Good flavors, pricy for the portion Came to this place after a disastrous attempt at dinner at a steak and seafood place, girlfriend still wanted mussels and steak, so we came here. Place was relatively dead, though the area was alive with activity. Not the best sign, but we decided to give this place a fair shake. Server was very nice, helped translate the menu and offered lots of recommendations. Food came out relatively quickly, and we dug in. The skirt steak and mussels were good. The sauce on the side of the steak was herbaceous and tangy which worked well with the steak. The mussels were fairly big, with a nice light white wine sauce. The drinks were strong but balanced, and everything tasted good and was cooked well. I really don't mind paying for quality. Each small plate commanded the price of an entree at any other location. So you would expect really good bites for each plate. It was good, but lacked any special qualities to make it memorable. Which makes it good food at a hefty price tag. Given that they are right next door to a really popular tavern, it does take away from their appeal. It's not bad food, but it isnt stellar food either. It was leaps and bounds better than the first place I went to that night, but it's also not the first place I would go to for that area. The octopus is good, but there's a lot of good on that strip. It's an option if you want tapas read more

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The food was incredible, everything was cooked to perfection. It's rare that you find a place that knows how to cook Octopus. Service was also great. Unfortunately I don't remember the servers name, but I'm pretty sure he was our server, bartender and chef haha. Ambiance is calming and goes with the food that we ate. Music went great and helped out the ambiance of the place. If you're in the mood for great seafood and drinks, I highly recommend this place! We went on a Tuesday so it wasn't too busy. Not sure if it's any different for dinner. We also got an espresso martini which was made to perfection. All the food was honestly fantastic. The Pulpo has a large menu and the prices are not bad. If you're big into Paella's they also offer a wide variety of those. On Mondays and Tuesdays all Paellas are actually $20. It's a pretty far drive for me, but if I'm ever in the area again. I will definitely be going to this place for either lunch or dinner. Great job to the gentleman working today; whoever he was deserves a raise! read more

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I've been here before but it has been a while. I'm trying to figure out why I haven't been there more often. The service was great! Food was amazing! I had pollo relleno. It was so yummy! My friend had the seafood paella. Looked pretty amazing too! Next time I'd love to do a mix of tapas.. read more

El Pulpo & Tapas Bar - Seafood paella - Seafood Near Me - Middletown, Connecticut

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I only recently learned that this tapas bar existed in Middletown's Main Street Market, and I'm so glad that I visited! They had a huge menu with choices to fit anyone's preferences. Highlights for us were the paella, croquettes, and even the Brussels salad because it had such a great truffle flavor! Their drinks were fantastic - we're still talking about the spiked Barbie one we had in a unique glass! Definitely save room for the delicious chocolate strawberry cake for dessert. Loved the ambiance, and our server was professional and attentive! read more

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Oh El Pulpo! I adore thee. Every time I come here (or formerly the Southington one) I'm reminded how good this place is. It's a Spanish Tapas place which might seem foreign but all the foods are so familiar and fresh. Take the tuna tartar. The raw tuna is so tender and flavorful while sitting on top of guacamole with yucca chips. It'll top any sushi place. The key for me is to ignore the main dishes and load up on the tapas. Their the most fun part of the meal too. We tried the Brussels sprout salad which is shaved and mixed with Parmesan cheese. Yum. And a meat stuffed squash. Don't miss the ham croquettes and the chicken empanada. Both were outstanding. Desserts were quite good too. We had a pumpkin pie and flan. All are made fresh daily and were just the icing on the cake of the meal. Service was friendly and attentive and the place is cute inside too. A hidden gem in Middletown. Don't miss this place. Seriously. read more

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Weird experience here. I had been wanting to try this place, so I went in and sat at the bar. I ordered the sangria, which must have been watered down because, although I'm a lightweight, I didn't feel a thing from it. I also ordered the octopus tapa, which was perfection. The octopus melted in my mouth. I was so excited that I ordered the paella, thinking it would likely be just as delicious. However, the waitress told me it would take too long to cook, so I shouldn't order it. I thought that was weird. Why would she care how long I'd have to wait for the food as long as I'm ordering more of it? I decided to settle up and move on. So, while I loved the food, if not the drink, I'm not sure I'd give this place another go. read more

