Three of us visited on a Monday in January taking advantage of the 50% offer, we booked well in advance but could only get seated at 4:30 pm. We started off with a jug of white sangria at £18. Between us we ordered for bread/potato...dishes and the rest meat. A couple of the dishes I ate were great, the rest were alright. I’ll start with the best, the ham croquettes, lamb sliders and chorizo sausage and the fillet steak we’re all great. All really tasty. Between us we also tried a couple of the chicken dishes which were just okay, nothing special. I agree with some other reviewers that this restaurant is not authentic canarian , the wrinkled Canarian potatoes are not the same as you get in Gran Canaria & the patatas bravas were just cubes of fried potato with two pots of sauce on the side. The worst dish of the whole meal were the mushrooms, they were like boiled mushrooms in a mushroomy water with a hint of garlic, really bad. We shared another bottle of wine and the bill came to £91. It was okay with the 50% discount, however I probably would not return, there are better Tapas restaurants in Manchester like Evuna.More

While we appreciate that we are going into a new normal with covid-19 and measures to minimise this virus are essential, the steps La Bandera have taken are nonsense. We have eaten there many times before, however after last nights experience it will be some...time before we go back....Sorry La Bandera. The quality of food was good, although portions were smaller and our potato dishes arrived long before our meat and chicken dishes so were cold by the time other tapas arrived, we were told that everything comes as and when its ready, we understand this, its just a shame the potato dishes weren't kept warm before other dishes arrived as no one wants to go for dinner and eat the potatoes before the meats its nice to mix and match. The whole ordering experience was a faff! So you have a waiter explaining the new ordering system who is already at the table ...no one is wearing any masks, you have to order from the website as a take away option although you are sitting in. Navigation to read the menu online from a phone is difficult. This includes ordering drinks...not only that but there is a 10% service charge onto of your bill when you are doing the most part yourself! All the while waiting staff are milling about going to and fro with no social distancing, we were seated opposite the serving area. Fortunately we arrived early for out table which was just as well as it took 30 min to order only for the waiter to bring everything to us anyway! If the idea was to not give menus there must be a more sensible way to do this rather than the faff of ordering online. Table service defeats the purpose of no menus. You would be better to just give us a number and we could collect our own tapas! We were at another restaurant the night before which had covid-19 measures in place and still had menus and table service. Also in some bars ordering drinks you choose off the menu, which is easy to read, you then scan a bar code to identify your table and order that way it much simpler, this might be something La Bandera should look into.More

Only had one night in Manchester and was swayed by the positive reviews. The good Restaurant decor is modern and clean and looks like trying to project a more upmarket image. Front of house team friendly and efficient. Cava was superb quality. Croquettes. The not...so good Expensive for what you get/quality. Scallops were the size of small marbles and cold so sent back. Order of dishes coming to table was a bit bizarre. I know they bring when ready but who want only potatoes for 10 minutes while waiting on five other dishes. Canarian potatoes bore no resemblance to the dark brown skinned wrinklys served in the Islands. These were just baked. Meatballs were very small and average. Chicken had no flavour and was cold so sent back. To be fair complaint was handled pleasantly enough. Offered a drink on the house which we didn’t take as were finished and just wanted to move on. Acknowledged issue with scallops. Explanation was problem with supplier. But kitchen accepted them and then thought ok to serve them. I live in Spain half of the year and have much much better tapas in local bars than this establishment. Sorry but won’t be back or recommend.More

