La Camelia - Revamp! Mt. Kisco, NY

We have not been to La Camelia in about 6 years. Back then it had gotten a very high rating from the NYT reviewer - Don’t miss, or worth the trip or 4 stars. Can’t remember the system. But the place was not up to the rating after a bit and it was run down and the food was no longer up to par. I heard recently there was new ownership and noticed a new sign at the road, so we went last night. There are indeed, new owners and they are starting the process of redoing and modernizing the place a bit. It still has the old ambiance but a paint job and carpet disposal does wonders! And they have taken the place from a Spanish restaurant to a Spanish restaurant featuring tapas from Spain and Portugal.

This will not be a big food review, but I will say what we had and what we smelled from other tables was excellent! The table near us was a table of three and they did all Tapas and it smelled great. We started our meal with an amuse from the chef of zucchini and eggplant flan. It was so flavorful and light, filled with peppers and onions. The bread was served warm - a Portuguese roll. My husband had the black bean soup which I did not try but he said it was the best he’s had. They serve it and add onions and cheese to your taste at the table. For mains my husband had the paella - lots of fresh seafood and the chorizo and he loved it . When last we were there the paella was just not up to par. I had, if you can believe it, roast duck on the bone!!! I had no idea that was Spanish and I don’t care. It was very good, though the skin could have been crispier. We did not have dessert but the espresso was served with a some kind of cinnamon straw that was yummy when dipped in the coffee.

Service was not rushed - it was well paced and relaxed, but it did have a few glitches. The owner had come around a few times, which is lovely, and the last trip he told our waitress to bring my husband a glass of port on him, which never arrived. We also waited a very long time for someone to take our payment.

In all, we were very happy to have found this place again and we will be back.

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Wehavebeengetting to La Camelia once or twice a year, often for lunch, for years. We had never been disappointed, but we also hadn’t heard about the current changes. We were due to have lunch yesterday with friends who live in Pleasantville. As we were discussing where to go, I mentioned the changed ownership/menu and we all were excited to try it. We all had tapas — the lunch deal for this can be a choice of soup or salad, followed by two tapas, for $25. Two of us had the black bean soup, one had the lobster bisque, and I had the special endive salad (with pear, blue cheese and nuts.) we were all happy. Among us, we had a good sized selection of tapas, too many to list (or remember,). But, in nearly every case we were quite happy. We were too full for dessert, but we all had one version or another of coffee/tea. Yesterday was hideous weather, so we had the place to ourselves, but it was a very pleasant experience, including pleasant service.

Glad to hear it!!

No menu prices on the website. I hate that!

It was actually quite reasonable for the area. I think with what we had, including 2 drinks each and the tip, the total was $135. Vox would have cost about $185 for the same.