Casa Don Carlos in Brighton and Hove

Potentially the worst attempt at Tapas I have experienced. The food was dry and flavourless and of very poor quality. The head waiter did take the price of one of the dishes off the meal so I have given extra for service. Other than the head waiter, the other waiters were very young and untrained and the atmosphere in this place was cold and empty. I would not recommend this to anyone who a) enjoys Tapas or b) enjoys good food.

Food was fine, the restaurant was nice. The problem was paying. We were told the card reader was not working at the time after multiple attempts so decided to pay by cash. A few days later the bank has shown that my card was actually charged, when I called to let them know and get a refund back on my card. I was rudely brushed aside stating that they have no received it. When stated that it has and have proof of it through bank statement, they reiterated they hadn’t and promptly hanged up on me. I don’t usually leave reviews but the treatment we received was absolutely unacceptable and have never been treated this way. I cannot recommend this restaurant when they treat people with such disdain from their fault

Honestly the worst Spanish food I’ve had in my life

Hands down my worst tapas experience ever. One of the very few restaurants where you can find a table on short notice on a Brighton weekend, for a reason. Grilled langoustinas were overcooked mid size prawns, patatas bravas arrived with a thick layer of supermarket mayonnaise on top, albondigas were dry beyond imagination, and so was the black pudding. Again Polpo a la gallega was overcooked, chewy and dry, and pieces of octopus ridiculously thin for the price paid (£9 for the dish alone). How this place can get positive reviews is truly beyond my imagination, eat there at your own risk!

Nice place but I think that the typical Spanish dishes can be way better. I’m not sure if everything is cooked on the same day so I didn’t have a sense of freshness… The prawns were really good I’d give 8 points Tortilla with chorizo 5 points Paella was ok 6 points I recommend but not what I expected Atmosphere is lovely

Went for lunch three of us shared various tapas and it was all very mediocre had no flavour at all, and one dish so over fried was unedible. Disgusting, nothing to do with the real flavours of Spanish tapas. Staff very uninterested and couldn't care less.

Very poor tapas. Very disappointing that a Spanish man would offer this to stupid British people but unlikely to his dog in spain. If you think this is good food you must live in a bin!! Space and service is good. Food is a disaster

Id leave less than 1 star if I could. I came here because of the good reviews and I IMPLORE you not to make the same mistake as me. I ate here a few months ago and I still get so cross thinking about my experience here: there was flies buzzing around us and landing on the food (in the back of the restaurant), the Spanish omelette was dry af and I’d rather have eaten the sainsburys meal deal version, food came out less than 10 mins after we ordered it so it could not have been made fresh, chicken was dry, mussels were coated in something I can only describe as a Heinz tomato soup sauce, hair in our food. Was honestly the worst restaurant experience I’ve ever had. I am completely baffled reading these reviews how anyone could enjoy their time here. On top of this the owner was so rude to us when we mentioned that we weren’t happy with our food (defensive). I honestly didn’t want to pay a penny towards this disgusting and overpriced experience! DO NOT GO HERE

Always excellent. Consistently one of the top restaurants in Brighton.

Food was microwaved badly and the service couldn’t have been poorer. No one asked if we were happy and all the servers couldn’t have shown less interest! Shocking! Obviously not worried about return business but rely on the constant new business/ footfall in brighton. Absolutely the worse meal and experience ive had in a very very long while. Shame.

1st time back in 20 years. Thoroughly enjoyed the food. Nothing better than Tapas. My wife and I enjoyed it greatly. Just popped in for afternoon Tapas snack.

My partner and I had dinner at Casa don Carlos on Saturday 17 February. We have returned here many times during our visits to Brighton. But after the last visit I am not sure if I will come back. The quality of the food and hospitality was, as usual, very good with the exception of my Crema Catalana only being warm on top and cold inside. I also wish the cheese was at room temperature rather than fridge cold. Plus, the food was a bit rushed onto the table, which in hindsight was probably a blessing. But that’s where the good things stopped. A group of six people behind us ruined the whole evening, or to be more precise, ONE individual of that group. He clearly loved his own voice, and the volume (including laughs) was on full blast the whole visit. It was impossible to hold a normal conversation without losing track of your own mind. Other neighbouring guests were also disturbed by this man and raised their concerns. We spoke to the staff, but they said they couldn’t do anything as the group were regular diners. I’m very disappointed that the staff/management is reluctant to kindly tell one guest to consider other diners, especially if they have been there before. The relationship should be amicable, you would think. I am frustrated that many of the diners had their experience ruined because of one person, and the staff thought the rest of the paying guests should just ‘suck it up’. Ultimately – when it comes down to it, it’s their job to make sure every single guest has a pleasant experience, regardless of if you are a regular or not.

