread host a large ball of goat cheese on each. You cannot taste the garlic, and it is a difficult thing to eat, the bread crumbles with the first bite and the cheese should be spread for you, it’s difficult to smear and I give up. We ordered two more dishes; Albondigas; pork meatballs and colored peppers in a tomato sauce and Pincho de Solomillo; marinated beef kabobs, ordered rare to medium rare. The waitress has not been back to check on us, no dirty dishes were cleared, no clean dishes were brought, his wine is empty and I want a soda. It has been about 20 minutes since she has come to the table, she brings us our kabobs. They are tough and dry, cooked close to well done. There is a creamy horse radish and basil sauce sitting center plate. I taste it and it is phenomenal. I am very hungry and still unsatisfied. This sauce is what helps me get the beef down. I have stacked dirty plates conveniently on the edge of the table for her so she could pick them up. I wave her over and ask her for dessert. I tell her the cheesecake would be appreciated. She doesn’t come back to the table until she has the dessert, she did not bring us our pork dish, the dirty dishes are still there as she sets down the dessert and walks away. We have no new utensils but dig in anyways. The cheesecake is the best part of the meal. With a lemon zest baked in, a dollop of swirled whip cream, berries and a raspberry sauce make this dessert almost sinful. The waitress comes back with the bill, she still has not asked us how our meal was, she gave no suggestions, did not clear the dishes or bring new ones, my water is near empty, and the bill has the pork plate on it. I ask her to please remove it from the bill because we didn’t get it; she neither apologizes nor gives me eye contact. Quickly she returns with the correct bill at $44.20. Each small plate averages between five and seven dollars. Salads are $8.95 and entrees don’t exceed $20.00; one can easily over order and spend under one’s budget. Over all we had plenty of food and a wide variety of it. I was only satisfied with the potatoes and dessert. Service was horrendous. The menu is deceivingly playful with promises of flavor and spice. Food is bland. 12 sandwiches at $6.95 each are available during lunch hours.
Parking is not a problem; convenient and plentiful on Sunday, but could be that of a long wait or long walk on a Friday or Saturday night. The restaurant has a simple appeal from the outside with two stories and an upstairs outdoor sky seating area, which makes for a great summer dining location. Walking in the restaurant is colorful but not overwhelming, 3-D art dances along the walls accompanied by jazz influenced festive paintings. The color intensity detracts your eyes from the floor, which is a good idea for a dirty restaurant, but serves no alternate purpose here. Floors are clean and bathrooms are stocked and tidy. A small and simple, but attractive, bar stands center stage. The restaurant appears much larger from the inside and could easily entertain a busy dinner rush. Wooden tables are topped with ruby linens.
Sangria Tapas Café in downtown Royal Oak is located conveniently on the corner of Fourth Street and Lafayette Ave. Closed Mondays, open for lunch Tuesday through Friday from 11:30-4:00, and dinner from 4:00-10:00, Tuesday and Wednesday, 4:00-11:00 Thursday, 4:00-Midnight Friday and Saturday and 4:00-9:00 Sundays. An average place to dine, I recommend Small Plates in downtown Detroit for a better meal of tapas.