La Bandera

Food was just okey, it's more like a hit and miss. Some of the tapas dishes are tasty and some are too bland.
The sangria is really tasty.
Ambiance is just fine with yellow sits like a color pop a nice quiet place during lunch times
Service the servers are nice and welcoming.

After hearing good things about La Bandera, and the fact it has catered for many Spanish footballers of the city, I decided to call in some food, taking advantage of their gluten-free selections and an ongoing 25% off UberEats promotion. I had high expectations which were not met. I really struggle to understand the hype about this place, especially considering how sick I became after eating here.

I ordered the Acaymo Meal Box which is a chicken dish with a Spanish sauce and patatas bravas, firstly the presentation was a mess. It was all put together in a Spanish container, you could literally pick up the food and rinse it out with all the grease. The potatoes were soggy, the chicken was plasticy. I wouldn't even call the side dish "potatas bravas", both the sauces were very rich and sweet, and on the side, just the thought of them appears to knock me sick.

The price of the food was good at first glance in £9.95, but considering I was given a giant mess and how ill I felt after, I wouldn't even dine here again if they were the ones paying me.

I believe it is a disgrace that this place has a four-star food hygiene rating, they were found to be "Good" in two of three areas meanwhile "Management of food safety" was ranked Generally Satisfactory in their 2019 inspection. Not long after eating here, I began to feel very unwell with symptoms which went beyond my coeliac disease (why I have to eat gluten-free), I was told my food was gluten-free. I was violently sick not long after visiting, much worse than I have been in a long time. I was obviously poisoned by the business, even after just a few bites of food.

I was also concerned to see young children in the business and I'm not sure if this had anything to do with the hygiene as they were obviously in and out of the kitchen and public areas, dealing with the children and going back.

It gives me great pain to say this but La Bandera is one of the worst restaurants in Manchester and the fact I was violently sick and felt worse than I have in such a long time was the final nail in the coffin. This place deserves health inspectors pronto, as much as it pains me to do this especially during the struggle restaurants are going through during the pandemic, this warrants a place on my "Avoid at all costs" list and really is a disgrace.

With some of the other Yelpers I came down to La Bandera this week to try their tapas, of which I have heard great things.

The staff straight from the off were excellent. Dealing with a large group is difficult but these guys were so accommodating.

After ordering a few jugs of traditional sangria, which was excellent by the way, we decided to pretty much order ALL of the tapas on the menu, plus 2 of some dishes and a meat platter with cheese and also a large rice dish.

All of the tapas were great. My personal favourites being the squid ink croquettes and pig cheeks. The Spanish tortilla was also one of the best I had ever tasted.

Overall I pretty much can't fault this place. After I dropped a plate and smashed some glasses by accident they were more than helpful.

I'm definitely coming back soon!!

It was Friday night do it was time to go out with my girl to drink, eat, and catch up with the chat so we decided to go to a place with wine and tapas. I got reservation and glad I did cause the place was pretty busy. It's a small place so make sure you get reservation especially if you want to eat between the hours of 6:30-9pm.

There is a separate bar area so you can just come here for drinks and a nibble if you want a full dinner. The menu is pretty extensive and offers many different type of tapas. We got the grilled octopus, mushroom, and beef sliders. I wanted a couple of other tapas but they ran out. We also ordered squid ink rice, which was big enough for two people to share.

The grilled octopus was ok. Pretty small, but had a nice grilled flavour and tender. It wasn't overcooked or under seasoned. However, I've had better elsewhere so I wasn't that impressed. The mushroom tapas contained a couple of different mushrooms and was sautéed in olive oil and seasoned with salt and peeper... Pretty simple dish and it was ok. If you like the taste of mushroom, you'll like this simple dish. The beef slider was awesome and I'd get this again. It had avocado mayonnaise and was well seasoned... You only get two unfortunately.

The squid ink rice came in a nice white bowl and the rice was black as expected. The flavour is very delicate and I thought could have had more salt since it was a big bland, it had bits of squid and mostly rice. Would have been way better if it had larger pieces of squid cause it was really just rice in squid ink. It does turn your teeth a bit black so if you're on a date and you want to keep looking sexy, avoid this dish!

The dessert menu wasn't spectacular so we didn't get any. The staff was friendly and was pretty attentive. Overall the place was ok...a bit pricey and nothing spectacular but a good place to have dinner with a friend to catch up or take a date to impress.

