Santiago’s Bodega Review

We love tapas, so when I discovered Santiago’s Bodega, a tapas restaurant in Key West with great reviews, we decided to go for our anniversary dinner. Unfortunately, when I called to make a reservation, there were none available for that night. Instead, we planned to go the next night.

We parked a few blocks away and enjoyed the short walk down the flower-lined streets to the restaurant. We chose to sit on the patio. I noticed a super soaker on the rail next to our table and thought it was an odd place for it to be. The patio was shady and surrounded by lovely flowers. It was entertaining to watch the comings and goings on the street beside us.

Our server was friendly, and we appreciated the respectful distance she kept from us as she talked to us. I ordered a glass of sparkling red sangria, which happened to be half price since we were there during happy hour while we looked over the menu. There were so many exciting items on the menu that it was difficult to narrow down just what we wanted. At least with a tapas menu, we were able to taste several different options.

We started with the Blistered Shishito Peppers and Truffle French Fries from the happy hour menu. The fries were just what we expected, fantastic crispy fries with that rich truffle flavor and lots of parmesan. They were delicious. The peppers were tasty as well, with a lovely, charred flavor. Between the two of us, we were not able to finish the generous portion of peppers.

For the next course, we ordered Yellowfin Tuna Ceviche and Beef Carpaccio. The tuna, marinated in spicy citrus juice, with avocado, mango, tomato, jalapeno, red onion, and cilantro, was spectacular. I loved the way the flavors all blended to accent, but not overpower, the delicate tuna. The thinly shaved tenderloin on the carpaccio, topped with capers, red onions, crumbled parmesan, smoked sea salt, truffle oil, and micro-cilantro, was succulent, leaving me wanting more. It was my favorite dish of the meal.

We had an order of Bacon and Basil Wrapped Mushrooms as well as Dates for our third course. The mushrooms were delectable with fresh basil as well as a basil aioli for dipping. I loved the decadent dates stuffed with goat cheese and wrapped in prosciutto.

We enjoyed watching the chickens running around on the patio as we ate. We noticed people at the other tables feeding them, so Chris tossed a tiny morsel to the one near our table just as the server came by. He asked if feeding the chickens was ok. She nicely informed us that they would prefer we not. It seems that when people feed the chickens, they tend to get aggressive, looking for more food.

While we were waiting for our last course, we suddenly heard a commotion behind us. The chickens were fighting. Quickly, our server scooped up the super soaker and proceeded to spray the chickens with it to break up the fight. It was a hilarious scene, made even funnier because her reaction seemed commonplace, like soaking chickens was an everyday occurrence.

We ordered Beef Tenderloin, rare, and Petite-Rack Lamb, medium rare for the final and largest course. The tenderloin was seared and topped with blue cheese butter, while the lamb was encrusted with Dijon mustard, pecans, and thyme. Both had the potential to be sumptuous, except that neither was the requested temperature. They were flavorful, so we didn’t send them back. I can only imagine how delicious they would have been if they had not overcooked them.

I very briefly considered dessert but then decided that I was comfortably full. I would love to return to Santiago’s Bodega and sample more of their menu the next time we go to Key West. Cost of one happy hour beer, two glasses of happy hour sangria, two happy hour tapas dishes, and six tapas dishes $113.44.