El Pulpo has been on my Try List for years. I had an appointment in the area and finally had the chance to visit for lunch. El Pulpo is a Spanish, Mediterranean and Tapas restaurant. I'm not sure how many people still think of El Pulpo's space this way, but it's in the old It's Only Natural suite tucked in the back of a building with Main Street frontage in downtown Middletown. The decor is simple, but classy. It reminds me of Spain. El Pulpo also has a great deck with outdoor seating. I ordered Squid Ink Paella from the lunch menu. The rice had the trademark black color and was dotted with scallops, shrimp, mussels, peas and salmon. The rice was very flavorful, and the rice that stuck to the pan had a nice crunchy texture. The seafood was spot on, with one exception. The shrimp were over-cooked. They were still edible, but noticeably cooked past prime. My meal came with a choice of Caesar Salad or House Salad. The Caesar salad was pretty tasty. Service was mostly good. My meal took longer than I expected. This next comment applies to this meal, but it's really a service industry-wide recommendation. When food is running late, there is no value to a server saying "They're finishing right now and it will be right out." In my experience, ninety percent of the time, the meal does not come right out. It's almost always more than 5 more minutes when somebody says that. For my El Pulpo meal, it probably took 10 more minutes for a meal that was already running a bit on the long side for lunch. Four stars for this lunch, but it was an encouraging Four Stars and I look forward to my next visit. read more

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Great food! Service sometimes slow, but food is worth it! Highly recommend for anyone wanting to get a few small plates.

Went early on a Friday night to check out the place for happy hour; very inviting and comfortable, the bar had a good amount of high top tables if you don't want to sit at the bar. Ordered the grilled shrimp and a cocktail from the HH menu and the ham croquettas and a Spanish Rose from the dinner menu. Cocktail and wine were perfect selections and the grilled shrimp and croquettas were very tasty. We decided to order the Valencia Paella, which has a combo of sausage and shellfish. The paella was really well flavored, although not crispy enough for us. The bartender said that we could order it crispy, but they don't automatically do that because patrons may think it's burnt or over-done. We would order again and just specify our liking. Ended with chocolate, raspberry cake and coffee that was almost too pretty to eat! Overall a very good experience, and will visit again! read more

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This place is just under appreciated!!! Every time we go there we have the best meal on Main Street and are surprised that the place isn't packed! The food is delicious, service is great and the place itself is comfortable and clean. We also discovered they have a great happy hour. read more

Great service, nice ambiance and good wine list. Wish I could've eaten more! Cazuelita... escargot and clams in a garlic broth Churrasco ala parilla...herb and chilli marinated skirt steak with saffron potato and corn. Delicious dinner read more

I've visited El Pulpo when they were in Southington and this was my first visit to their Middletown location. I'll get my one piece of negative feedback out of the way quick...the service was a bit slow. However, it was Mother's Day and in general, people need to relax and give service industry an opportunity to recover. Also, US is the only place in the world that rushes through their meals. Sit back and enjoy. We had a variety of tapas, and they were all delicious. - Mediterranean Salad (Cauliflower, tomatoes, artichokes, asparagus, eggplant, cucumber, olives, and tarragon garlic per vinaigrette & grilled shrimp) was superb. - Salmon Tartare with avocado served with potatoes chips was very tasty. - Pan seared crab cake served with sautéed vegetables and lobster champagne sauce was very flavorful. - Oysters were huge! - Rack of lamb, with beats and sweet potato pure was delicious. - Chorizo/fig in balsamic reduction was yummy. - And to end it all, we had crème-brule. It was a great time spent (we polished off a rather large bottle of wine), with very friendly service. Can't wait to go back! read more

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We went there for a weekday lunch with friends. The food is good and service is friendly. We like it very much!

