Tapas At Amada

Amada is Philadelphia’s one and only authentic Spanish (as in Iberian, European Spanish) culinary experience. Amada is a new restaurant opened by the famous chef, Jose Garces. In my opinion, Amada an accurate and authentic expression of the typical metropolitan Spanish tapas experience. Dimly lit and immaculate, pricey and a bit pretentious, bustling and crowded… Amada captures the essence of the Spanish “tapas” experience. The goal in Spain is to see and be seen, to socialize and enjoy some tasty morsels of food whilst enjoying copious amounts of libations. Amada represents and succesful attempt to translate this experience into the American context.

It’s probably not the best place to take children because it’s very dim and crowded, and there is precious little a child will eat there. They don’t have bread on hand, so you couldn’t even ask for a cheese sandwich if you were desperate. I suggest you reserve Amada for adult outings, or only for very well behaved, open-minded older children.

I thought the food was good, some of which was outstanding, some just ok. Tapas are by their nature- small, but I thought the portions were TOO small. I felt that the best items on the menu were the unprepared, traditional Spanish tapas, such as the cheeses &cured meats- which are of excellent quality. (The Cabrales cheese I sampled was better than I ever had, even in Spain.) The prepared items were conspicious & pretentious and not enough emphasis was given to flavor & authenticity. The biggest disappointment of the evening was the Patatas Bravas- a serving of 7 small morsels of uninspired bits of potato with some garlic topping was a whopping $5. Items on the menu that are definitely worth their weight are the “Mixto” platters of a samples of imported Spanish cheeses or cured meats for only $15. My only complaint is the bottom of the cured meat platter was drizzled with olive oil and it distracted from the flavor of some of the more delicately flavored items. The $12 “Piquillos Rellenos” Crab-Stuffed Peppers were excellent. The $20 “Atun y Tomate” was an interesting experiment for me because I don’t eat tuna, but it was well prepared. I think a tuna lover would really enjoy it. By far the best tapa we had was the “Escalivada” of roasted vegetables & warm goat cheese for $8. And to die for for dessert… the Crema Catalan. It was really excellently prepared and authentic. Yum. For the two of us, we dumped well over $140 for 1 drink each, the check, tip and parking, and we could have easily spent more. I thought it was a bit pricey, but it’s a heck of a lot cheaper than flying to Spain… I’ll reserve Amada for special occasions, but I’ll definitely go again.

Address: 217 Chestnut Street

Phone: 215.625.2450

Website: www.amadarestaurant.com

The Romao: Romano cheese paired with cherry/fig marmalade, and slices of green apple. Wonderful.

The Crema Catalana: Lush creamy custard infused with lavender, topped with a fresh boysenberry. Heaven in your mouth.

Cantaloupe with Serrano Ham: Sweet and savory, it hits all the right notes.

Don’t forget to order a glass of the white sangria.

Check it out at: http://www.amadarestaurant.com/