We were excited to try Mas Tapas but a series of incidents brought down the mood for the whole night (we were celebrating a birthday too!). First, our waiter lectured a black member of our party, who has a seafood allergy, for not bringing an epipen with her. I can't remember ever hearing someone direct such condescension at a white customer, especially at a fancy restaurant. Almost everyone else there was white. Later, the waitress filled my glass with water (I'm white) and didn't fill my friends' and never came back with more water. The art inside consists of portraits of white people, doing yoga etc. We did not feel welcome and decided not to order anything else. The three dishes we ordered were okay, not very creative - a beet spread on toast, a mozzarella and tomato salad, and apricot spread on cheese on toast. I think I would have enjoyed these at least a little if the first interaction hadn't been so negative. At least we got seats right away (at 9pm-ish). read more

Holy crap (on a stick), this place rocks. Seriously. I would've given it 6 stars if it had been warmer outside, but oh well; 5 out of 5 ain't bad. Their jamon y queso platter brought me right back to Spain - it was outstanding. I enjoyed everything I ate; they have quite the variety of tapas to choose from, with both small and large sizes. I LOVED that. The food was so flavorful, from my first bite of bread to my last bite of tortilla espanola. Que deliciosa, for realsies. Everyone in Charlottesville should make the trip out to Mas at least once - it's tucked in the middle of random neighborhoods, but it's quite the find. You won't regret it. read more

Love the food, and the service has gotten better every time I've gone, a great sign considering it seems to have been everyone's concern in the past. The selection of wines and food here has always been excellent and the modern interior decor and generous outdoor patio makes this one of the premiere dining experiences in Charlottesville. The atmosphere is perfect for a long night out with friends with a constant nibbling on delicious tapas! read more

After hearing rave reviews about Mas for years and years, I finally decided to try it with my sister this past January and, let me tell you, I am a believer! Service: Upon reading all the reviews about long waits and slow service, I decided to opt for a later dinner at around 9 o'clock on a Saturday evening in the dead of winter. We were seated right away, only having to wait for our table to be bused. In fact, there were a handful of tables open at this hour! As for our waitress, she was an absolute doll! She spent a long time going over the menu with us, offering her suggestions on tapas items and wine pairings. Ambiance: First and foremost, solid playlist..90s rap songs one right after another. Perhaps the restaurant was a little bit loud, but when they're cooking the food right in the same room as you, what else do you expect? Food: And now for the most important part, the food. Based on our waitress' recommendations, we ordered the broccolini, roasted red pepper, tuna steak, lamb chops, and bacon-wrapped dates. Each plate came out at varying times, allowing you to relish each tapas. My sister's hands-down favorite was the roasted red pepper, which was stuffed with some kind of cheese filling. My plate of choice was the lamb chops, whatever they were marinated in was to die for. While, the food was indeed delicious, my sister pointed out that the tuna wasn't cooked rare, as the menu had suggested it'd be. Minor point, tasty nonetheless. OH! I should mention that the desserts were sub-par (apparently they had just gotten a new pastry chef and were still working out the kinks...) In sum, if you can stave off rumbling tummies by munching on a mid-afternoon snack, I highly recommend catching a later dinner at Mas. Regardless of the late hour, the food and service were fantastic! My mouth is watering as I think about those bacon-wrapped dates...mmm! read more

This is hands-down my favorite restaurant in Charlottesville. And for anyone who knows about the foodie scene in that small, affluent little town, then this is saying a lot. The executive chef, Tomas Rahal, is actually Spanish, so to say that he knows what he's doing is an understatement. And I must say, after spending some time in places like Barcelona and Sevilla, I didn't have anything that tasted as authentic and full of soul as the food at Mas. The bacon-wrapped dates are the most amazingly decadent menu item, a must-have. And please order the traditional sangria. It's reasonably-priced (around $6 a glass), and it goes so well with every item on your plate. They tend to try to keep with the slow food and eat local movements, which I also love -- any effort to help the economy in your backyard rates two thumbs up for me. And it makes for some really tasty meat dishes, as you know that the animals were fed and raised properly. The only downside to this angular little haven is that I always leave feeling completely and utterly too full. But let's be honest -- when the food is as good as what comes to your table, you can't help yourself. read more

Went here on Valentine's Day, the food was excellent! I highly recommend the carne asada, incredible. Price wise, I'll say it's not cheap but very worth the cost, definitely better food than it's price point. The bill was about 90$ for the 2 of us, including drinks. Will definitely be coming back. read more

