Review Boca Tapas Bar - St. John's

Writing this review while I’m having my Dulce de Leche Creme Brûlée and it was delicious. My entire meal was phenomenal, the ceviche was definitely different compared to anything I may have had before but flavourful. The pao de queijo and thé gambas al ajillo were so tasty! Im always on the lookout for fun places with good food and Boca Tapas Bar hit the spot

Great food and ambiance. Loved the decor! The tapas and Dulce de Leche creme brulee are to die for! 🤤

If you just dropped in not knowing where you are you can easily placed this lovely tapas bar in New York, Madrid or any other big city. Both the vibe and the food selection and quality rivals that of many NY restaurants. We ordered 10 items from the menu and all were just amazing. A must try if you are in town.

Absolutely loved it. So many gluten free options. The atmosphere and service were amazing. Definitely will be going back again. The sangria was delicious and had to order another. I couldn't get enough of this place.

Good service and decent food. Nothing out of this world but the atmosphere is nice. A little pricey.

Waited an hour for a simple charcuterie board and then gave up, paid and left. Many of the tables around us were experiencing the same. Definitely not a place I would go back to.

Loving the traditional tapas bars in Spain, we had to try this St. John’s version. The challenge of visiting a restaurant outside the country of its origin is that one cannot help but make comparisons. Located in a side street in Downtown St. John’s, Boca is warm and inviting. There is nothing particularly Spanish about it except the wall signs highlighting some main cities. Then again, the stereotypical flamenco dancers and bulls are probably best avoided anyway. We arrived for lunch and ordered a couple Estrellas from Barcelona, I believe. Having recently learned that our Guinness is brewed locally and not imported from Ireland leaves me with doubts for all beers they call “Imports”. Our number one reason for going was to sample their calimari, a classic dish served in just about every Spanish restaurant/bar. Given this was Newfoundland and news reports this past summer of an abundance of squid, we just assumed this would be available. However we were informed by the server that it was taken off the menu!! Disappointed we made several other selections. While just about anything goes in more modern upscale tapa bars in Spain, we found much of the menu were adapted to please a more general clientele who might be more adventurous. For example, the salad offering was just a common Caesar with Jamón substituted for bacon. We were also disappointed with fact we had to order from the limited lunch menu with several items unavailable. Many of the items in the rest of the menu should have been accesible at that time. C’mon. How hard would it be to make Pan con Tomate... toasted bread with tomato and garlic that you make yourself! Frankly, we were disappointed with the service which was the reason we dropped the rating. It was felt our server could care less about pleasing or accommodating her customers. It took away greatly from an otherwise pleasing meal. This was our second time visiting this restaurant and our server the first time was incredibly good. So, I guess like anywhere, you win some you lose some. Training and guidance from the owner/manager would likely help improve this. The bathrooms were incredibly clean. Not something I usually note but having visited a few in our pre-Christmas visit to old downtown St. John’s and finding them disgusting, I felt this one deserved a thumbs up for cleanliness. All in all a good restaurant. We would go again but with a Spanish wife, we would just love to see a little more of Spain and less North American influence in the menu. I guess as a restaurant owner you have to cater to the majority.

Went to this place on Saturday for some later eats. Extremely impressed with the entertainment, service, and food. I did not eat a lot, I do like that they have a lot of gluten free options. The atmosphere here is fun and inviting. Definitely recommend for late eats and entertainment.

Went to Boca this past Tuesday night and I have to say it was absolutely fantastic! The service was phenomenal, the musician was incredible, the food was tasty, and the sangria was to die for! There was also salsa dancing :D I spent a year in Spain a while back and I must say this place is authentically Spanish! Definitely recommend it. Thank you Boca for the wonderful evening.

