Enjoying Small Plates at La Roca Tapas

We have a number of restaurants in the Arlington Heights area that are our staples. When we find ourselves too tired or busy to cook, we gravitate towards the same list of about 10 restaurants. La Roca Tapas is one of those restaurants. After a crazy week, we opted to eat there on a Friday evening.

La Roca is a Spanish restaurant, so you will find your traditional Spanish favorites there. We go to La Roca especially to enjoy their tapas. I love tapas because you can try several different small plates instead of settling on one meal. Plus, tapas are very appealing to my daughter. I think that the small plates add a little novelty to the meal, so kids get excited to see them.  Plus, since we share the tapas, she likes to try new things without the worry that she will have to eat the whole thing. I love when she tries new things!

On our last visit to La Roca, we were seated quickly. I was impressed that we were given a few more ingredients than the norm for mixing with olive oil for our bread. As you can see, we were given cheese, crushed red pepper, garlic and scallions:

  

We did find that the dishes were light on the vegetation, so you will probably need to order a strictly vegetable dish if you are looking to balance out your meal.  We chose the Piso Manchego which has a tomato basil sauce. The blend was perfect for us---squash and zucchini for me and peppers for my husband.

We also tried the lamb dish, Cordero a la Segoviana, which we enjoyed. The lamb was tender and had a mint butter sauce.

 

My daughter and I love the Gambas a la Plancha--shrimp in a butter sauce. We get it every visit. Delicious!

When we go to La Roca, we also like the Manchego cheese plate. The plate comes with green apple along with the cheese, which is a pleasant pairing. On this visit, we also tried the meatball dish (Albondigas al Vino Tinto). The dish was a nice change of pace but not the most exciting. We most likely will not order it again. However, everything else was delicious.

La Roca has a nice relaxed atmosphere. If you bring the kids, the restaurant is more appropriate for kids that are able to sit for a little bit and enjoy a meal. La Roca is not really a quick in and out place. Of course, it is a great option for a date night when are able to steal away for an evening!

La Roca is located at 6 S Dunton Ave. in downtown Arlington Heights.

**Disclosure: No compensation was received for this review. All opinions are 100% my own.