The food is great, we order four tapas, breads and one dessert, was a good amount for two people. I would say the price is great cuz it’s kinda not cheap, but it’s definitely worth to try. Staffs are very kind and friendly, and I love the banana pie we had in the end, we should have ordered two and not sharing one plate haha, was the best pie I have in the months and I am a pie lover aahah.

A nice little tapas bar in the lanes. We ordered prawns with garlic and chilli lovely, paella lovely, calamari lovely, patatas bravas okay, and Serrano ham dry and not worth the money. Staff were lovely and food came out in a timely manner. It's almost worth going there just to get a bill from the 80's (see picture)

A fabulous taste and feel of Spain in the UK. Can not be any happier or sayanything other than a must goto a dine here. Superb on every level and they catered for a our large group of 10 people with on in a wheel chair. Fabulous and thank you all at Casa Don Carlos. Will see yall again on our next trip to Brighton xx

I been there last month 😋 Absolutely brilliant! Great foods and good services then .... I recommend this shop when you visit Brighton , xx 👍🥰💕

NOT BOTHERED = forget about Don Carlos! Never again. Don Carlos is NOT BOTHERED... and neither should you. Awful experience. Had a dual special birthday celebration night out for a relaxed delicious meal. Booked Casa Don Carlos in advance. Sat down "What drinks would you like? Bread and butter?" *BREAD AND BUTTER!* they serve mainly carbohydrate heavy food. Unpleasant staff hassled us to order. Dumped tapas on table and kept removing bowls with food still remaining. Miserable house manager was not bothered. Ignored the feedback. Lesson Learned: NEVER AGAIN! Avoid *Casa Don Carlos* in #Brighton. Other better Spanish restaurants are near by.

Used to go there many years ago & it was such a friendly place. Went there lunchtime today for someone's special birthday. We all found the waiters/waitresses rather unfriendly & abrupt. Felt hurried to choose drinks. Was disappointed and would not recommend it for special occasions. Will not be going again. It is not the happy fun place I remember. Times change but the food was only average & does have a Spanish feel to it.

The place is small, the atmosphere is huge, the staff Spanish. The perfect place to enjoy great tapas.

Would recommend booking, you have 90 mins to have your food, service very good, good choice of food, felt couldn't do it proper tapas style, ordered food all in one go

Incredible authentic tapas and friendly staff!

Great authentic tapas with friendly, attentive service. All the usual favourites with some great specials.

Friendly and attentive staff. However the food is too oily and did not taste authentic.

Very nice Spanish dishes and tapas

I don’t really like it because food for me it’s not delicious service is nice but the Boss screming all the time and atmosphere inside is so old

We have eaten here many times. Why give it five stars? It is a restaurant that serves good food at a reasonable price and has a great ambiance. To top it all, we are always made to feel welcome. Simple really - a smile and a pleasant greeting. A "welcome back" and a "pleased to see you again" count for a great deal.

Always busy ,normally one would need to book. Called in far earlier ( 6pm)than one would normally dine on a very rainy ,windy day ,midweek. Not all tables were reserved! Varied choice of tapas available to choose from. Authentic. Tasty Ideal for sharing a number of small plates

Always busy ,normally one would need to book. Called in far earlier ( 6pm)than one would normally dine on a very rainy ,windy day ,midweek. Not all tables were reserved! Varied choice of tapas available to choose from. Authentic. Tasty . Ideal for sharing a number of small plates ,or just a small plate if you do not eat much and let the others share the rest!

Overpriced, the ham is not that good; expect small portions so order a lot of food if you want to eat well. It feels like a real Spanish restaurant because of the design, the smell and the noise.

We try to visit this excellent restaurant whenever we visit Brighton. The staff are all so friendly and it's a lovely atmosphere throughout your visit. The menu has a fantastic choice of dishes and all the food we have tried over the years is delicious. Would definitely recommend the albondigas and the chorizo al vino. We hope to visit again soon as it really is the best UK based Tapas restaurant we have been to.

Food was nice but beer very pricy 😃

Feels very authentic. Food is great and varied. Great seasoning, great service. Can’t fault it. Would definitely go back.

