La Regata Restaurant in Southampton

Excellent food what more can I say.

Many guests during our visit. Noisy on the 1st floor. lovely food at reasonable prices

Good food, atmosphere and the waiters were lovely but we sat at 8pm and the food (5 tapas plates) arrived at 9.30pm..

Food was absolutely delicious especially the sea beam and lamb dish. The meat was cooked perfectly with a good amount of seasoning and tender texture. Pulpo A La Gallega was also spot on as the octopus paired well with the potatoes and paprika. We will definitely visit this place again (worth the 2 hours drive from Bristol).

Delicious food! Tapas dishes were excellent

First time eating here, such great choices for vegetarians, will be going back, food was stunning.

Amazing restaurant, highly recommended!

Disappointing this time, no hello as we entered , 2/3 wines not available, no smile from waitress . , had to chase for all of our dishes to come out, infact had to ask for everything … No acknowledgment of my partners birthday (mentioned upon booking ) food is always tasty but I’m not sure we’ll be back ! Asked for service to be removed … it didn’t warrant it this time

So glad La Regata is back in the game! We've been going for years but with a change in ownership food went massively down hill over the years. However last night we thought we'd give it another go, we enjoyed fantastic tapas! the goats cheese bread, stuffed dates, crab cakes and meatballs were delicious!

The food was fantastically presented and it tasted heavenly. The cook accommodated to my needs and preferences too. If you like delicious food thats reasonably priced that’s your restaurant.

Very friendly service but the food quality is a bit inconsistent. Our meal consisted of tapas. Mostly lacking seasoning.

Take paella off the menu until you learn how to make it properly and use rice that isn't out of a packet. You have seasonings and spices in your kitchen - perhaps you should use them.

One of the best restaurants in Southampton and one of the best spanish restaurants in southern England. Thank you!

Fantastic tapas .We had a great birthday party for my daughter. We previously lived in Spain and so happy to find a great Spanish restaurant.

We are regular customers here and the food is always amazingly delicious. The staff is very polite and friendly, and makes you feel welcomed and well looked after. Definitely worth visiting!

Friendly staff, great atmosphere, excellent choice of food and very reasonable prices. Highly recommend. Well worth a visit

The food was absolutely gorgeous and they also had gluten-free options, that I absolutely loved. The staff was friendly and could not do enough for us all. We definitely going again.

Freshly fragrant paella was amazing! Service was also very welcoming!

The food was good but the experience is far away from a real Spanish place. The tapas menu was missing some important ones that you usually have in Spain. Went there for my friends birthday, staff was nice but just the bare minimum, when they brought out a cake with a candle (which was a nice gesture) they left it on the table and didn’t even stay to sing happy birthday. I think in the future if the staff is more bubbly with costumers that would help and also making them say the dishes name like it is in the menu and not the English version.

Not the first time I’ve eaten here, but somewhere you can guarantee consistently good food and service. Anastasia, like all the staff, was amazing. Would definitely recommend!

Lovely and welcoming waiting staff and the food was really tasty - you can tell the produce is fresh. Reasonably priced too!

Really nice tapas restaurant, tapas was great. However the homemade crema catalana was very lumpy and was not smooth at all! Was expecting more for a homemade dessert.

Great tapas, good choice of dishes

Came here for Valentine's Day. Just about the best Tapas we have ever tasted on the UK! Seafood is so fresh and beautifully presented. 2nd time we've been. We will be back!

Love this place. Hadn't been for twenty years but went at the weekend. It's still a good as it used to be! 5* all round!

I couldn't recommend this restaurant highly enough. We arrived late on a Friday with no booking but all three members of staff rushed to sort a table for us without making us feel awkward. Very welcoming and friendly staff. Superbly fast and efficient service. The ambiance was very warm, fun and relaxed. The tapas food was totally breathtaking and unique the flavours were just sublime. We do enjoyed our meal and were the last to leave. The staff were very patient and left us to enjoy everything and finish our wine.

We had a lovely lunch - thank you

Food is good but the cocktails were not so good- glasses full of ice and little to drink. Also kicked out of the table as approaching the time for another reservation.

