La Parada Tapas Bar, Reading

I visited la parada Reading on september 2009 and i honestly believe that this kind of places should be banned from the trade,the hot food was cold and tasteless,the ingredients looked cheap,such as the charcuterie,i could have bought cheaper and better at tescos.i woud no recomend this place even to my enemies

without doubt the worst meal I have ever had. slow service, coupled with terrible food made for an extremely disappointing experience.

when a complaint was made about the food, the "manager" was discourteous and straight-up rude to our party, refusing to acknowledge there was a problem with the food. Example: Paella we ordered took an age to arrive - I had to ask the waitress where it was, upon which was promptly brought to our table with a crusty layer on top - the waitress (when asked) told me that it had been left under the grille as we had been forgotten.

its safe to say that I will NEVER return

This was my first and last visit to La Parada (Reading)

After reading all the reviews on this restaurant, I was very excited and was really looking forward to trying a selection of the hot and cold tapas.

The restaurant is huge, but empty, there was just one other couple in the restaurant when we arrived. When we left the place it was empty!

I though I would try my Spanish accent and order all the dishes in Spanish, however this confused the waitress who asked me to read out the numbers rather than the name of the dish!

The restaurant has a good choice of both hot and cold tapas, but the quality and taste of the food when it turned up was very disappointing as was the side order of bread. The hot tapas was cold and the cold tapas was tasteless. I could have made better at home.

I was hoping for a Spanish experience, but I did not get that from the service, food or the atmosphere. All in all, this restaurant was very disappointing and I would not recommend this to a friend.

Went to La Parada for the first time yesterday - 5/8/09. It was a weekday lunch and not that many people there, but they missed a treat. It is far, far better than La Tasca (which is itself very respectable). I went with my daughter, we shared 4 tapas on a 2 for 1 promotion, and we had plenty to eat. The whitebait and the deep-fried mushrooms were absolutely delicious, we also had aubergine baked with cheese and a prawn/avocado/mushroom dish with chilli (not too fierce). We finished with banoffee pie and came away delightfully full!! The service was good, but not obtrusive, and we loved listening to the Spanish background music. Altogether a great meal.

Visited La Parada for the first time yesterday (5/7/09). Not many people there for a weekday lunchtime, but they missed a treat. I went with my daughter and we had 2 tapas each on a 2 for 1 promotion, and there was plenty of food. The baked aubergine with cheese and the deep-fried mushrooms & dip were just fabulous. We also had some delicious whitebait and a prawn & mushroom dish with chilli (not too fierce). We finished with banoffee pie and emerged delightfully full! Much, much better than La Tasca (which itself is very respectable). I shall be very happy to go again. Oh and we also enjoyed the lively Spanish music in the background.

Finally, a decent Spanish restaurant in Reading, (La Parada Tapas Bar, Queen's Road - where Ha Ha's used to be), that is not part of a chain. I've eaten there twice now and on both occasions found the food to be absolutely delicious. Portion sizes are generous and it is all beautifully cooked. My Spanish is appalling so I won't even attempt the correct spelling here, but our favourites so far are the paella, fried squid rings, chorizo and bean stew, whitebait, octopus and patatas bravas (that I can spell correctly I think). The service is efficient and the overall range of tapas, paella and main meals is wide enough to suit most tastes - including several vegetarian options. I'd reccomend two tapas per person minimum, but if you're a hungry horse like me then you'll easily get through three. Bin off dodgy chain tapas restaurants whose food makes you want to cry. Embrace the gorgeous food at La Parada Tapas Bar.