Real Spanish style tapas with a healthy twist. Great for sharing. I can't pick a favorite. read more

the line was out the door, 14 parties ahead of us. we left had a few drinks at "the local" and came back 2 hrs later, no line...we beat the system. were seated and ordered two drinks and $80 in mini meals ala tapas. everything was flavorful and amazing everything except one deadly disapointing dish (the liver pate- it was cold, lifeless, flavorless grey gritty moosh). i guess that was my first and last time eating pate. eeek aside from this lesson, the culinary masterpiece that was mas was great. mas didnt disapoint. keep up the good work guys ! read more

I have become quite adventuresome since I have been going to Mas repeatedly! The Papas Bravas (yummy potatoes in a skillet with crunchy pieces and a delicious creamy sauce) are definitely one of my favorites. The Carne Asada is a "must have" every time I go. The meat is extremely flavorful & literally melts in your mouth. I sometimes dream about it!!! My most favorite is the Datil con Tocino....OH MY! These are pitted dates stuffed with manchego wrapped in bacon and somehow put on a skewer and magically cooked! In fact I want them right now! It would take me days to go through each item that I really really like because there are so many. Wait one more extremely mentionable item that I absolutely adore are the grilled artichoke hearts with aïoli... divine..delectable.. delicious.. decadent!!! :-) Go with at least one other person and in my opinion, the more the merrier! Order lots of little plates, and big ones of the ones you know you like! Be adventurous. Your server will gladly translate and help you decide on what to get if you're not familiar with the menu. Mas is in the top FIVE of my favorite restaurants in Charlottesville and I am a former chef and have been living in Charlottesville for over 30 years. I have seen a lot of restaurants come and go and Mas is here to stay for some very good reasons. Go and Enjoy! read more

Very Nice Restaurant with a decent wine list... mostly spanish wines.. try the gran reserva or reserva ones... delicious Went there last week and ordered 6 tapas... tapas are grouped by price ($4, $6, $8, $10 and $15)... they all taste fabulous.... planning to go again this week to try more of the tapas and wines... Chill atmosphere but location could be tricky... Spent over 50+ per person including 2 glasses of wine read more

I went to Mas with some friends and we all had a blast. It's a popular place so you do have to wait a little to be seated, but it's not that bad. We ordered: Pimentón Padron Datil con tocino (fat, juicy, pitted Medjool dates roasted inside of applewood-smoked bacon) Tortilla espanola (organic eggs, Yukon Gold potatoes, onions, and grey sea salt) Croquetas de jamón (Yukon Gold potatoes, Manchego cheese, smoked bacon and cured Jamón Serrano pan-fried w/crème fraiche) Salchichas a la parilla: grilled chorizo (dry-cured Spanish pork sausage w/ brick oven bread) Everything was really delicious. I love padron peppers and was thrilled to see Mas had them on the menu. The bacon wrapped dates were especially impressive. Our waitress was attentive and really sweet. The service was good. We went a little later in the evening so they were out of some of the dishes we ordered but our waitress helped us find good alternatives. All in all, I look forward to going back again. read more

My favorite things about Mas: 1. Plenty of outdoor patio seating; 2. Selection of over 100 Spanish wines; 3. BACON-WRAPPED DATES (mouthtastic!); 4. Large amount of interesting items on the menu; available in two portion options (smaller for 1-2 people "tapas" or larger for 3-4 people "raciones"). (5) The sangria was also really good, and reasonably priced. Howver the last time I went here, around June 2010, they were no longer serving it due to ABC regulations. But i've heard from a few of my buddies that the sangria is back, so if that's true, then definitely get a pitcher or two with friends next time you're at Mas. You'll be glad you did; even the next morning. Lastly, I'm an olive fan, and if you are too then you'll like Mas even more. They give you a side plate full of assorted olives when you first sit down. Grreeeat stuff; if you're living in C-ville but you're not yet a regular at Mas, then you're missing out. This place is a required experience for any C-villain, especially those with more sophisticated or adventurous palettes. - The only reasons I didn't award Mas 5 stars was because (1) the service can be a little slow at times, and (2) certain menu items are slightly overpriced in my opinion. I also wish that they were open on Sunday and took reservations, but these aren't deal-breakers of course. read more

Rivals any tapas I've had back in SAn Francisco. Meatballs, fabada, everything excellent read more