Recommended to us by a neighbour and did not disappoint. The staff/owner were friendly and welcoming, there was a great range of dishes including vegetarian options. All delicious, we had a relaxing afternoon.

Loved it. Really friendly service and great food. Ideal for sharing.

Managed to get a table for 6 at 2.45pm on the off chance. From the moment we arrived to when we left it was superb. The food was hot and so tasty. The service was excellent. Helps being a Brighton fan that might get you a table !! Love this restaurant and everything about it. It can get busy but they look after you as best they can. Enjoy

Wonderful small authentic Spanish restaurant right in the centre of The Lanes. Delicious tapas - ate far too much! Sangria was perfect. Great service

From beginning to end the whole experience was bad. From the outside the restaurant looks authentic and sweet, but once seated the menus were thrown at us. The manger (older man with glasses) came to take our order and rushed us through the ordering. He pressured us into ordering bread and dips, despite us saying no at first he pushed us to order them. When the dishes came out, the disappointment continued. The paella was stoggy and warm, not hot, with little fish or meat. It was also salty and had little to no flavour. The prawns also had eggs, and while it’s fine to eat them it’s not always pleasant. The other dishes (meatballs, patatas bravas and chicken wings) were covered in same salty tomato sauce. No where during service did we get asked if the food was okay or if we needed anything, and getting hold of any staff was hard. When we finally got hold of the manager to ask for the bill, he didn’t bring it straight away. Instead he cleaned the table while we were still sat there. At this point two of our party were very uncomfortable and got up to leave. When we finally got the bill it was a poorly scribbled piece of paper, which was ineligible therefore we couldn’t see the price or the items of anything to know if they were correct. When we asked to keep the receipt he said no and handed us a small slip of paper with just the final amount on, no itemised receipt instead I had to take a picture of it. I would not recommend and as we were leaving we told people outside not to go in and waste their money.

This place is a real little gem, we hadn’t booked so were lucky to get a table as it was really busy. An authentic Spanish tapas restaurant, the staff were lovely, friendly and attentive. The menu is really good, lots to choose from and the food was great. The portions are quite generous so you only need to choose 2-3 dishes each, we chose 3 each and shared. We will definitely be returning.

Walked past this restaurant on Friday afternoon on my way to Party on the Beach ⛱️ Thought to myself "will go there tomorrow" Glad I did. Arrived late afternoon, about 16.15pm. Table for 1. Told that i had to be finished by 18.00pm by the owner. No problem. Was seated near bar. Nice little place. Loved the atmosphere. Food looked and smells delicious 😋 Genuine Spanish staff and food. Staff were helpful and friendly I had meatballs / stuffed peppers / fried prawns and bread with dip. Cortado and sparkling water. Happily sat listening and watching. Would highly recommend. You have to book ahead if you want dinner as its so popular.

Excellent food service and atmosphere- deginately worth a visit - book to avoid disappointment

The food was excellent, authentic Spanish. We had a several tapas dishes. The portions were bigger than avarage tapas size. Prices were fair, service good. Highly recomended

Lovely find in The Lanes. Traditional tapas place with good selection of food and some excellent specials. Service was great and they didn’t rush us even though they were getting busy. Reasonably priced and a nice vibe to the place. Definitely recommend and will definitely return.

Great!! Genial. Después de 6 meses de pizza y burger, volver a comer comida española fuera de casa ha sido un placer!! Todo muy bueno, espectacular, como en una taberna típica española.

Lovely place, attentive service, well cooked food, great selection and good atmosphere. My half Spanish cousin was impressed! Really enjoyed.

Lively friendly bustling authentic Spanish restaurant in the heart of Brighton Lanes. Great range of tapas freshly prepared. Friendly staff. Very busy so best to book. Well worth trying it out.

Superb Spanish tapas, and good sangria. Recommended

Great find- didn’t expect to get a table but squeezed in- food and service were amazing - helpful staff gave some great advice- highly recommend

22 of my family came along to Casa Don Carlos to celebrate my 50th Birthday. What a fantastic job they did. The party menu went down a treat from the youngest being 8yrs to oldest of 80. Everyone complimented the food - it was fantastic. The staff all went above and beyond. Can't thank you enough. It was the best evening ever. Some amazing family memories made. XXX

Came across this lovely little restaurant while out strolling through the lanes today with my partner and 2 daughters 10&12. Didn’t have a booking but we were immediately found a table for 4 and greeted warmly. The food was outstanding and great value. My fussy 10 year old even tried and enjoyed the meatballs and croquettes. A must visit if you enjoy a good atmosphere great service and quality food.

