Aventura’s underwhelming take on tapas

It’s become a tradition of mine to dine at a restaurant in downtown Ann Arbor to celebrate the most important day of the year: my birthday. Eager, I decided to give Aventura (“Modern tapas, world-renowned paella & overflowing hospitality in the heart of Ann Arbor”) a chance.

Walking in was remarkably lively and so trendy. Everything was well-decorated and the lighting was moody enough to warrant the celebration of any occasion. It was a little noisy and borderline overwhelming, but what restaurant in the heart of downtown isn’t?

For the tapas, we started with the “crudo de atun,” bluefin tuna served raw. I had issues with the presentation. Aside from an unappealing color, I found the dish to be more watery than expected due to the sheer amount of sauce it came with. Instead of a bit of sauce decorating the sides, it felt more like a puddle — leaving every bite disproportionately watery. It would have been nice if the food runner had left the container of aguachile for us to pour ourselves and control the amount of sauce with each mouthful. There was also difficulty getting the tuna, shallots and cucumbers onto my fork all at once, so perhaps providing a serving spoon in the future would be helpful.

The “coles de Bruselas,” brussels sprouts, physically looked the most appetizing of all the tapas we tried — plus, it came with a spoon! I really did enjoy how savory it was, but ultimately, they were just Brussels sprouts with something that looked like sour cream, only containing a higher fat content. I also barely tasted the pistachios, which was disappointing since it was listed as a feature of the dish. My recommendation is to either make it crispier, saltier or spicier, because it felt too incomplete to be priced at $15.

The “patatas bravas,” crispy potatoes, were simply softer, not so salty breakfast potatoes with sour cream and a sriracha duplicate drizzled on top. The lack of a notable taste made it feel microwaved rather than an extravagant indulgent.

Onto the reason we went: the paella. To preface, I spent six weeks in Spain this past summer, and I will not be silent about that. I feel obligated to inform you all that paella was a regular part of my diet and always moist. Naturally, the señorito paella at Aventura, consisting of “whitefish, calamari, prawns, garlic and sofrito,” had big shoes to fill. While it didn’t quite live up to my Spanish experiences, as even the paella I made during my program’s cooking class — with zero prior paella-making knowledge — managed to pack more flavor. The shrimp could have used more seasoning, and the fish was overcooked (so much so that my dining companion mistook it for chicken). Thankfully, the garlic aioli came to the rescue, and added some much-needed character to the dish. Still, we hadn’t discovered it on the table until midway through the meal, leaving us wishing we’d found it much sooner.

Eventually the pintxos morunos, grilled skirt steak, came out, albeit much later than expected, and it was somehow even drier than the paella. The tomatillo sauce was not great, but one was almost forced to use it to liven up the meat. The steak’s accompaniment was equally unimpressive, as it offered little in depth or texture to make the dish feel more complete. Instead of complementing the meat, it felt like another forgettable component filling the plate.

Of course, a meal simply isn’t complete without dessert — especially on a birthday. I got a single churro, and, surprisingly, it was my favorite part of the experience. The chocolate was warm and gooey, and there was a perfect amount of cinnamon coating to allow me to successfully indulge in the spice without going into a coughing fit.

Regardless of this sweet ending to an otherwise mediocre experience, there are a few miscellaneous mistakes that don’t quite fit into the food category. At times the food runners were a little hasty, and it felt like they either didn’t know the menu well enough to explain the items presented before us or didn’t care to — like when pouring the aguachile or not explaining the garlic aioli was to be paired with the paella. Regarding dinner service decorations, I only had one complaint: the lack of drink coasters. At one point, it was too unpleasant not to comment on how the table felt like a splash pad.

Generally speaking, good food can save bad service. Though the service wasn’t horrible, the food did not redeem my experience. For that reason, I doubt I’ll be back at Aventura anytime soon.

Daily Arts Writer Maryam Tobya can be reached at tobyam@umich.edu .

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