Thanks Yelpers! We graduated from UVA over a decade ago and some of our favorite spots no longer exist so we decided to branch out and find a place through Yelp. We were not disappointed. The food and service were great and there were so many tempting options to choose from. I think we had about 6 dishes for the two of us (incl. two small orders of the bacon-wrapped dates....they were so good we couldn't resist!). The highlights were the dates and the whole artichokes. Iberico was also good, as well as Serrano ham with manchego cheese. The stew that had rabbit and some other meats was good, but not amazing--a little too salty. Also, the small portion of the stew was so large that it kept us from trying other things (boo hoo). Hubby liked the sangria but wished there was more fruit in it. All in all, this was a great dining experience and we would recommend Mas Tapas to others. Btw, we called to make reservations and a voicemail said they don't take any--it is all first come, first serve. We arrived around 5:45 on a Monday and were seated with no trouble, but by the time we left the place had really filled up. So perhaps you need to choose your timing wisely! read more

MAS was recommended to us by our Airbnb host, and we are glad they did! The gals at MAS will walk you through the menu and make great recommendations. We found that three tapas each was a little too much food for us....but we enjoyed every plate that came out! The food is fresh, the vibe is trendy but not snotty, and GET THE TRES LECHE!!!!! read more

Absolutely amazing! Mas Tapas is the best tapas experience I've ever had. The food is delicious, service is attentive and great, and overall atmosphere is fantastic. Highly recommend the bacon wrapped dates read more

I loved this place. I have a lot of food allergies and the waitress quickly went through the menu indicating what was an option. It was like having a customized menu. We ordered about 6 things up front and the dishes came out as they were ready. I can highly recommend the octopus and the roasted artichokes but I really liked everything. We also got the smoked tomatoes and harissa spices potatoes. I couldn't eat the aioli so the tomatoes were a nice complement because the potatoes do need a dipping sauce. We got there by 6:30 and got the last table before the line started forming. I like the fact that I didn't feel rushed. read more

Pretty hard to find. The food is excellent, although I would skip dessert. Fairly pricey, probably at least $25 per person. read more

Seasonal menu. Freshest ingredients. Flawless execution of classic & modern tapas. Thoughtful integration of local ingredients. Well composed list of Spanish wine. Service is SUSPECT, but the quality of the food overcomes this flaw. "Intimate" seating in the cooler months sucks, though the bar seating is comfy & entertaining, watching your meal come together. During the warmer months, outdoor seating is a must. DO NOT get there late, you will wait, & they will run out of what you want because they are that GOOD! This is the only place my wife and I will go when we can get an evening of babysitting. We spend $100 with drinks, tip, & overeating the BEST food in Charlottesville. read more

Thank you Chef "MAS" Thomas. I must be twenty dinners out now and I have yet to be disappointed. Tuna, smoked Roma tomatoes, and papas bravas is my go to meal. When my vegan GF isn't around, I sneak in the bacon wrapped dates. How about a new vegan protein dish to keep up with the times? Keep up the great cooking and thank you for your staff's enduring smiles and hospitality at the back door with pandemic take out orders. read more

Love it! Haven't had spanish tapas for a while. And it was awesome there. Ambience was great, too.

upset about my experience here. I heard such great things but the service was horrible. Very disappointing

A lot of hype brought us here and if we were here for the vibe we would be back. for sure. Primarily service gave the rating followed by food. we loved one dish out of the five (patatas, albondigas, lamburguesa, empanada, and scallop. scallop were our fav, yes that's singular: scallop. even after our potatoes order was messed up and we got it twenty minutes later (not offered any comp or apologies nor informed about the mistake until we asked) we were just hungry and thriving for some yummy food. woe betide us. we got the empanada first and we both said "what happened to it?" it looked like someone sat on it. being cuban or hispanic maybe gave us more criticism than others but still...it was majorly deflated. :( besides the small mistake on the order for service: our waitress left us high and dry (no water for a very long time, i debated crying as a means to hydrate myself but who am i kidding i would really just be crying. maybe other days are better than today's: service can change i'm sure, food maybe seasonal too, maybe we have been cultured to mixing pots of the world for food but it wasn't for us, maybe it will be for you? read more

