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| - My husband and I tried Ibiza for the first (and last) time. It's a nice looking space, but that's the last nice thing I have to say about it. We tried 4 tapas total, and found all of them underwhelming in flavor, and, in the case of the fried lamb chops, really bad. We both started with salads. I tried the marinated artichoke salad, and my husband had the grilled veggies. The veggies were probably the least offensive of the plates, as they were simply boring, and the artichokes had a weird flavor that I really could not describe or identify. I don't know what they use for a marinade, or if they open a can, or what, but they tasted bad. I love artichoke hearts, and I didn't even finish them. The salad greens were fine, and I liked the balsamic drizzle, but it appears on most of their plates, and that's not imaginative or interesting cooking by anyone's standards. I also ordered the tilapia ceviche with avocado. The ceviche was underseasoned, with little citrus and not enough salt, and had a weird bitter taste. The avocado was a slice served on the side, and I think they slice it ahead and leave it in a water and acid bath to keep it from browning, which had successfully leached it of any flavor whatsoever. The fried lamb chops were just as bad...an inferior, chewy chop with a bland crust and overly sweet sauce...yuck. When we sat down I ordered an amantillado sherry, and the server was stumped. Seems they don't offer a full line of sherries, so I went with the manzanilla, which I like just fine, but really??? A tapas bar with that limited a sherry offering? Come on, guys, get it together. The owner of this estalishment should bring all of his/her employees to Cafe Iberico in Chicago to learn what a real tapas bar has to offer.
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