Decided to go the tapas route instead of big entrees. Got the crab cakes and octopus. Crab cakes were nice but the octopus was very chewy. Sat inside because of the weather. Decent ambiance. Got the habanero marg and the much talked about regular marg per our waitresses recommendation. Nice size on the regular margarita! read more

Yummy sangria, delicious and fresh paella! Just what we've been looking for. The bread was hot and delicious, served with tasty olive oil. Very nice service; all around a wonderful experience in Mixdleto read more

Disappointing. We dined outdoors yesterday, and had high expectations. Strengths: *You can dine outdoors or inside, and they are taking good COVID precautions *Hot bread with olive oil is a nice touch *The servers are friendly *Tapas options are a nice change of pace for the area *The tuna tartare with homemade potato chips was a standout Weaknesses: * Service is painfully slow. We were one of only two tables, and it took 45 minutes to get our first cold plates out *The wine offerings should always be strong at a tapas restaurant, but here there are limited options of generally low-quality wines *The seasonal sangria was mediocre * At a restaurant named "El Pulpo," one would expect a stellar octopus, but it lacked texture (it was neither grilled nor charred) and fell short *The paella also disappointed, with no socarrat to be found (the crusty, crispy bottom of the paella that becomes caramelized and toasted on the bottom of the pan when cooked correctly) *Although the escargot dish contained many escargot, it was served as a strange casserole and was bland *The other dishes (grilled vegetables, salad, bacalao) were unimpressive read more

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Another late happy hour in Middletown. On Thursdays, it goes to 9pm! Since happy hour isn't served in the dining room, they made room for our party of 8 in the bar. When initially arriving, only half the group was present, so we put in drink orders while we waited for the other half. These drinks took about 20-30mins to be served. The rest of the party arrived by the time the drinks came out. I ordered the Grapefruit & Basil Paloma. While I enjoyed it, others weren't that happy with their orders. Mostly, consisting of margaritas. My food order consisted of the mussels, beef empanadas & the goat cheese. While the empanadas are beefy & they're served with marinara sauce. That's the first for me & I didn't mind it. I'm in love with goat cheese, so while these are simple, they were delicious. At first glance, the mussels looked scrumptious, but I don't think they were fully cooked. The shells were half open, not fully opened. The mussel itself were more tender than I'm used to. I finished them, leaving about 3 that were closed. The waitress came over to clear dishes but left the bowls of mussels/shells. After awhile, they actually started smelling to the point that I covered them with the linen napkin. Other apps that were ordered were quesadillas, & pork medallions. I didn't hear any complaints. They have many other happy hour drinks & food, to chose from, which is always a plus. The staff were all very nice & patient with questions we had. I will return to try other items & maybe sit out on the patio. read more

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Did I enjoy my food? Yes. A culinary experience I can replicate at home? Also, yes. Which is why I'm not itching to return, but overall I loved the patio ambiance, service was phenomenal and the cocktail menu was better than many enough for me to deviate from my usual glass of wine. Now, my two biggest pieces of feedback is that between the fried element of the eggplant and oiliness of the cheese, the Lomitos appetizer could've use a bit more balsamic glaze to cut through it taste wise. I'd order again but with way more balsamic. ALSO, the Torta de Carne (steak specifically) the bread was toasted wayyyyy too much like .. crumbly I'm gonna lose a teeth toasted. Not pleasant when biting into a sandwich. Once again, my friend would order again but specify lightly toasted. read more

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Get the Brussels sprouts salad and grilled octopus tapas dish. Hands down worth the 40 minute drive against me again!! Beet salad is light and fresh, calamari can be skipped, crab cakes are delish, and the lava cake is kick-the-plate delish!! read more

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I met my friend here for a Sunday lunch. We had a great seat by the window and were actually the only ones in the restaurant when we first arrived. We ordered some drinks and had a nice lunch my friend had the Caesar salad with grilled chicken and I had the softshell crab. We had a second drink and ordered some dessert I had a cheesecake with almonds that was very good. I will definitely come back here. read more

El Pulpo & Tapas Bar - Soft shell crab - Seafood Near Me - Middletown, Connecticut

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Came back for happy hour this time after experiencing dinner. Great selections for happy hour, sangrias are only $5. It gets busy so service is not as attentive as the dining area. The beef tips was not my fave, wouldn't order it again for sure, plainly seasoned and little tough. The stuffed zucchini redeemed me. Pork medallions, not ordering again. Papas bravado was ordinary but for $5 it's reasonable. Overall, lots of choices in their happy hour food and drink menu so it's a win! Plus there's live entertainment with great atmosphere. read more

El Pulpo & Tapas Bar - Happy hour sangria, kinda half a glass serving - Seafood Near Me - Middletown, Connecticut

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many times for happy hours and dinner. love this place!!! always good food and kind staff. read more

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Ate here for the first time on 8/23/24 and it was fantastic. My friend and I just went with appetizers so we could share and try a bunch of stuff. I enjoyed the chicken empanadas, the shaved Brussels sprouts, and the duck medallions. The strawberry Paloma drink and the chocolate lava cake was good too. We sat outside and the weather was perfect. I will definitely be back! read more

Nice ambience. Open all day on Sunday. Tapas, drinks, lovely flavorful entrees. Attentive service.