First of all I loved the atmosphere and deco. Having just visited Barcelona in october it was as if I walked off the streets and into a Spanish tapas bar. (Although we could have done with out the early 90s dance music, and the table of men yelling at the hockey game. But not a deal breaker). Service was also top notch, some of the best I've had in a long time. Very friendly attentive and informative. Good wine, beer and cocktails . And a fair price for what we had as well. So, I enjoyed the Paella, tomato bread (really good) and the cheese, but unfortunately rest of the food was lacking. Things that should have been golden brown, like the Patats and croquette were pale and soft and the olive plate could have been a little more that canned sliced black olives with a few whole green olives thrown in. (A variety of marinated olives would have been a game changer). Aside from that most of the food was only good-okay and not exactly authentic. This city has so many amazing restaurants, if one was to compete in this market the food should absolutely blow people away. (Even if you are the only Spanish tapas game in town) This was not the case during my visit with 5 other restaurant industry people. I'll visit again for sure, in a few months, hopefully you raise the bar on the food quality/authenticity. My aim is not to discourage people from coming in, I encourage people 100% to visit this restaurant and form your own opinions. My 3 stars are mostly for the atmosphere service and drinks

This amazing little hole in the wall is exactly what St. John’s needed. The moment you walk through the door you cast aside any problems, or stresses of everyday life, and instantly immerse yourself into the authentic Spanish culture. Boca’s atmosphere, staff and food have a way of bringing everyone together as one. If you’re looking to get away for a night, I would highly recommend you try this place. It’s fantastic!

By far one of the best meals I have had in St. John’s. The atmosphere was fantastic and intimate , food was phenomenal and the service was great. Definitely recommend and a must try. Keep up the great work. Will be back

Great food and drinks with authentic Spanish flavour. It has a lovely atmosphere and our server took extra time to explain the menu and make suggestions. Highly recommend this place. We will definitely go back.

Boca is certainly a gem of a restaurant nestled in the downtown core of St.John’s. My first impression of Boca was the attention to detail. The entrance is beautiful and as soon as you enter you can feel the warmth from the friendly staff. The three times I have visited everyone had a smile on their face and seemed to be having a fabulous time. I have enjoyed all the dishes I have tried so far however the black bean soup and meatballs are outstanding! I highly recommend everyone give this place a try. Enjoy some live music with a few drinks while dining on tapas! Pura Vida!

Yesterday I've tried this place out for the first time and I'm very satisfied with the food and sangria. Patatas bravas, cure meats, and Pa amb tomàquet (tomato bread) tasted just like home (Barcelona)... I'll definitely go back to try more tapas! The service was also great, Sheldon helped us chose the best drinks and food... and he even spoke in Catalan!

My friend and I have been waiting weeks to try this spot and we were not disappointed. The food is fantastic, the atmosphere is great and the staff were perfect! We will definitely be back. Shout out to Sheldon who suggested food and drink, he is great!

Fantastic place to enjoy an evening. Boca has a great environment, great staff, delicious food and very reasonably priced. Enjoy!

I really liked the decor and the food was very good also. We found it quite noisy lunch time today in our booth, it was difficult to chat because of the music. Also a friend of mine stopped to say hello for a minute and she commented on how it was loud a loud. However, overall I enjoyed it and it was a nice change from some of the other restaurants and bars down town.

It was our first time at Boca and we were so impressed with everything - from the waiter’s advice to the wine, and of course the delicious food, it was super. The added bonus was the young MUN Music student playing Spanish guitar - it just finished the atmosphere perfectly. We’ll definitely be repeat customers!

I’ve been twice and both times the food, service and atmosphere were amazing. Laura, our server, was very helpful and attentive and both owners were on the floor greeting guests and helping things run smoothly. Reserve a table if you want a table on weekends!

Absolutely love this place! Highly recommend trying the sangria! Best in town!

Absolutely loved it! We had several tapas all of which tasted great! Fresh, quality ingredients and the red sangria was delicious! Service was quick and friendly, atmosphere is great, we thoroughly enjoyed our visit. I can’t wait to come back!

My wife and I dropped in yesterday for a drink and tried three different apps.. we found the Service, atmosphere and food excellent. We will definitely be going back..

The food and service was awesome! I also loved the portion sizes of the food �