I was surprised La Bandera hadn't already been 'Yelped', though given how tucked away it is (down a side street opposite The Grill On The Alley), you'd probably have to be looking for it to find it. They've effectively let their food do the talking in lieu of lots of social media advertising.

Stepping inside the 50 cover restaurant you're met with a vibrant red and yellow colour scheme which reminds you of the Spanish flag - La Bandera actually translates to 'the Flag' (I had to look that up!). There's also a separate bar area with seating.

Our friendly waitress informed us that they'd brought in Spanish chef Josetxo Arrieta, who had previously worked in Michelin starred restaurants, to create traditional Iberian cuisine from locally-sourced ingredients. Their menu therefore changes on a daily basis, so the dishes we ate might not reappear again for some time.

It was a welcome change not to be faced with a massively comprehensive tapas menu. We decided on six dishes to share between the two of us (with tomato bread and olives as appetisers). This proved more than enough to fill us up - though we caved and ended up ordering a dessert each as well!

We were really impressed with the Papas Arrugadas con Mojo - salted potatoes with special sauces from Gran Canaria and Lagrimas de Pollo con "piperrada" - chicken strips in honey chilli sauce. We enjoyed every one of the dishes, but those two were our favourites in particular.

Their take on tiramisu and crème brûlée worked well, presented in coffee cups (perhaps a playful nod to the current Twitter campaign @WeWantPlates?) with just enough to top off what was a thoroughly enjoyable meal.

2015 is seeing a resurgence in Spanish restaurants - with Ibérica now open and El Gato Negro coming soon; the reputation of Spanish food in Manchester is looking very good indeed.

Came here a few months ago. There was a group of us - about 8 people - and we decided to other lots of different dishes and share it. Which is basically what tapas is all about :)

Before visiting, I had heard that some of the United players had been here. I had recently seen photo of Mata and Herrera visiting the place. Good enough for Mata/Herrera, good enough for me! :) (In fact, the night we went United were playing and the owner was in one of the players private boxes).

All the food was all pretty good. My favourite was the Spanish omelette. Mmmmm.

During the meal, we were like the clumsy table and managed to break vase/glasses. They were quick to wipe up the liquid and replace the glasses - although I think maybe they were running out of glasses and the replacement ones didn't match! :)

Another update. Still great. Both service and food.

Additional great dishes. - vieira (scallop) with chorizo, pulpo (octopus). The special pintxo was a chicken, fig and caramelised onion which was melt in the mouth, a fantastic creation.

Everything else I've mentioned in earlier view is consistently good, although chicken lollipops and mini burger no longer on menu.

I had not found a Tapas place that was not friendly for the veggie taste buds, until I stepped on this. You have to climb up massive few steps and be careful of the steps even inside the restaurant( so lot of exercise)

If you are veggie and don't like exercise its not the place for you!

I prefer Evuna!

¡Que bueno!

Thoroughly enjoyed it.

We ordered 3 starters and paellas. Oh before that we sat at the bar, as we arrived a bit early, and ordered a bottle of cava. Shame it was Castelblanc as it's not the best but enjoy it we did. Anyway it came with a bit of raspberry so what the heck.

Starters were; croquettes of jamón, beef cheeks (heavenly), and deep fried squid. Lovely.

We then ordered our arroz; lobster for my wife and mixed for me. We were told we'd need to wait (which is fine) so ordered another starter ( pulpo a la gallega). Lovely too.

Our rice appeared at about the right time and it tasted wonderful. The rice was undercooked but forgivable due to the great taste and fab atmosphere.

No pud as we were full.

We had 3 bottles (yikes); a cava, an Albariño, and to finish a Verdejo.

Handsome! Worth going back to!

Went here a while back with a group of Yelpers!! We went all out and tried every single tapas dish on the menu plus the paella! Have to say the tapas and paella were absolutely delicious and full of flavour, think the squid ink croquetas would have to be one of my favourites!!! ! The sangria was also delicious!! The staff were really friendly and helpful from the start, explaining all the dishes on arrival. They also dealt very professionally and calmly with a roudy croud of Yelpers that somehow managed to smash a full bottle of olive oil and a wine glass!!!

This place is a step up again from Evuna/La Vina and therefore is a bit more expensive but if you're a fan of Tapas it is definitely a must visit!!!