This place was the biggest disappointment in a long time. We ordered a variety of 11 tapas + a mixed paella. They took forever to serve the food and then everything tasted like microwave food. Specially the paella… that can’t be called paella! Having tried many other Spanish restaurants before maybe I had built up my expectations. That’s a never again from me.

Superb. Don't know why it's taken so long to come here. Will definitely be back.

We decided to eat at this restaurant due to the curb side aesthetic, the restaurant is party in the front let down in the rear. The experience began well, cocktails were to a good standard and the appetiser were enjoyed by all the table (garlic bread) Were on to a winner you might think, however the mains come out and they were a bland council array of Iceland Christmas party food. I like to give people the benefit of the doubt and this instance the restaurant was busy, I hope this was the case as it has a lot of potential.

Really good place to go and enjoy some delicious food and drinks. Food is really good. The service is excellent too. It was my first time, but definitely not the last. Thanks and see you soon. Definitely 👍

I had an amazing tapas lunch there today, the food was absolutely amazing, staff were very welcoming and professional a great tapas restaurant will definitely be going again.

La Regata enjoys a very high rating on TripAdvisor and we had high expectations, particularly since we love Spain and her cuisine. La Regata surpassed our expectations in every way, from the attentive service (led by Maitre D Luis) to the exceptional food. The calamari were lightly crusted and served with a wonderful aioli. The paella Valenciana was made fresh to order and loaded with chicken, chorizo and assorted seafood (prawns, clams, calamari and mussels). Our only regret is that we don’t live in Southampton——because we’d love to go to La Regata every week.

Lovely place to eat. Friendly helpfull staff but limited vegan options for Tapas

Evening weekend meal for four. Was a lovely evening with lots of tasty food. Marked down on service as we had to request drinks, extra tapas and dessert.

Came down from the midland to see the daughter, she booked this place 5/1/2024 we had a fantastic night here , we had Tapas food was lovely

Food is really tasty and is prepared with care and with quality ingredients. The “suero Costeño with fruta de pan” was incredible. Lobsters are also big and despite its high price, they are really tasty and well served. The only bad thing was the hostess from the entrance, I went 2 times in 1 week and she was always with an angry face and a bad attitude.

This restaurant serves mediocre food, with poor service and hardly the Spanish dinner experience. They got half of the order wrong, which was not surprising because about three different people took or delivered orders. Seemed unimpressed at the fact we wanted some bread, brought a stale soft roll which was charged at £3. On top of it, they added 10% service charge. My son has just started uni in Southampton and they could have had a returning customer for a few years but absolutely not going to happen. Very disappointing

First time dining here and was amazed at the decor and the service. Food was outstanding. Will most definitely be returning

Bangin food n service. Order the dates 🤌🏼🤌🏼🤌🏼

Lived near Southampton for many years but never managed to visit La Regata for one reason or another. I visited on a Saturday evening with 5 friends. We booked it forgetting there would be company Xmas parties and true enough there was a fairly loud one going on up on the first floor. However, it did not really detract from a great reception and friendly, helpful staff. We ordered a mixture of tapas dishes, paella and quite a few drinks. Admittedly the service was quite slow, probably due to the party and also the rest of the restaurant also being full. However, when the food started to arrive it was delicious and authentic. The paella was fine, not like any we have had in Cataluna where it is more authentic gravy based, it was quite dry but still very nice. Prices very reasonable compared to local competitors too. So a great night and we will be back.

8 of us visited and have to say the food was fantastic! Nice Rioja too :). Lovely building and friendly staff...

