Mala Bar

So I’m completely confused as to why a Spanish tapas restaurant is called “Malabar” when that word usually refers to an area of India, but no one consulted me when they (mis)named the eatery.



What I’m not confused about is how delicious the food was, and how impressed I was with our unflappable server. Even when he was confronted with a table of seven raucous blogger type ladies in town for a blog convention, he suggested dishes to share which suited the vegetarians and two of us who have shellfish allergies. As our Friday night dinner hour went on, however, he appeared to be oversat, and that affected his timing on refreshing drink orders.



We were sucking down the red and white Sangria like we knew what we were doing. He needed back up, and if you drink enough of that light and refreshing Sangria on a hot summer evening, you will, too.



The Paellas were excellent and served in the pans in which they are cooked, and two orders were enough for all of us to share along with several small plates. The Croquetas, Pimientos Rellenos and the Manchego were among my favorites, and I wish now that I had ordered the Yuccas Fritas.



It filled up pretty quickly during our visit, so I would definitely suggest a reservation at this taste of Spain in uptown Charlotte.