Manchega in Harrogate

Great service, fabulous food, friendly staff, lovely restaurant! I have been many times before and will continue to revisit.

What a let down. Many great reviews but tucked in amongst them are some telling ones which match our experience. We had a reservation for 8pm. On arrival there was a short delay before we were shown to a table in a small-ish back room. We were the only group in that room, the table was not set and the room was functional at best, completely lacking in the atmosphere and cosiness of the down stairs area and front room. (Note to owner - if you're going to use this room then (a) keep it decorated and tables laid and (b) put either a larger group in it or two groups.) We waited, and waited ..... and waited some more. Eventually one of us grabbed the waiter as he passed and requested the menus. These duly arrived. The waiter gave us a lengthy description of the specials and other dishes and we felt that things might improve. We asked to order our drinks and the waiter said he would come back to do that. We waited, and waited.... and waited some more. Half an hour later we still had no drinks, our order had not been taken and the table was still unlaid. We left. No acknowledgement from the waiter as we went. No apology. Nothing.

We have recently moved to the area and have visited the restaurant a few times but only for drinks in the summer where we sat outside. This was the first time we have eaten here and we were not disappointed. Quirky restaurant with so much character and a great atmosphere. The service was good and staff took time to explain all the dishes available on the menu. The food was freshly cooked and authentic. The rump steak churrasco was beautiful as was the deep fried feta! We will be returning. Delicious food and great service, what’s not to like!

Manchega is a great little restaurant in the heart of Ripon. We recently met up mid week with friends and had a wonderful time enjoying the flavours of Spain. All dishes were prepared with lots of skill and care and we fully enjoyed our experience. Many thanks to the team who were also very accommodating when our bus was delayed by 25 min, making us arrive late for our booking. We phoned ahead and it was no problem at all.

Went to Ripon for the weekend with friends and had researched places to eat. As someone who doesn't eat meat quite often tapas is a bit disappointing, but Manchega looked interesting with dishes I'd not heard of before. Not a massive choice, but that's because they specialise in certain dishes- specialise being the word. For one, this place felt like being in Spain, not North Yorkshire. Great atmosphere, great music, and friendly, lovely, relaxed, cool service. For two, the food is superb. Amazing flavour mixes, such as chilli crab nachos, deep fried feta with honey (I hate feta, my wife said I needed to try it- ended up ordering some more), and a brilliant wine list. For three, one of the party ordered a sherry at the end of the meal. I can't stand sherry but much like the feta I gave it a go- and much like the feta ended up drinking more. It was glorious. And when the bill came, we all guessed the amount and got it wrong as it was cheaper than we had all guessed. If you're in Ripon, indeed if you're in Yorkshire, and fancy tapas with a twist, pay Manchega a visit. And have the sherry.

Called in recently for lunch. What a lovely place. Really nice friendly staff and service. Chef came to chat to us and the food was beautiful highly recommended

What a great little find this was. I was in Ripon for work and came across this little restaurant so went in for lunch. I got speaking to the owner and he was very friendly and knowledgeable letting me know about the menu. I went for the flame grilled gambas and chorizo. Wow the flavours and taste were amazing. The prawns were massive, charcoaled on the grill and tasted beautiful. The chorizo, wow was a taste sensation and the sauce was to die for. I was there on a lunchtime and will definitely be back on an evening to taste the cocktails they do as they looked awesome. I also liked the fact it was an open plan kitchen so you could see everything going on and the ambience of the place with the music. I don’t do many reviews, but if you’re in Ripon go and check this place out 😊

A very enjoyable evening meal. Great flavours and a interesting selection of tapas. Well worth booking in advance, although they let us in on spec. Lovely family owners.

Great spot for a relaxed lunch. Good wine, good food and a convivial atmosphere. Even managed to get a bottle of port, and a £5 discount, from the local wine shop. So all in all, a very good afternoon out.

We love this place! Refined menu and the food is delicious. Always a great atmosphere and the staff are great. Highly recommend. We will return often.

