Canela Bistro & Wine Bar

Visited to celebrate my mom's birthday. We made a reservation on a Sunday at 6:30pm via Opentable for their paella and tapas pre-fixe menu, which includes a paella for the table, 2 tapas, and 1 dessert per person. We opted for the mixed seafood and chorizo paella and they were able to accommodate my mom's request for no oysters in the paella. They started us off with the Spanish cheese tasting, which included 3 varieties of cheese that were nicely proportioned so each of us got to try a slice of each. For the tapas, we opted for patatas bravos, jamon croquettes, tortilla espanola, and stuffed piquilo peppers. I also ordered a sangria, which was a pretty small portion for the price. The tapas were all quite good and by the time the paella arrived we were already pretty well fed. For dessert we got the chocolate olive oil almond cake, which was a very thin layer of cake covered with tons of shaved coconut and the tres leches pumpkin bread pudding, which was unique but not a personal favorite. While I quite liked the cheese and tapas, the paella and desserts were just all right

I came here with a group of 10 and this place was great for a group dinner - the table was pre heated and the table was outside at a private event! Good: - Great tapas style place - We got a bottle of white wine as well to go with our dishes and they poured it all out really nicely for us - My favorite tapas were the pulpo, the meatballs, the bacon wrapped dates, and the empanadas Bad: - The wait times were long between some of the initial dishes, but then got quicker over time which was good! - The service was slow to come outside to help - The shishito peppers were way too spicy! Overall, what a fun place to take a big group, and festive!

We had a fantastic experience at Canela’s. We decided to come here for a SF Resturant Week experience and were able to get a dinner reservation on the same day. We did the Paella and Tapas experience, which included three courses, and six dishes such as a cheese platter, bone marrow, and churros to name a few options. Also a great selection of wine, and the staff was very knowledgeable of the food and drink options (Thanks Trinity). Clean and modern atmosphere with a touch of Spanish decor makes the space very inviting yet upscale. Very memorable experience overall. The experience was $65 per person at I believe you get your money’s worth, considering the amount of food you get. This, plus two bottles of wine, tax, and tip equaled $275 for two people.

It was our first time here, and it did not disappoint! We left the food choices up to our server, as we wanted to try some things outside our comfort zone and did we ever! The wine and drink recommendations were spot on and SO good. We had a few different things, of which I just forgot to snap pictures of. We did a semi tapas tasting that included the croquetas de jamón- so so good; baked cana de cabrá- good(I’m not a huge fan of ‘sweet’ cheeses so it wasn’t my favorite but still tasty); setas- flavor was amaaazing! And the lollipop lamb chops- I unfortunately got an overwhelmingly fatty cut so wasn’t able to enjoy Overall a great experience, and we’ll definitely go back

This was a mixed bag for us. The chicken skewers and the Tempranillo were arguably the best tapa and the best wine we had ever had (and we love both!), but the other two tapas we got (the lamb chops and the gambas al pimenton) were disappointing. The gambas were literally just shrimp in a really strong, thick paprika sauce, and the lamb chops were tiny and overpowered by starchy, under salted mashed potatoes. We were trying to break from our usual habits and do something other than patatas bravas, albondigas, and empanadas, and that was a mistake. This place is definitely worth a visit, just stick with the classics and their best sellers when you order.

I came here for restaurant week for the $75 dinner, and it was absolutely amazing. The restaurant is beautiful inside, and much bigger than expected. I believe this meal came with 5-6 tapas and 3 entrees to be shared. It was a great deal, as it was a huge portion of food to be shared. Favourites include the bacon wrapped dates, Bavette steak, champinones, bone marrow, and the churros are so soft and fluffy absolutely 10/10. I would definitely return to Canela to try their tapas tasting menu. Wonderful experience and I will be back!

This place is an absolute gem and I’m embarrassed that it took me 10 years to visit. 1. The octopus is fantastic 2. The seafood paella is excellent (see picture) 3. The chocolate olive oil almond cake is superb (also pictured) 4. The staff is super friendly, attentive, and had great recommendations. 5. We ordered the Paella upon arriving (we didn’t reserve in advance), so you can always ask the staff and they might be able to make it happen. 6. The wines were very good and the staff was great at suggesting pairings. 7. The gambas al ajillo were also great! 8. My companion said the cheeses were good. Would absolutely return again!