San Chez Bistro - Grand Rapids

We had brunch and mimosas. And everything was delicious! I highly recommend the empanadas. We definitely will be back again to try their tapas next.

Normally LOVE the food here, but this morning had an avocado toast that was underwhelming. I was looking for savory, maybe some some of mayo or something on the bread, but it was dry (just avocado slices, dry toast, and pickled onions on top. The waitress saved the day with some sriracha sour cream : The mocha was amazing (with hazelnut honey syrup I highly recommend .

Tapas bistro was a nice new find. Love trying small plates to share. The spicy shrimp was by far the best meal. Drinks are great! I had a peach martini. I would skip the dessert, we had the banana one and it wasn’t that great.

If you’ve never had tapas before, this place is probably fine. San Chez came highly recommended by locals and we were sorely disappointed. Some context: We have a *solid* tapas restaurant back in our hometown and I also used to work in Spain. So to say the least, the queso de cabra tasted more like someone opened a jar of Prego, dumped it into a dish and put some whipped goat cheese in it, then stuck it under the broiler for a minute. If you don’t know what it’s supposed to be, it’s probably going to blow your mind. But if you’ve ever had decent tapas, you’re going to be confused about why they’re charging you $18 for 4 small lukewarm chicken bits and some slices of chorizo that taste like they came from the grocery store. The vibes, however, were solid. Cool atmosphere, lively clientele. Obviously a popular spot. Service was sub par, but our waiter gave us some good recommendations around the area so he redeemed himself. We regret spending money here, but if we hadn’t been spoiled with prior tapas experiences this may have been lovely.

Very good food. Their menu was better a few years ago. But still, everything they have is fresh and delicious. Lots of vegetarian choices. Need more meat options.