Always love the food here but definitely felt rushed. Feel like this beautiful restaurant has lost its charm x

4 of us came here last night and had an excellent meal as per. Haven’t been for a few years as we don’t live in Brighton and it’s hard to get tables as it’s a very popular restaurant but the food was excellent. Chorizo lovely...

I visited with a group of friends for a belated 60th birthday treat and I wasn't disappointed. I had Paella and Potato Braver and couldn't finish it, the Paella on its own was enough. My only complaint is that the seating is a little tight.

Amazing food, brilliant atmosphere, really friendly service. Can't wait to go back ASAP.. My favourite restaurant in Brighton

We were walking down the lanes and came across this restaurant it looked busy so thought would give it a try. The service from the moment we sat down was excellent, got drinks very quickly offered bread whilst we were looking over the menu. We...

My friend and I were in Brighton for the day and saw this restaurant . Looking at the TA score I 4.5* i thought it was worth having lunch there. It was busy from 1pm to 3.15pm when we left which says lots. A really...

The food was nice but the portions were really small which is obvious. Love the ambience. We ordered Pollo al ajillo, Champiñones con chorizo, Gambas al ajillo and Mejillones

Really enjoyed eating here - the staff were friendly and really good with my allergies. I enjoyed the aubergine and also the banoffee pie was amazing

The service was good, but the food was really disappointing. Most of the food arrived cold. The seafood in the paella and fried squid had no taste to them, just not how they should be. Sorry to say, but really not worth the money.

Had not initially planned to visit the restaurant, we booked a table at Tapas Revolution but upon arrival it was closed. This was a blessing as we had a great experience at Casa Don Carlos and will definitely visit again! Great food and great service!

Our first experience of Casa Don Carlos since pre covid times but as usual it did not let us down. We visited new years eve and had a fantastic evening. The food was excellent and service informal but impeccable. We had a lovely time and...

Really just discovered this place by chance whilst looking for somewhere quick to eat before a concert. Despite some reviews the staff were friendly enough & advised us on the right number of dishes to order. Enjoyed eating what we ordered.

Great service and very quick to refill your drinks. This is a real tourist trap. If you like real Spanish tapas then avoid. My partner is Spanish and said it was the worst he’d ever had as the food was nothing but real Spanish. Gambas...

Great atmosphere, lovely food, brilliant staff.

Great experience, good service, yummy food! Almost like being in Spain. A friend recommended this place and we were glad we listened. Being one vegetarian and one 'carnivore ' it was a brilliant way to share a meal. Tapas galore. But be careful... the portions...

Spanish tapas should be smaller portions, so to experience many different tastes. Not big portion of just potatoes, etc. No Spanish feel to the place, pop music coming from the speakers. Food comes out quick as you have a microwave, wondered why it tasted bland.

Enjoyed the service but the food is not worth the money i am sorry to say. Maybe it is nice for tourists

We had a delicious tapas lunch here. The service was excellent. We booked a table for 12:30 on Saturday, so it was just opening and we got a table by the window. Clearly very popular as it filled up in the next half hour. Service...

We try to eat here whenever in Brighton as always find the staff extremely friendly and the food is superb. The place is clean and the menu has an excellent choice catering for all tastes. Everything we have tried there on various visits is lovely...

Food were delicious! The slightly downside of it? One of the waitress who was serving us was not friendly. For me, aside from delicious food, it is also very important good ambience and friendly service!

Classic Spanish food …. There’s a reason it’s been here since 1986 and it doesn’t disappoint. Great food and awesome staff

Nice variety , super good wine, three tapas each plus a bottle of Rioja plus sc was 89GBP. Service was good. Staff is very nice.

Service rushed. The restaurant is very busy and gets very loud and difficult to talk to each other and staff. Food used to be exquisite but gone below average for the price being charged.

The restaurant was very busy which maybe is not a good thing as felt rushed, unimportant and the food felt it was precooked and heated up. Did not feel valued as a customer at all. Food and service very mediocre. Customers were saying goodbye and...

One of our favorite Tapas places in the UK. We took family there that had not been before. They loved it! Genuine Spanish feel to the place, with excellent food and wine. Shame you cant book a table on line. If you have not been...

Some of the better tapas I have had

Went there tonight. This place is best place for tapas. Food fantastic. Staff very friendly. Wish we'd found this sooner. Definitely will be back. Thank you once again. Xx.