Its with a sad heart that I leave this review, it really is. La Regata used to be one of me and my wife's favourite restaurants. Not one we went to often strangely but we have good memories there and go maybe once a year. Last time we went it was excellent and I must admit that I was surprised when Google asked me to leave a review as I thought that I had in years gone by. Now regarding this visit, me and my wife went last Tuesday. I prebooked our table and put a note on the reservation asking for a corner table or somewhere a little further removed as I have hearing trouble. I completely understand when I go to a restaurant if this is not possible but we were seated in the middle of the ground floor, surrounded, with empty tables nearby and not even an apology from the lady who seated us. I believe that they simply had not read my reservation notes, which is a red flag but not necessarily an irredeemable issue. Across the night we interacted with the barman, one waiter and the waitress who seated us. The lady was moody the entire time which again is not great but I appreciate that we all have bad days. Still it was another red flag. The came the paella. If you've seen their website it claims to be award winning and once upon a time it must have been good. We've always had the Tapas before but came to La Regata to specify try the paella and it was awful. The idea of it being fresh is a joke, all of the shellfish were overcooked and had a terrible texture. The veg in the paella was soft and overcooked and it was just a bad experience. I don't know if it's changed hands, if the kitchen staff have changed or if we just caught them on a particular bad night and everything went wrong for us. Let me tell you a story that one waiter told us though, he mentioned that he did not understand why people would come in, pay for a two person paella, barely touch it and then leave. The real travesty here was that he wasn't colluding with us, he genuinely didn't know why people were reacting that way but I completely understand. I'm not the type to send things back or make a scene, so we ate our meal, left a modest tip and left. I can say for sure though that we won't be going back and that neither should any of you. I will miss the restaurant that La Regata used to be and stick to other places when we go for dinner. If you plan to go then stick to the Tapas, from the reviews I've read they are probably still as good as I remember. Either just avoid the Paella or play it safe and avoid the restaurant all together. Edit: Regarding the response received, my apologies the booking was on Wednesday the 29th not Tuesday. My booking reference was BDXQL and I have emailed you evidence as requested. Regarding my feedback, I believe I have been more than fair based on our experience and we should not need to send food back if your chefs are quality testing. It is not down to the customer to make a scene to get a matter resolved, it is up to the restaurant to maintain high standards consistently. Further as your menus state, it takes 40 minutes to cook the paella. The idea that it could be overcooked and then need me to send it back and then wait a further 40 minutes is preposterous.

A Spanish restaurant with lovely Spanish themed decor. No parking, but you can pay to park 5 mins away at Town Quay). Moderately good wine list. Tapas as well as full plates offered. Moderately priced. The food was good, but the service wasn't particularly great. We were not offered more drinks, and had to ask waiters for a dessert menu, then again for the bill. It was therefore surprising to have a 10% service charge added, (when we were not a large party- just 2 people) and the service was not good.

Great food, nice atmosphere, friendly staff

First time coming to La Regata, I would definitely look to come back again and highly recommend. Very impressed with all the food, every dish we had looked and tasted fantastic. To top it off we were recommended a brilliant bottle of red

A culinary trip to Spain right in our neighborhood. The flavors, the atmosphere – absolute perfection! Reasonable prices and high-quality food. Definitely worth visiting. 🎉

Not too impressed drinks over priced pint and a half of coke £9.20 Bread/oil and Olives to start bread was a good size but too soft should have been a sourdough,oil was near on non existent but the olives were nice. Paella dry and under seasoned squid like an elastic bands clams extremely small mussels rubbery basically nothing was fresh and a little over cooked. Rice was stuck to the bottom and stuck together. Meal for two came to £75 in my opinion the evening wasn’t worth anymore than £45 and they topped it off with a £6 something service charge I prefer to decide what tip I leave ! Surroundings/building was lovely just a shame they couldn’t go the extra mile Waitress was very attentive and helpful

Amazing and delicious food also the service it’s great too We booked a table on Saturday night we’re a bit disappointed at the beginning ( been waiting more then 45 min for 3 tapas ) but there was a great service from a young lady her name it’s Estrela ( not sure if I spelled it correct) as we been waiting for a long time for our food to come out we had a lovey chat with the young waiter! Very happy with the service and the food. Didn’t had the chance to thanks the waiter for being patient with us , but hopefully we’ll be back soon for some taps and good service !!

Delicious seafood and vegetables tapas 😊

The staff at La Regata were amazing. They hosted our wedding reception and were absolute stars. The food was fabulous, we could not fault anything. Every dish was delicious. The staff were attentive and made sure everyone had drinks and even accommodated our wedding cake.

We have had multiple lovely meals here, very good food, very friendly staff and highly recommend. We will keep returning for the amazing meals.

Beautiful atmosphere, the food was amazing and the overall experience felt like i was going back in time somewhere in Spain.

Customer service needs improvement especially with handling large groups. The overall experience with FOOD was AWESOME!

Food was fab with alot of choices. Service was quick ..