We were in Middletown attending my niece's graduation from Wesleyan. After the ceremony we went to El Pulpo for a celebratory lunch with the new graduate. We didn't have a reservation but luckily they were able to seat our party of five at a hight top in bar area. We ordered an array of tapas. I believe 12 dishes in total. Every single small plate had big flavors and was excellent. Service was very good considering how busy El Pulpo was. I sure wish this place was closer! read more

El Pulpo & Tapas Bar - Bar Area - Seafood Near Me - Middletown, Connecticut

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I had the beet salad, crab cakes and short ribs. Everything was cooked to perfection and delicious read more

I came here a couple times for a quick bite before a class. The staff is always very friendly and attentive. They have a really great happy hour menu. The food and drinks were delicious. The restaurant is clean and has a nice atmosphere. read more

Very good food, lovely service, and nice ambiance. The food did take a bit of time,but when it did come it was excellent.

We were in Middletown and came across this place, and the food looked amazing online. We ordered the Watermelon Burrata Salad which was light but refreshing and the dressing really made it cohesive. We also had the Pulpo Ala Parillo (grilled octopus) which was quite flavorful and the beans and avocado chimichurri complemented it well. For our last appetizer we got Empanadas (beef and chicken) and WOW! They were perfectly crunchy, yet soft and flavorful on the inside (my personal favorite appetizer). As an entree, we shared the Paella Velenciana, which was okay but not out of this world. Finally, we got the Crème Brûlée which tasted alright but the inside was soft and runny unlike other crème brûlée. In terms of service, the wait staff were extremely helpful and quite nice. The ambiance was elegant with some nice instrumentals playing on the speakers. Overall a nice place to stop at if you want a variety of foods and a cultural experience. read more

Food was good. We enjoyed sharing. The skirt steak (churrasco lunch) was really good. The pequillo stuffed peppers were my second favorite entree. The Pulpo was why we stopped by, it wasn't my favorite dish, but my family liked it best of all. The pollo al ajo was very lemony but good. Dipped some bread in there and devoured it. Watermelon tini was out of the world delicious. I'd like to go back here again! read more

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I've been wanting to try this please out for the longest time. We made it for happy hour and Wednesday for Paella night. My cousin and I wanted the watermelon mule, but they ran out of watermelon. We ended up ordering something else on the menu; it's ok. I ordered the passion Tini and my cousin ordered Fresca Antigua; my drink was good, but her drink was sour! The bartender added too much lime juice that hit the jawline. He remade her drink and the second time around was better. As for apps we ordered the portobello mushrooms and chicken screwers. These were a fail; chicken was tough to chew, flavoring was ok, and the portobello was good, but it was cold! We got our seafood paella and mixed paella; the rice as mushy and I was disappointed! The restaurant was slow and I wonder why the food was a thumbs down. I was looking forward for the food based on the reviews. This place didn't impress me and won't be returning. I would have given a 2 stars for the food, but left it a three because service was good. Maybe later on I might have a change of heart, give it another go, and write an updated review. read more

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Really friendly and knowledgeable staff, delicious appetizers, and awesome patio seating.

This place has a wonderfully quiet setting on the weekday. Even though there was an amazing prix fix menu, we had to try a bunch of things from the appetizer and tapas menu. The salads are huge and delicious. It's possible to eat well with a salad and a tapas, but everything looked too good to pass up. Everything came out bubbling hot and tasty. I can't remember what we ordered, but it was all terrific. Our service was wonderful too. It's tucked away in the back of a series of shops. Difficult to find. Not much of a view of the outside, but you'll want to keep your eyes on these great tastes as they disappear quickly. read more

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The food was amazing! I got the half roasted chicken with mashed potatoes and spinach and my boyfriend got one of the paella dishes. The Seasonal Rita was fantastic. Will definitely be coming back! read more

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We have come back for the last 5 years and we were thrilled to return for our student graduation! We came with 3 of his friends and r they were quality delighted with the food and service. read more