Beautiful lunch; we had the three tapas options for £18. Each dish was amazing, chorizo, mushrooms, the juiciest pawns, olive tapenade on yummy bread, and of course patas Bravas. So glad that between us we could try it all. Richard and his team were accommodating when we arrived late for lunch, friendly, welcoming and recommended a delicious white wine to accompany the food! Thanks so much, a gem in Ripon that we are lucky to have. We will be back soon!

Superb food in an atmospheric setting. I visited with friends for a literary lunch while we discussed our latest reads. We stayed much longer enjoying the various tasters. Definitely my favourite restaurant in Ripon.

Lovely lunch today AND a very warm welcome, as always. Thank you for looking after us so well. Looking forward to next time :)

We stopped for lunch with friends. We each selected three dishes from the lunch menu. The food was excellent and the staff were so friendly. This was a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon. We will definitely return to try the dinner menu. Loved our visit and this is a little gem in Ripon.

Had a great family meal out here tonight! Fabulous food and great , friendly service. We’ll definitely be back!

Had a lovely meal with family . Great choice of food which was all delicious, lovely atmosphere and fab service. Lots of lovely personal touches to make it a special eve. Would highly recommend.

Amazing! Tasty food amazing service, so nice to have nice wine and nice food at reasonable prices. Was a lovely atmosphere too!

A wonderful location and atmosphere. A very warm welcome, friendly and accommodating. Fabulous food.

My 3rd time atManchega ( I live 1 hour away) and love it! Great atmosphere and the flavours of the Tapas are always fabulous and rewarding. Give it a try and you'll be hooked! Just suggest no salt in the wonderful local veg as it...

Last minute looking for a bite to eat when we came across Manchega! The restaurant itself has a warming and cosy feel to it. The service was amazing and the food was equally as good. Myself and my other half ordered the sourdough bread accompanied...

Relaxed lunch. Delicious vegetarian platte. Olives and bread to die for. The White Rioja the best wine I've ever tasted. Really worth a visit.

Wow ! This place just gets better every time we visit. The food and wine is just out of this world, as a couple we look for Tapas everywhere we visit. We must have tried dozens over the last few years and Manchega is without...

Superb tapas with really fresh ingredients and great service even allowing for a busy Saturday night service.

Friendly service, great menu choice, affordable prices is lovely quaint surroundings. Most importantly delicious food at affordable prices.

Visiting the area and always like to try eating in local independent restaurants. This one proved to be an excellent choice, great food, atmosphere and best of all the Owner & Staff who made the night.

Dropped in without a booking, recieved a warm welcome. Cocktails were good, food was excellent. Friendly staff and a very pleasant experience. Would thoroughly recommend. Thank you guys!

We visited on a Wednesday evening without a booking and we were seated right away with no issues. The owner was brilliant and cracked jokes with us and made us feel really at home and looked after (not sure why the service has had previous...

Lovely Ambience Attentive staff Food beautiful Will definitely return Nothing not to like Staff had great knowledge of the menu

I REALLY cannot fathom why this has an overall star rating of 5. The food is at best extremely mediocre. The service! Where shall I start? The owner is like a ruder Basil Fawlty. He's sarcastic and condescending and actually quite unpleasant. We were asked...

Wanted to make enquiries about the menu before making a booking for 6 and who ever answered the phone was very short and quite rude. Didn't bother with a booking - their loss. Subsequently heard similar reports of rudeness and measly portions - a lucky...

A wonderful evening, delicious food and amazing service. Manchega is a fabulous independent Tapas restaurant in the heart of the beautiful city of Ripon. Amazing home made food from an independent restaurant, one of many amazing indie restaurants within this incredible city. Richard, the owner,...

Enjoyed an impromptu meal here on 24th Aug 2023. We were staying overnight in Ripon and decided to eat out here as it looked interesting and different. Great spanish olives and bread with delicious tomato dip. Enjoyed a selection of 7 tapas dishes. Particularly enjoyed...

Im surprised by all of the positive reviews for the restaurant. My husband and I visited for our anniversary expecting something special, and were very disappointed. First off, we were sat at a window table, and the window sill had lemons on from the garnish...

Food always fantastic. Richard you and your staff are friendly, fun and the service is always great. Very relaxed atmosphere and always leave with a smile on our faces! See you soon.