Great welcoming staff, great atmosphere and location

We had a disappointing meal at this place. The service was disorganized and the food was below average. The crab cakes were mushy inside and barely tasted like crab. The pork belly was supposed to have crispy crackling, but it was bland, fatty and thin. The sizzling prawns were neither sizzling nor flavorful, just soaked in plain olive oil. The only decent dish was the sauteed chips with chorizo, but they needed some salt and pepper.

Lovely venue, the Tapas menu looked fantastic but we opted for the paella which was really delicious. The staff were lovely and we had a very enjoyable lunch

Sitio amigable , recomendable reservar mesa, variedad de platos de cocina española

The place is absolutely stunning, definitely with character. Food was delicious and of fair portions. Our starters and a jug sangria get us through the wait for the tasty paella (worth the wait!). Service was great too. PS. make sure to book as this place is a blockbuster Will visit again.

Had a lovely evening out. Friendly service, paella was good, decent choice of wines. Happy to recommend

The personnel was friendly but seemed overwhelmed/worked Tapas not cheap, but overall rather tasteless- especially when you take the prices into consideration The wine was as bad as it gets Overall- no recommendation

Fab place. We visit every time we’re in Southampton. Well worth a visit if you like Tapas.

Lovely food, service was good. I felt for them as extremely hot. It felt very authentic as a Spanish restaurant. I would certainly return.

No flavour. The vegetable paella was compelety underseasoned and topped with slimey, soggy vegetables, just not prepared right at all. No crisipness, no balance, it was a drag to eat. Not enjoyable at all, can cook much better at home. Not what yoe expect from a restaurant. Tapas was mediocre, nothing special. Wait staff were helpful and nice.

I was unusually disappointed by the food last night. We ordered quite a few tapas and it firstly took 45mins for anything to come out and well the mushrooms, aubergines, meatsballs were all just unseasoned and didnt have much flavour. The vegetarian paella was just quite components of the other tapas cobbled together. Ate the octopus but felt rough afterwards. Regata was not on its game tonight compared to when ive come before.

The service here was utterly awful. We had to wait over an hour for our food, we didn't get any apologies for the delay and to add to that the waiter later on asked in a rather passive aggressive tone if our food was ok. This is the second occasion that this has happened and it is safe to say we won't be visiting here again.

The tapas were fantastic and authentic. The prawns, octopus, chorizo, and pork were top notch. Everything was flavorful and attractively presented. The sangria was lovely. The dessert was exceptional. They also had the fantastic, almond based torta of Santiago de Compostela. They kindly substituted dairy free ice cream for me with no fuss. This is a popular spot and it could be crowded but the food was first rate.

Amazing Service and venue. Highly recommended

Nice little spot to grab a quick meal. We had a table booked for two at 6.45pm and were in the taxi home by 7.30pm (spent the rest of the night in the pub near home instead lol). Service was good but just super fast, not quite the traditional Spanish experience and seemed like they wanted us in and out. The food was nice, good cheeses and croquetas but not much in variety of fish. I don't think I'd come back, next time I want tapas I think it would be better to pick up a bunch of things in M&S and have a more affordable and leisurely dining experience at home.

Delicious, authentic Spanish food.

Food was greasy or tasted like it was frozen and heated up,service was horrible,save your money for McDonald's!!

Absolutely outstanding. What a fantastic place. I wanted to knock it down a point because they had no creme catalana which I was so looking forward to having only had one in valencia before. There was none left. But the food, wow. Every dish superb. The pork cheeks are ridiculous. 100% recommend this place. Hopefully will go on a cruise near year and without doubt I will be here hopefully without doubt. Phenomenal.

Looked at the reviews April 2022 when was in Southampton last but didn't get a table. Back here tonight amd luckily got in. Wow. The bread and olives woth garlic mayo superb even though I hate mayo. The tapas was superb. The meatballs, scallops, chicken...

A busy Saturday lunchtime but the staff were brilliant and the tapas delicious. We will definitely be booking again.

Zero flavor. Overpriced, and forgets to serve food. Next!

Absolutely brilliant, went with a large group and not only was the food was fantastic, the service was so quick! Will definitely be going back.

Not the same anymore, I’m pretty sure most of the food has been purchased from Costco. I don’t think I’ll be going back again, shame as I loved this place.