We booked a table of 6 for a friends birthday and specifically booked it for 6.30pm to take advantage of their “Early Dinner Deal” as advertised on the front of their restaurant, which clearly states “Selection of 5 tapas and a bottle of wine or...sangria or 4 beers”. I have attached an image of their menu on the front of their restaurant. On arrival we asked about this deal to be told it was for “eat out only” by the waitress, which is not clearly stated on the menu. As there is only outdoor seating currently available and manchester restaurants do get fully booked very quickly we still decided to eat here despite this misrepresentation of the menu. I felt quite strongly about this matter so I emailed them directly following the meal, having not wanted to cause any upset during my friends birthday, to see if we could reach a compromise however their response was as follows: “Upon reading your email I can see why you may have been confused, the menu outside our restaurant is not the full menu and as such is just a representation of some of the things that we do. We decided to remove this offer for eat in (it is available for eat out) because we barely survived this full year of lockdown as a local independant restaurant, and as we finally got a little taste of normality from a business perspective it would be counter productive to offer offers when our bookings are full despite still only having 10 or so tables outside which still doesn't cover the cost of running the restaurant.” They did offer a complimentary bottle of wine and although I do appreciate that the restaurant industry has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, consumers like myself have been also hit hard by being furloughed and in some cases losing their jobs. Which is why we were overjoyed at such an offer - which clearly does not state “eat out only”on their menu. I won’t be returning and I suggest they update their window menu post haste.More

Visited for dinner with my husband as we were in Manchester for my birthday. We arrived and the table wasn't quite ready but were soon seated. We'd chosen the tasting menu when we booked the table but the waiter still have us the menus. We...stuck with our choice of the tasting menu with wine flight and it was all delicious. The thing that let the restaurant down was it being slightly cramped and very noisy meaning it was almost impossible to hear the waiters explaining the dishes and wines to us. I would also add that although a wine is paired for each course, a smaller glass might have been better as 7 glasses is quite a lot, especially when the menu had very little in the way of carbs. Some bread with the prawns would have been a bonus. Overall a lovely meal, just a little noisy!More

Was really looking forward to this 25th wedding anniversary gift but left disappointed. First waitress asked if we would like drinks and I said 'could we see the drinks menu'. 2nd waitress asked if we would like drinks and I said 'i'm still waiting for...the menu' to which she replied 'we don't have menu, you need to scan the QR code, did nobody tell you'. So not great first impression. Tapas were good and we ordered the squid ink paella. By far the most salty and over priced paella I have ever had, Small pieces of squid and one king prawn on top. How does a paella for 2 people come with one king prawn? My wife finished hers and I was still eating and they cleared the whole table (apart from my plate) so it looked like I was the only one eating. Whilst still eating I asked for the bill as I just wanted to get out of there. I got the attention of the manager and told him about the issue and said I asked for the bill and wasn't having dessert as I felt rushed to get out. I do sympathize with hospitality and the problems with staffing so will always be more understanding under the current climate. However on this occasion we were disappointed with the service and food (paella). I do hope this is just a one off as I want all businesses to succeed in this sector after what they have been through.More

We booked this meal for a Birthday through Itison, and booked the wrong date by accident. We were allowed to rebook even though we missed our booking, which we really appreciated. The food was fantastic, especially both Gambas options. We also liked that there are...a few options that aren't typically found on Tapas menus, such as the breaded chicken, which ensured the less adventurous members of our group had plenty of options. The Croqquetas and squid were also exceptionally good, all extremely fresh and perfectly cooked. We came for lunch, but the interior and ambience are lovely and we will definitley return for an evening celebration meal in the future.More

Having lived in the city centre since 2009, before this place even opened, I’m ashamed to say this was my first visit! We were bought a dining voucher as a present and will definitely be back. We had to call ahead to say we were...delayed by ten mins, and the waiter (maybe the manager?) who greeted us couldn’t have been more lovely; telling us to take our time to settle in and relax while making our choices as there was no rush. Then when we did order, he asked if we had any allergies, which I was pleased about (we don’t but I have friends who have really struggled with making their allergies understood elsewhere). We ordered 6 tapas dishes, favourites were the mixed croquettes (cod and squid ink), garlic prawns and Spanish omelette. It was all gorgeous though!!! We enjoyed the tapas so much that we decided to have dessert - crema Catalana and a cheese board. They were both lovely and the cheese board was generous and included quince, jam and raspberries. I’ve noticed that someone else has commented that the restaurant was noisy and that they were close to other diners - my view is that this actually contributes to an authentic experience, plus I really did not feel that we were too close to other people at all, even on a table for two. I highly recommend this place - both the food and the excellent staff, we are just sorry we haven’t visited sooner!More

