La Marcha [ Berkeley ]

Ate here, on the late side, when I showed up at Longbranch but they had closed the kitchen early.

Very authentic feel. Waitress didn’t speak that much english.

Any reports?

It’s the best happy hour spot in the area - every happy hour special drink comes with tapas, too. I’ve been here, during regular dinner hours and happy hour, and haven’t been disappointed.

My favorite tapas are the velvety wild boar albondigas, tender pulpo, and the croqueta de champions. I also enjoy the paella mixta (good flavor, but usually little to no socarrat).

It doesn’t take many people in the restaurant to make conversation difficult, which is the big downside, but if I’m with a bunch of people who want to continue chatting, Handlebar is right around the corner.

My report is that the dishes are REALLY SMALL. If you’re there on the late side and on the tapas menu only, it’s difficult to order enough food. With each plate at $2 or $3 each, and a half-carafe of wine coming with 3 plates, it’s a fine thing, but there was some consternation at our table about how to order enough without the hassle of ordering 20 dishes. Answer: if you want to order a dish, literally order one per person ( like 2 copies of something ) if you’re having dinner during happy hour ( late side happy hour: 10pm to midnight ).

That being said, the tastes were quite good, and I’ll drink Urban Legend wine happily.

Yeah, the tapas portions are akin to the ones in Spain: just a bite. I go to the earlier happy hour (4-6 PM), so if I want a more substantial bite, the full kitchen is open. I also recall having bigger portions of food on the tapas menus as a side dish, but again, this may not be the case after 10 PM.

Got caught in rush hour after a prolonged errand run and found this Happy Hour shelter in the storm.

Ditto Urban Legend.

It’s tapas, so it’s not about getting full, let alone stuffed, but trying many different tastes. All the tastes were tasty and there remain a few more to try.

An improvement would be platters of already made cold tapas on the bar, ready to dish up.