The food here is absolutely superb; we were looking for somewhere to have a good lunch to kickstart our holiday and were lured in to this lovely little restaurant by the owner who started chatting to us in the street, so glad he did. We...

Booked this restaurant ten days ahead. When we arrived the waiter/owner showed us to an empty room with unlaid tables and proceeded to rearrange them to accommodate us. Slightly unusual given that we had.pre-booked and a little disappointing not to be in either of the...

Cracking little spot for tapas, fabulous food, lovely staff and great atmosphere, can highly recommend. Also amazing espresso martinis! Gav and Sarah from York

Recently moved to Ripon, looking for somewhere for lunch. Found this lovely little gem in Ripon. Ordered the paella which took 30 mins returned after 30 mins to sit down. Wow did not disappoint, it was amazing. Sat in the rear garden area which was...

Just popped into Ripon for a mooch and spotted Manchega Tapas Bar, what a find - a lovely place, with a fabulous host and great food, will definitely be visting again. It has a proper Tapas feel to it and a lovely covered outdoor seating...

Little gem of a restaurant! Visited with my two sons and dog after a long dog walk. Staff were super friendly, even the chef popped out to say hello to our dog! Dog friendly. Super efficient and attentive! The food was so tasty, the chorizo...

Tapas at its authentic bes, if your in Ripon you MUST give this place a try….it’s amazing and the staff are as good as the food served up👍👌

Great atmosphere and incredible food!! Just wow. Plenty of choice in the menu, super attentive service and the food itself was absolutely to die for, the dates wrapped in pancetta and the chorizo were some of our favourites, cannot recommend this place enough!

Loved our experience here. Very amenable host and fantastic food. I love Spanish food and have eaten a lot of tapas in my time but still managed to find something a little different. Loved the aubergine ragu and the chicken pinxos as new dishes to...

Called in for lunch on a day trip back to Ripon. We hadn't been for a good while and having read the positive reviews, thought we'd give Manchega a try. What a great find it turned out to be. Really good tapas and wine in...

Another fantastic meal with great drinks. A lovely relaxed environment with great staff. The food is to die for, so tasty! Great beer and wine and the wife had the best Pina colada she's ever had. Best restaurant in Ripon.

A gorgeous escape to feel like you are on holiday. Cosy and friendly vibe. Helpful staff and really lovely, varied tapas selection. All cooked fresh and delivered as it is ready, for a relaxing event, not rushed but also efficient service. A great evening with...

We had a great time! Lovely service/staff Best traditional Spanish tapas we’ve ever had :) definitely recommend

Had an excellent lunchtime at Manchega yesterday , a great welcome , fantastic food , delightful service , a charming ,atmospheric , intimate and authentic tapas restaurant , lovely service , will definitely be back soon

Read a lot of good reviews and visited Thursday lunch. Did not appreciate that the menu was limited at lunch. Only a few Tapas were available and no specials. Perhaps they could have made this clear before booking.

What a brilliant place. Always so enjoy eating here. Tapas are absolutely delicious, you could easily be in Spain. Delightful staff.

Fantastic!! We had the most delicious assortment of tapas, a cheese plate and sangria. Also wonderful coffee. The food was so fresh, prepared in the kitchen 6 feet away. The owner is a delight and recommend choices for us that were perfect. We were with...

We visited Tapas Manchega as a family for the last night of our stay in Ripon and were not disappointed. Having lived and worked in rural Southern Spain, and eaten a lot of tapas in my time, I would rate this as on par with,...

Really good tapas restaurant in Ripon which we visited while staying in the town. Read the reviews of the restaurant and we would confirm that it was a an excellent meal and good service.

We tried here on a Friday afternoon. Disappointed as they closed early and was due to open at 5pm. We had already booked elsewhere by then. However, we went on spec on a Saturday evening about 6.30pm and was very pleased the owner got us...

Fantastic thank you! Went with a friend for dinner. Gorgeous food, reasonably priced, lovely cosy restaurant with a really nice holiday atmosphere and great service! Excellent thanks 😊

This is a live review! Just eaten the most amazing tapas! The Spanish vibe is great and the welcome and exceptional passion of the staff for good food, authentic wines and treating every customer as a friend has to be noted! If you’ve not been...