I don't know where to begin with reviewing Mas. Suffice to say our meal was amazing. Some notables - Carne Asada - Delicious, melt in your mouth good! Jamon y Queso - The ham & Manchego plate gave a generous portion of both and could not have been better. Goat Cheese & Artichoke spread - RIch and hearty. So perfect on their warm bread. Gambas - The shrimp plate was overflowing with giant shrimp. I would come back just for the shrimp alone! My ONLY minor complaint with Mas is that the cocktails seem to be a bit small for the ~$10 price. Next time I'll have a glass of their more reasonably priced wine. All in all - go to Mas! Sit for a long long time on their patio, have a glass of wine and order as much as you possible can! You won't regret it. read more

amazing food.... loved the bacon wrapped dates, goat tacos and carnitas but the wait time was what knocked off a star for me. I understand it was a friday night, but waiting for about an hr and a half for a table for two seems kind of ridiculous.... good thing we didn't come starving... We had ordered an empanada as well but our server didn't tell us about how they had ran out for than evening until we had to ask about it after waiting for the last dish. Overall, servers are very friendly and more than willing to help in ordering, but the long wait and unsatisfied anticipation of a long waited empanada rained on the parade of a five star review. great atmosphere and great company made it a great experience read more

4 stars if U get there and it's not crowded, otherwise I would give it a lower rating for poor service, long wait time, and crowd. Your experience at mas is best after the rush....8ish. The waiters are attentive to your needs. Mojitos were awesome. Nice atmosphere. Fun to order off the tapas menu. Food was more of a three. We really enjoyed the shrimp and sausage. You'll enjoy ur experience. read more

Few restaurants effectively combine great food, with great service in a great environment. Mas Tapas does all three. On Saturday arrive early. We arrived at 5:45 (opens at 5:30) and there were no tables left. We sat at the bar in front of the sous chefs. It was very fun watching them cook. The chefs do an awesome job making quality food quickly. I see lots of people writing that service is slow. That may be because the chefs/cooks pump out on average 3-5 plates per couple. If you want fast service, go to McDonalds. But for us, service times were excellent. We ordered a bottle of wine and a couple of tapas first thing. Our waiter did an excellent job asking us to order the next tapas because he knew the timing. Great menu and the food was amazing. We had bacon wrapped dates, salad with mango dressing, shrimp with an awesome aioli sauce and Solomillo. All meats/seafood were cooked well and the sauces prepped well. I would make damn sure to go here. I would drive 2.5 hours from DC just for a Saturday night dinner here again. Hope this helps. read more

All I have to say: Bacon-wrapped dates. Well, and this: This place is simply superb. Go here!!! read more

Easily one of the best restaurant experiences in Charlottesville. "Experience" is meant holistically--the vibe is great, the place is incredibly crowded, the drinks are good, the waitstaff is charming and helpful, the decor is fun, and the food is excellent. If you go at a busy time (read: anywhere around dinnertime) on a busy night (read: any night when you might be going out to dinner), it will be busy and you will wait a long time. Get a drink and make some friends. But it'll be worth it. The food is great and plenty of people have talked about that. I also want to point out that their wine list is really top notch. I drink a lot of wine but I rarely do at restaurants because it's generally overpriced and I'm usually able to find the same bottles at the supermarket. Not so here. Mas has one of the best Spanish wine collections I've seen, at shockingly reasonable prices, especially by the glass. This allows you to try several distinctive and undiscovered wines for less than the price of a bottle of mid-tier California Cab anywhere else. Try it out. read more

The food was sooooo good! I didn't even get to take a picture of any of the food because everyone devoured it! It does get pricey but worth it! read more

Typically, this place is pretty good. I've been here about four times and each time the food, wine and service were good -- a solid three stars. I can recall now enjoying a cheese plate, a charcuterie, the "surprise" peppers, camarones, bacon wrapped dates and the carne asada. All of these have been tasty, well presented, with excellent service and good friends. Tonight the service was good, the wine was quite good (the Tierra Crianza) but the food was not good. We ordered the espinaca salad, the cauliflower and the lamb on a flatbread. The spinach salad was too sweet. Way too sweet. I would have gone with either the raisins or the mango dressing, not both. Definitely not both. I felt my blood sugar rising closer and closer to ketoacidosis with each bite, until I was begging for intravenous fluids, until I was nearly comatose. The cauliflower was a good idea -- it was a yellow coconut curry with roasted cauliflower as the only element-- but the coconut overwhelmed the dish. I suppose the curry flavor -- the turmeric and coriander and cumin -- would have been tasty alone; adding the coconut milk though rendered the cauliflower soggy, swampy, bogged down. The brassica drowned in a colloidal whirlpool, and floated up to the surface edematous and lifeless. And thus the curried trees of cauliflower, once beautiful, forthwith deteriorated in to spongy, oily flotsam. Lamb on flatbread came next. Again, the concept sounded good on paper -- bits of lamb with chimichurri, tomatoes, arugala; but the dish did not deliver in reality. First, the flatbread was not easy to cut. The dish should have been served with a serrated knife, not the dull one they provided. Second, while I will be the first to admit that lamb is a fatty meat, there was more fat than meat served with this dish. Once the first bite of fat hit my duodenum, my serum cholecystokinin shot through the roof, my pylorus slammed shut and my stomach started to balloon up with secretions. (Please excuse the next sentence.) My gallbladder went in to overdrive as I was struggling to hold back vomit. I really did like this place before tonight, and when we arrived I was excited to be seated so promptly. But the dishes we chose just did not deliver. I'm reluctant to eat here again and spend $$$ for such lackluster food. read more

