The original Noche Tequila and Tapas Bar in Virginia-Highland has become a perennially popular singles spot, with flirting fueled by cheap drink specials. The food, it seems, is beside the point.
Ditto the second Noche location in Vinings, which opened last year, transforming the formerly sleepy La Madeleine space into a high energy hangout, frequented most nights by a party hearty crowd.
Party on
Late one Sunday afternoon, there was a crush at the front bar, where $5 house margaritas and $1 Dos Equis served in plastic cups made for a rowdy scene that resembled a kegger. Out on the in-demand patio and around the rambling, brightly decorated dining rooms, it was equally crowded but less chaotic, as chipper servers worked the tables with snappy precision.
Tapas madness
Atlanta dining has undergone all sorts of changes since the late '90s, when chef Paul Luna introduced the city to Spanish-style tapas with Eclipse di Luna and Loca Luna. Eventually, those restaurants spawned a new wave of places featuring small plate menus that ditched the Spanish influence for a mad confusion of things more Mexican or American or hybrid-who-knows-what.
The Noche menu is prime example of that ongoing trend. Not that the likes of mini lamb gyros with Spanish potatoes ($8) or grilled pork chops with poblano mashed potatoes and mango chutney ($8) are such bad thing.
The real issue is that so many of the combos just aren't very flavorful — and adding insult to injury, most don't offer much bang for the buck.
Small plate problems
A plate described as mixed olives and spiced almonds ($4)could be a perfect starter snack. But it arrives refrigerator-cold and covered in strips of slimy roasted red peppers. A few pale Marcona almonds buried under the olives seem embarrassed.
Grilled vegetable flat bread with goat cheese and cilantro ($6) is basically a whole wheat tortilla topped with thick, unwieldy slices of grilled yellow squash and few dabs of cheese and pesto.
Going up the food chain, things get a little better. Grilled New York strip steak ($9) is a fairly large, cut-it-yourself hunk of meat that's tender and juicy. But it lacks seasoning and the pool of chipotle au jus on the plate is inexplicably bland.
For the same price, a crispy coconut fried lobster tail with chipotle plum sauce ($9) has a lot more texture, taste and dramatic appeal. The tropical melange might be more at home on the menu at Trader Vic's, but its two sweet bites are a reminder that sometimes tapas madness can be fun.
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Dining out
Noche Tequila and Tapas Bar, 280 Paces Ferry Road, 770-432-3277
Signature dish: Tapas
Entree prices: $4-$9
Hours: Dining: 4-10 p.m. Mondays-Tuesdays; 4-11 p.m. Wednesdays-Thursdays; 4 p.m.-midnight Fridays; 12:30 p.m.-midnight Saturdays-Sundays. Bar open late.
Credit cards: Yes
Online: www.h2sr.com/noche-vinings
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