We read the reviews for this place so popped in for an early dinner. Atmosphere is nice and staff friendly. Food was nice, we had a few different dishes - calamari prawns, chorizo, potato bravas, croquettes all washed down by a bottle of house red. Only thing I would say is that I'm not convinced how home made some of the food is, croquettes for instance and we had 5 prawns in our serving for £8! Total bill was £77, with service added to the bill. Have had tapas many times, would say that this was in the region of ok. The location helps.

Looked lovely and was busy. Food was (sadly) mediocre and it would have been helpful if our waitress had been a little more helpful, explaining what we were ordering.

Really enjoyed our tapas,can recommend if your in the lanes in Brighton

We strolled into this authentic looking restaurant on a sunny summer afternoon… promptly got a table despite being busy…and charmed by the authentic look and decor of the place. Ordered oxtail casserole and a chorizo dish (and a sangria). None of them disappointed. The chorizo...

The food was okay. The grilled squid was good. The prawns were a little over cooked. The marinated pork was definitely overcooked and the paella was disappointing. Not sure I will go back.

This place was recommended to me by an ex work colleague, our chicken and potato dish was bland, the garlic prawns were burned and the Irish coffee was topped with spray cream which is a no no, we won’t be going back there

We enjoyed this meal so much. The place was clean, friendly and the food was amazing. We especially loved the sweet red peppers stuffed with seafood and the octopus. Everything was excellent.

29 June 2022. Greeted at the door by a masked waiter holding a bottle of spray hand sanitiser - we politely declined. Should have left then but went in. All staff were masked, unfriendly waitress & didn’t feel welcome. Toughest calamari I’ve ever had -...

Family run tapas restaurant. Food was excellent and freshly cooked in the small kitchen. This is a must try place to eat!

Walking past this restaurant, I made the assumption I was in for a lovely, authentic experience and fresh food. I was wrong. The service was fine, with us being the only table who was sat when we arrived, however the food was awful. The potatas...

The prices were up and the standard down. The vegetarian dishes were potato heavy and bland. Like school dinners. The only good dish (hence 2 stars) was the spinach and chickpeas. Sadly, I won't return.

Disappointed, especially considering all the positive reviews here. Maybe we were just unlucky. Food was cold, paella stodgy, bread doughy. Sardines tasted good but were also cold. Not a single person serving us asked us how the meal was so little chance to feed back...

Lovely food, generous portions. As good as you can get anywhere in Spain. In fact we felt like we were in Spain due to the ambience and the authentic dishes.

A great spot that I’ve returned to many times before. Lovely authentic Spanish food served in a quaint restaurant. Really great options for both drinks and tapas. Good value too. We loved the Spanish omelette and prawns. The aubergine with honey was a bit too...

We found this little place while in the lanes one evening and we were happy we did as it was excellent ! It was busy so would have to book normally I expect but we managed to get a table . The staff , from...

Had the best time in this restaurant, the food was delicious and took no time at all to arrive. The service was unbeatable, so friendly and very family oriented. In the perfect location, a nice little lane tucked away it felt like the closest you'd...

Very expensive rabbit! Other than that.. Great tapas

We ordered mushrooms, peppers, and aubergine dishes. Mushrooms and stuffed peppers from a can. Tasteless. Not what one would expect for these prices. Never again.

Best Spanish food around, ever, in England. Tapas came out as it was ready, freshly prepared, tasty and reasonably priced. Squeezed us in even though it was very busy. Great little place.

Food quality is below average (except for the langostinos) and overpriced. Portions are small. Service is slow - it took about 15 mins to get the bill and 10 more minutes to pay. I am not coming back.

Poor quality and tasteless food. Service very slow. Lack of finesse. Nothing special. Wouldn’t recommend. Garlic bread stodgy and no garlic,…walk past and go else where

We had bread and olives then 5 dishes meat and fish which were very nice. They are nice size portions. We had a jug of Sangria also very nice. The staff were very helpful and friendly. We went at 4 30 so quite quiet as...

With an average of 4.5 out of 5, we thought we were sure to have a nice meal. Wrong! When you look at the odd bad review on trip advisor, you tend to dismiss it as " oh they must be over fussy" but not...

Unfortunately the food was awful today , not been there in years . And can't say Il be in a rush to go back . When telling the guy in there about our experience he was really rude shame because they used to be one of my favourite restaurants 👎🏾