Went here on a yelp and Southern Living magazine review. Super trendy restaurant kinda tucked away on a random side street. It had an excellent selection of wines and cocktails. The food was overall good our favorite was the mushroom and goat cheese quiche like dish. Great service with knowledgeable wait staff. read more

The Charlottesville "Best Of" awards just came out and Mas Tapas placed in quite a few categories. I was a little leery about the restaurant living up to all of the hype, but it did! Our waitress was super helpful, since it was our first time and the menu can be a bit overwhelming. They bring out a piece of paper with all of their menu items and you check off the ones you want (the menu changes each day). Our waitress recommended some of their classic dishes and some of their season dishes and it was all amazing! I would always want to order a variety of dishes and share each one instead of ordering 2 or 3 for myself. It's way more fun to try all the different tapas. The carne asada was the best cooked piece of steak I think I've ever had. We also had the Datil con tocino (bacon wrapped dates), a type of lamb slider, and Papas bravas (potatoes roasted in a spicy rub). All of the ingredients in each dish were perfectly balanced and went well together. I would suggest still trying something even if you don't normally like one of the ingredients. read more

Mick on the grill with his awesome sidekick wrecking the house and the servers are on point to! Food is...well there isn't words to describe. Prepare your taste buds. BOOM! Like an IED in your mouth. read more

Mas Tapas - Fried Oysters - Tapas Bars Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

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I first went to Mas last year to meet my boyfriend for a company dinner...which was the best possible way to be introduced to Mas. Since it was a group of ten, we got a little bit of everything. For my first visit, the dishes that stood out to me the most were with crispy, sizzling bacon wrapped dates, humongous artichokes, and the brie with apricots. I went back many times after that. Fast forward to now. My boyfriend and I moved to Belmont (where Mas is located) and we are a ten minute walk from our favorite restaurant in town. We still get our three favorite dishes mentioned above, and just to mention a few other new favorites: the pan seared scallops were plump and perfectly cooked. I have tried to replicate the aioli that comes on many dishes at home, but it's never quite as good. And our favorite desert by far is the strawberry rhubarb tart (may be seasonal). Bon apetit! read more

Delicious. Sat at the bar and the bartender who served us was amazing. The tuna stuffed peppers were outstanding. There was one snooty hostess, but our bartender more than made up for it! Highly recommend. read more

This place has great food, but the servers on more than one occasion have not only missed the mark, but have a bit of an attitude. They remind me of a server from a restaurant that used to have a Michelin star. Lol. read more

The food was 4 stars, but beware if you are sat in the back room (down the steps) -- it seems to be a converted garage, and there is no insulation. We were there on a late September night, so temps weren't freezing but were in the 50s. I brought a jacket but was so cold I couldn't really focus on the food. It seems that when they added this space on, they didn't properly build it. And for reference -- I'm a healthy woman in her early 30s, and don't get cold easily. It was just so distracting.... Totally fine place if you get a seat in the upper dining area or at the bar read more

We went with a group, spent $350 and ended up leaving to go get more food. I get small plates, but $30 for 2 scallops is crazy. Food was good but would never go back. read more

Except for the Carne Asada we ordered all the wrong dishes: the empanada and shrimp ajillo were tasteless; the pulpo was salty and fishy. My boys dont like the patatas bravas which have received great reviews. These are the dishes we typically order in NY so kept to our routine. Service and atmosphere prompted the 3 star review. If it was based on food then it would have been a four for the carne asada and a 0 or 1 for the other dishes. read more