El Pulpo & Tapas Bar - This Bronzino was cooked perfection - Seafood Near Me - Middletown, Connecticut

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Sat at the bar and waited fooor ever for even a server to get us a drink. Then ordered the fried oyster on the specials menu. Again waited so long and when they arrived there were four over breaded and tasteless oysters! Thank goodness for the bread basket! Then... the paella.... Came out microwave hot ... rubbery seafood with some decent tasting rice. Yikes! Good thing we had a gift card! read more

Decent spot, of the dishes we got I was most impressed with the calamari which came with two sauces - both were excellent. One was a classic spicy mayo, the other was an avocado-based sauce that worked really well with the dish. We also got the eggplant which was very cheesy. The stuffed peppers had a lot of texture to it, putting it on top of zucchini was a good touch because it added a nice crunch to the dish. The meat inside was weirdly gravy-like, I wasn't expecting how slushy it was. Service was good, just wasn't wowed by the food read more

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Downtown Middletown is so cute and has some nice restaurants to sample. We tried El Pulpo for my birthday and it was very good. We had a 7:00 reservation but when we arrived the restaurant was fairly empty so the host didn't bother checking our name in the book - but should have because my GF had a bday surprise she had called about (outside cake brought in). We were quickly seated and our waiter came over quickly. Service was professional and good all night. Never had an issue anytime we needed something. We started with garlic shrimp and crab cake appetizers . Shrimp were good, but portion on the small side. Crab cakes were also good, creative presentation and nice sauce but too much filling for my taste; peppers and celery (??). While it all blended in well and tasted good - I prefer meatier crab cakes a la Maryland. My GF had the Paella Valencia and I had the Mediterranean Seafood Stew. The seafood dish was excellent! Lots of salmon, white fish, scallops, shrimp mussels and clams in a red broth that was awesome! I enjoyed all of it and ate every drop. It was Spanish seafood comfort food at its finest! Loved the fresh bread as well ! Great for dipping in my seafood stew as well as garlic sauce from shrimp. Surprisingly , we found the Paella just to be good and not great. Lots of chicken that while all white meat - was a tad dry and boring. Not enough seafood and other meats but it was still ok. I just wanted to be wowed with what should be a signature dish. The waiter brought out our home bought cake , then brought it back in kitchen to slice, add drizzle and boxed it back up when we were done. No plate charge and no fuss. SUPER appreciate this class act!!! We tipped accordingly . We will likely come back to try some other dishes. We liked the ambiance, service and food overall. read more

El Pulpo & Tapas Bar - Seafood Near Me - Middletown, Connecticut

We have dined at the Southington location on a few occasions, but it took an expiring Groupon for us to finally make our way to Middletown. The restaurant was empty save for one group of about 8 while the bar was inhabited by no more than 4 on our arrival at about 5:40PM. It was happy hour and it runs until closing on Mondays in the bar area. I told the bartender that we had a Groupon, but that we would be ordering off the happy hour menu and then settle up, likely moving to the dining room for the the remainder of our meal. We started off with a watermelon mule for me and passion tini for my wife plus an order of sauteed mussels in a hot cream sauce to share. Both the drinks and mussels proved to be very good. On the second round we switched to wine, again at happy hour prices. More diners arrived settling in at the bar, dining room and patio. It soon became apparent that service had slowed to a crawl due to understaffing with the bartender now delivering some of the meals. Our glasses and plates from the first round took forever to be removed. I requested our happy hour check and told the bartender we wanted a single order of paella de Mariscos - seafood paella with saffron, rice, bay scallops, squid, shrimp, clams, and mussels that we would be sharing. After finishing both our wine and paella, we ordered a single crème brulee. Both the paella and crème brulee were very good. On requesting the final check and providing both the Groupon and my credit card, the bartender informed us that though he would accept it this time, it required us to order both drinks and food, not just food. I feel his is a very anal interpretation of the terms of the Groupon that states good for "food and drinks". There is no "must order both food and drinks". I have used dozens of Groupons over the years and this is the first time I have experienced such a problem, in fact, many specifically exclude drinks. We left feeling disappointed both by the overall service and the handling of the Groupon so a return visit is not going to happen. read more

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Great casual atmosphere, the paella is the way to go here with authentic ingredients.