As soon as you step into the four year old La Tasca Spanish Tapas Restaurant and Bar, you feel like you’ve been transported right to the Mediterranean. La Tasca, one of the newer additions to the Baltimore Inner Harbor’s eclectic mix of restaurants, is thoughtfully decorated with a definitive Spanish flare. The restaurant is situated on prime real estate, directly in front of the USS Constellation, facing the calm waters of the Inner Harbor.

La Tasca offers a kids menu with the standard American fare. However, there’s such a wide variety of tapas ranging from vegetable tapas to red meat to poultry to seafood tapas, that you can easily introduce your kids to “a taste of Spain” that doesn’t seem overly unfamiliar to them. Our family of four spent $35 for lunch, including a bread appetizer, six different tapas, a beer and two drinks.

The Paella Valenciana was not my favorite of our choices as the rice was a little too gummy for my tastes. The Pollo al Ajillo was my second least favorite as the chicken didn’t have that real garlic kick that I was looking for. Overall, we enjoyed the rest of our lunch of other shrimp and chicken tapas. In the past I have had several of their vegetable tapas which were quite flavorful and filling. Their sangria menu is extensive with over 12 varieties of this classic Spanish beverage. However, being that it was the middle of a Monday afternoon, I had my kids, and I was watching my calories, I chose not to partake in a glass.

If you’re traveling with the kids and want to give them the full taste of Spain, your best bet would be to visit on Saturday when they feature live Flamenco dancers. If you are without the children, happy hour would be an ideal time with their $3 happy hour menu from 4-7pm or even Thursdays where they offer half-priced sangria pitchers until 9pm!

All in all, La Tasca worked for my family and I wouldn’t mind visiting them again to explore the rest of their menu – next time, without the kids.