Overall;
2 1/2 stars. Overhyped new comer. Friendly enough staff but the overall concept needs to be refined and humbled a bit.
Seating:
Went here as a walk-in earlier last week. I've heard the place was impossible to reserve and the woman I spoke with over the phone had also made that clear to me as well. Nonetheless, I decided to risk it and walk in. Was seated promptly at around 9:30 upon showing up. It's a fairly decent sized space but the layout of tables is inefficient and probably one of the contributing factors to why they are always full.
Side note- they are open till 2am. Great. Only problem is that they have a reduced menu at 11:30. I find that a dumb concept considering that many of these dishes are for the purpose of bar dining. If you have a huge lineup of reservations, you should probably consider it good for business to keep the whole menu on for a few more hours lest you seem lazy...
Ambience:
Upon entering, I noticed immediately a pungent smell of fermentation throughout the resto which was honestly nauseating. Maybe it was from the garbage baking outside from a hot summer's day that had wafted inside. I hope it was just my experience for that....
The space is WAY too dark. At one point, one of the waiters had to bring me a flashlight. That should tell you something...it's too damn dark!
Service:
Overall friendly. You can tell the staff are a bit snooty and know that the resto is hot at the moment. Nonetheless, they were courteous enough and had seamless service .
Food Quality:
Look, Toronto's rising wages and emerging young professional class has brought about a newfound curiosity in food culture. That being said, Bar Isabel is riding a wave of hype. The food is pretty bland and unexciting. The octopus is bland and there are parts of the menu that are unnecessarily extravagant to ride on some positive review coattails (ie- foie gras for a desert pie). The food is good quality but it's overpriced. Being one of the very few tapas places around, the price point isn't necessarily the best tasting but rather that dishes here are fairly big. If that was the main reason to advertise good reviews fine. Still..best tapas in Toronto? Common' man...