Taberna Arroz y Vi in Santa Monica: Fantastic Seafood Paella and Meatballs Washed Down with Red Pepper Sangria but Avoid the Flan

It seems like I've been on a tapas-ramen kick these days. If I'm not posting on the virtues of a tonkotsu ramen broth, I'm raving about a paella. It's tapas time again at Taberna Arroz y Vi in Santa Monica! I liked the seafood paella and had mixed reviews of the tapas. The croquetas were fried to perfection into perfect round balls. What I didn't love were the potatoes with chorizo bits in them. The flavors and textures didn't meld well for me. I love potatoes and chorizo individually but paired this way it didn't work.

My favorite tapa was the meatballs. I usually don't like meatballs because they are often dry and too dense but the caramelized onions in these little numbers made them very moist and soft. 

The seafood paella was excellent. It had giant mussels on steroids, shrimp, calamari and a first, crab. The mussels were delicious and crab meat gave the dish a slightly sweet I'd never tasted before in a paella. I would definitely return for this. My dining partner and I ended up scraping the last bits of toasted rice left on the pan, guarding it closely whenever our server tried to clear it. 

I liked their sangria varieties although the drinks were too watered down with ice. The red pepper sangria was surprisingly refreshing and delicious made out of chardonnay but props for creativity. 

The octopus carpaccio had an interesting presentation reminiscent of some kind of octopus terrine. It was light but not sure how Spanish or flavorful it was. Behold this cooking magazine-worthy money shot by our very own CTG. 

The least memorable tapa was the piquillo peppers stuffed with tuna. I love me some piquillo peppers but they were just boring and not anything to write home about. Will have to pimp it up when I have the single leftover pepper at home. 

Perhaps the biggest disappointment and slap in the face was the flan dessert. It was far too dense and overly sweet. All wrong once again. The berries on top weren't even fresh. I could go on. 

It is owned by the same owner as Lazy Ox Canteen, which I love. Overall a decent place to go if you find yourself by the beach but not sure I'd go out of my way to go. Maybe for that paella...