Booked last minute on way home from Yorkshire Show. Tapas delicious especially the hake. Friendly helpful staff. Will definitely go back.

We stopped at Ripon on our narrowboat and had the most amazing meal at Manchega. The host and helpers were lovely. We had a variety of Tapas from the menu and every mouthful was delicious. The restaurant was bijou but didn’t feel cramped in any...

Great wine, very strange host and quite rude although got that was what he was going for but just didn't get it and enjoy.. slow service and mediocre. Food was okay, tasty but nothing amazing.

Recently returned from a trip to Alicante & decided to try Manchaga in Ripon. Very glad we did. This place is as good as, if not better than any tapas we had in Spain. Will definitely be back. The green olives were the best I...

Great food, great host, overall a great experience. We just wanted a light lunch, and had the lunch time deal. Wish we had gone for our evening meal instead so we could have tried more of the delicious food. We did also have the churros...

Fantastic food. The £18 for three dishes lunch option was great value with super choices on the menu. Very friendly and vibrant atmosphere. We’ll definitely return soon!

Sat in the garden and had some 5 star food & drink, Ripon is lucky to have such a place. Prawn fritters - fresh, light, perfectly seasoned. Yum. Chorizo always a favourite for the heartburn later. Surf & turf Hake Then the food coma &...

A great little gem of place with fantastic food and an amusing host with just the right amount of cheak. Food is wonderful with all the classics and some spainsh twists on others. Nice little garden out back for alfresco dining and covered to avoid...

What an amazing little gem! We were visiting from Australia and tbh did not expect to find fantastic Spanish/tapas in Ripon...how wrong were we! Will be back tomorrow!!

A wonderfully different restaurant with a great menu, friendly service and a brilliant ambiance. We chose six tapas dishes and loved each of them equally as much. You really cannot fail to be impressed.

Saved this place for the last night of our holiday. Wish we’d have been sooner! Would’ve loved have gone again. Dog friendly, amazing service and fantastic food. A fabulous evening out. We had Sangria, olives and bread, 2 mixed platters , one of meat and...

We had a fantastic evening meal here. The food was wonderful, the staff were super friendly and attentive. I throughly recommended a visit here!!

What a find this place is. Fantastic food, great wine and what a welcome from Richard! Charismatic with a passion for what he does. It's our first visit to Ripon and won't be our last. Next time we're here, some tapas will be on the...

Fabulous tapas, very friendly service will try the tasting menu next time. Can also reccomend the sangria

We had lunch here yesterday 30th June. The host was very friendly and welcoming. The restaurant is quirky with a lovely atmosphere. The food was delicious, well presented and so tasty. We can’t wait to go back, we would love to try it on an...

We went here for our honeymoon meal and loved it. An alternative and fun vibe, with really friendly and accommodating staff. We chose to have the chefs tasters options. The food was wonderful, especially the prawn fritters, we left full and happy. Thank you!

Just back home in Ripon after a few days in Barcelona and strolled into town before my friend headed home. I wasn't sure it would be open but Manchega Tapas Y Vinos was the perfect place to finish our Spanish break. We weren't disappointed and...

Lovely tapas meal. Great selection, nicely cooked and full of flavour. Particularly liked the chicken pinchos, prawn fritters, hake, beef slider, scallops and croquettes. Welcoming atmosphere, with music that wasn’t intrusive. Having just come back from the Canaries, the tapas at Manchega is better.

Absolutely brilliant from start to finish, food was excellent and service even better. The best tapas we have tried in the country. 100% recommend.

Not been before but saw the reviews so thought we'd try it as were meeting family who were on holiday. Have to say we all thought it was the perfect choice. The food was delicious and very good value, the staff were friendly and welcoming,...

A group of friends and I had a great meal at Manchega on a warm Saturday evening in June. Richard, the owner and Maitre D’, looked after very well. The food was delicious and plentiful and the wine selection was highly complimentary. My particular favourite...