Honestly, was so impressed with the food here. The service at ordering and paying stage was slightly slow, but the tapas was great, tasty and well presented.

Great food, great service, absolutely delicious choices of tapas foods. One thing I can say for certain is that a truly authentic Spanish cuisine is present here, no doubt. Definitely recommend this place. However, I must advise you about two things. Firstly, be ready for a lot of noise. Like, lots of noise. It's very busy and shouty in there, so do not expect a quiet dinner in there. Secondly, the furniture is not the most comfortable. I mean, it was okay, but sitting for a very long time is not recommended, as it feels a bit crowded and there is not a lot of space. Also, sadly one of the dishes hasn't been served. I hope we weren't charged for it.

We had a number of tapas dishes to start which were not great. The prawns with garlic seems to be cooked in water and not oil, the tuna salad seemed to be missing the tuna and the calamari tough. The bread with alioli was served with the smallest about of alioli I've ever been served in any restaurant. We then had paella which again was bland and tasteless. It was as if a bag of microwave rice had been emptied into the paella pan and some seafood added. In addition to this and to further support the microwave rice point there was no socarrat which is the best part of any paella. All told very disappointing especially when we were looking forward to the meal so much.

A very nice and cozy restaurant with amazing food.

Very good taos, authentic Spanish food. Was very noisy though! Would recommend

Visited Southampton in late July. Popped in without a reservation early Friday evening. No tables but had a lovely dinner seated at the bar. Food was very tasty, well spiced and plentiful portions. The crab cakes in particular were delicious. Service was friendly and efficient....

This place is brilliant for anyone wanting authentic Spanish food, fantastic wines, great service with a fabulous atmosphere. I visited here with my daughter and we both came away very happy punters. The staff were very friendly and advised on both the food dishes, what...

Fantastic. Had 5 different tapas and a bottle of wine. All were outstanding! A little loud at times, but still an excellent meal!

La Regata is well worth seeking out if you’re planning an evening meal in Southampton. It’s a charming restaurant on the harbour front close to the ferry terminals with staff who all gave service with a smile. The tapas we ate were all reasonably priced...

Gorgeous food in a beautiful setting with family.

Went for lunch on a Sunday afternoon. Food was ok. Would have been better if it was freshly cooked but alas everything was either heated up in the microwave or refried. Croquettes were extra oily. All 6 dishes came out at the same time and...

Booked table online for 8.45 pm. Be on time. Order food at 8.50 and the food arrived 50 minutes after. Also, the quantity and quality wasn't as good as last time. I can see now how busy and popular this place is and they do not look after anymore the quality (smaller portions and not nice!. Bravas overcooked , small size than before . Croquetas, same!). I am not returning. The pulpo was hard to find it in the potatoes plate. 4 tiny croquetas. Never mind!. Not coming back.

There were issues with with delays to the food coming and not all coming together. However, the staff were very proactive in recognising the issues and keeping us informed. All the food was exceptional and well worth waiting for so no-one in our party had a problem waiting. I would definitely come again.

We visited after celebrating our daughters graduation and I picked the venue because I remembered eating here many years ago when under different ownership. I checked the reviews but still could not know if it would live up to my expectations. It was a lovely...

Always excellent tapas at La Regata. This time we had the stuffed dates and aubergine dishes which were delicious. Staff are always lovely and service is good.

We ate here yesterday entered on the off chance of there being a table available as it was early we got one.I have driven past this restaurant hundreds of times and wondered what it was like.I must say the food and service was fantastic and very good value.We will be back soon.

Outstanding tapas and brilliant staff which made for a wonderful evening on Southampton quays. Absolutely authentic and a really interesting and well priced wine list. All round exceptionally good value.

Lovely range of dishes, the aioli was 🔥 not bad prices either!

La Regata is one of our firm favourites! The food is so delicious and is always served beautifully presented and tastes just as delicious! The staff are always so friendly and cater to everyone's needs. We will be returning! Thank you La Regata from another...

Todo perfecto, delicioso y agradable. Repetiría sin duda

We booked a 1830 table but arrived 10 minutes early. The polite waiter ushered us to a table for two. The windows were wide open and it was very noisy with the traffic on the A road outside. My partner and I had been excited...