Have been to this restaurant quite a few times and always had a fantastic experience, not yesterday. Food was as good as normal, but the ordering system puts a whole new meaning to Fawlty Towers. To save on time, before we went I had my...order all ready made up. 3tapas,bottle of wine, break, 3 more tapas, what could possible go wrong !! Got to admit I am 70, but computer literate. The waiter spent 5 minutes to explain the ordering system, no mask. He then explained that we had to put in personal + payment details, which in quite a dark environment caused some issues reading credit card details. We then proceeded to place the order on my phone, problems finding some items so, back came the waiter. Getting to know Pablo well by now 😁. He also had problems and explained that because we wanted a break, we would get 2 bills. Thank goodness for auto fill !! Food came and was lovely as normal,but by this time we were feeling frustrated and did not enjoy the food as much as normal. All during the meal various tables appeared to be having the same problems. This was 5pm on a Tuesday !!,would hate to think I was going on Saturday night. Will not go again until Covid is over, sorry. PS on the 2 bills they did not ask for a tip, but I left them £5 note, which they were most grateful for,even though the website strictly forbids it.More

This was one of our first meals out since lockdown, despite the relatively small venue the staff at La Bandera have ensured there is sufficient space between tables, friendly greeting and good table service. You had to use your smartphone to scan the QR reader,...choose your dishes and enter your table number in the last name box. We had 9 dishes between 2 which was perfect, I'd recommend their sea bass, squid ink croquettes and the tender and juicy meatballs! I will definatley be returning!More

I recently ate in the restaurant with a friend one Thursday lunchtime and we enjoyed it so much we decided to book it for our group's Christmas catch up. We arrived at 8.15pm on the Saturday evening and were promptly shown to our table. Unfortunately...my phone was the only one that could read the QR code and when I asked they said they didn't have a paper version. This meant I had to read out the menu for the group. Not exactly ideal!! Within 5 mins of sitting down the waitress appeared to take our order. We hadn't decided the food yet, but ordered wine. We went back to looking at the menu and a few mins later the waitress returned for our order. Luckily we had decided quickly as we were given very little time to study the menu. Food ordered we thought we'd have a good 10 to 15 mins to catch up (we hadn't all been out together in over 2 years!), but food plates started turning up within minutes. The meatballs that arrived were cold. We told our waitress and fresh ones arrived. All food was on the table very quickly after ordering it! Tapas enjoyed we again thought we would have a little break before ordering dessert, but the waitress kept coming back and tried to hurry us along. We ordered dessert which again arrived within minutes! After dessert we were asked if we wanted coffees. My friends did, but we were then told that they needed our table for the next booking! On the website it had said the table would need to be vacated at 10pm, but it was only 9.45pm! We asked for the bill and due to the whole rushed nature of the evening we asked for the service charge to be removed. Another member of staff (guessing a manager as was in a black shirt) returned with the amended bill and said we could have coffee in the bar. We said no as we just wanted to leave and go somewhere where we wouldn't feel like we were being rushed. Overall a very disappointing evening. The food was lovely as it was the previous visit, but the experience was very different!! If you plan to go on a weekend night then be prepared to be rushed from beginning to end as they want your table back as quick as possible. The whole experience but a big dampner on a night we had all been looking forward to for ages. I won't be recommending this restaurant again to anyone.More

The food was honestly faultless- so delicious and authentic and I would definitely recommend. The fact that I paid £15 for a white wine spritzer at lunch time though tarnished the fact the food was so amazing. It’s a glass of HOUSE wine, and this...establishment isn’t the ivy..so I’m unsure why drinks prices are so high. Would recommend the calamari, chorizo and the patatas bravas.More