Wonderful food and wine in a quirky interesting little restaurant in Ripon. We had the chef’s selection menu and it was amazing. Just what we needed after a day yomping The Nidderdale Way!

Went for lunch. They set a table up for 2 in the sun which was lovely. However, the food was awful. Overpriced, overcooked, chewy and minimal. Not worth the money. Wouldn't go again.

Tried a lot of various dishes and all delicious and fresh. Lovely wine and great ambience just perfect for celebrating my husband's birthday. A big shout out to Felix who was very friendly and attentive.

Visited 01/06/23 for a family meal of 8 of mixed ages. Excellent, very quick and friendly service and great tasting food with something for everyone. We tried a large selection from the menu with none of the dishes disappointing. The serving staff were attentive without...

Wonderful little restaurant with a great ambience and vibe, friendly and attentive service and wonderful tasty food at great value. The romesco sauce with the hake was simply stunning. A real gem of a restaurant.

We visited this delightfully quaint tapas restaurant on Saturday. The food was tasty, plentiful and fresh and the fabulous owner is clearly passionate about the food and really welcoming, thank you for a lovely evening.

Excellent in every way! Food is fantastic, menu is great, staff are lovely and atmosphere is fun and authentic. Brilliant!

What a great night! Fabulous plates of flavour made for a really great evening. Every dish was packed with a different punch of flavour. A really lively atmosphere managed wonderfully by the staff who looked after us so well. A real treat!

Fabulous restaurant. Definitely tapas but without the generic approach to the menu. Very interesting dishes, full of flavours. Excellent service, super atmosphere. Well priced. Worth seeking out if in Ripon, or making a detour for.

We went in for a lunch to see what it was like & had the set pintxos menu which was fantastic with a glass of red so we decided to book for dinner the next day The food was wonderful & served in the Spanish...

Saw this restaurant on tripadvisor. Disappointed with food. The young staff were very nice and helpful. The Hake was not cooked properly , The paella did look nothing like it should have been. Handle bar on stairs very sticky

We had a really lovely evening meal. We enjoyed a variety of tapas: the potatas bravas, deep-fried feta, prawns, and chicken were great. And the best croquettes we have ever tasted! We enjoyed every dish we tried. The service was friendly and helpful. We were...

Really delicious food! We got a bunch of different small plates and I even enjoyed the ones that I wasn't planning on eating. Would definitely reccommend the green peppers and the patatas bravas! Great place to eat x

Lovely food all round. My wife insisted that I give a good review and agree the flavours were great. Very welcoming staff and good service.

The olives were good and the wine. Everything else was mediocre and tasteless, or burnt. Tapas Spanish in name only. Feta, camembert, horrid gunky tomato sauce on the sharing plater and on the patatas bravas, no spice in sight. When asked did we enjoy the...

This was our first time at Manchega. A very friendly and quirky restaurant. The food was excellent. Will definitely be back.

Absolutely fantastic meal could of easily been anywhere in Spain Atmosphere was great service excellent All of the food cooked to perfection

Visiting Ripon for the day & chose this place after walking past, so pleased we did. Went with a couple off the specials board along with recommendations from staff, all choices were excellent. All in all great food complemented by great staff.

Me and my boyfriend recently moved to Ripon and have been trying the local restaurants/bars. So far, Manchega has been our best experience yet. An absolutely lovely bunch of staff and owner (Richard) making everyone feel welcome. The food was absolutely amazing, flavours are fantastic....

Amazing restaurant. The tapas is by far the best Ive had, the flavours are perfect and a well curated menu. Cosy place, very nice atmosphere. I cant recommend Manchega enough, what a hidden gem!

We had a day & night in Ripon and when looking for somewhere to have a meal in the evening booked here following a recommendation from a friend. There’s always an expectation when somewhere is suggested to you and you hope it doesn’t disappoint &...

Thank you for the most amazing night! We chose to allow the chef to select our dishes and wine, and couldn’t have asked for anything more! The food and service were exceptional and we can’t wait to come back! 🤌🏼

The menu was a bit smaller than the last time we went, but the quality was excellent. Every dish was cooked beautifully. The octopus was a personal favourite. We'll be back again.