If you can stand the owner’s yelling, poor service, lousy food, lack of taste, a cheep 3 oz wine pour, or a $25 corkage charge, then this is your restaurant. The snapper tasted frozen, lacked flavor, the edges looked freezer burnt and had a plastic taste the grouper looked more like a soup than a fish dish with a sauce. Dinner was unremarkable – the 2 Moroccan Chicken dishes were spicy but were overcooked, tough and stringy. We did have to send the initial bread back due to be very head and cold – the owner did tell us he ran out of his bread and had to go to Publix (a grocery store) and buy French bread – the second batch was just as bad – cold and very oily. What a way to interrupt our dinner – all we saw him do is go by and yell at his staff…I mean YELL. Throughout the meal we counted he came by our table (always holding his own glass of wine) 17 times. The owner/chef coming to the table and yelling across the restaurant at his staff – more water, more bread etc. The appetizers’ (tapas) were ordered- they were not the best, but just ok tasting. We wanted to order more, but due to the small amount – we did not. The wine came out (the average glass was $10) with a 3 ounce pour – Yes 3 ounces. We ordered wine – wanted to bring our own due to their limited wine list – but they charge a $25 corking charge. After being seated the server came over before we even had menus and asked us what we wanted to order for food (kind of rushed). The reservation was for a party of 4 at 7:30pm, it took them 10 minutes to find the reservation (they filed it under the first name not that last name) and kept say you do not have a reservation (was made under Open Table with a confirmation). This was our second time at Candela and will be my last. Again, do not let the outside of the restaurant discourage you! Great find and they have it together! Par excellent! We felt as if we were in a small restaurant in Barcelona. I am a local and will tell all my friends about this hidden gem. We washed it down with Cuban style café con Leche. BTW.everyone who said the bread was good, spot on! Very European like crispy and yummy! We finished our meal with desert which included flan and almond cake. The serving is generous! With black beans, rice and plantains. Prepared like a stew with rasins, and green olives, slightly spiced with paprika and red bell peppers. I had the ropa vieja which was really good. ![]() My husband had the oxtail which melted in your mouth! It was a dinner special. The ham melted in the mouth and croquettes crunchy and rich cheese. Excellent wine selection! We had a Spanish 100% cabernet.the best! Great price too. ![]() He gave us a brief explanation of the food and his background. Ignore the negative comments! Excellent service, greeted by the owner/chef. A very nice touch was also the chef going from table to table to check on everybody.I have to say this restaurant is very good. For dessert we had the flan which was very good too. This was unfortunate because I was very excited about the dish - it sounded pretty good on the menu. Unfortunately I did not really like this plate and did leave most of it, but to the defense of the place, I think it was just simply not my taste - it had a slight sour taste which I did not enjoy. My husband ordered the Moroccan chicken as main dish which he enjoyed very much. Soooo delicious - the sauce was so flavourful, the shrimp cooked to perfection and the tostones made everything go together. As an appetizer me and my husband ordered the Tostones with Shrimp - AMAZING - it took a while for them to come out of the kitchen but it was worth it. I was very excited to see Tinto de Verano on the drink list - that brought me right back to Spain. The restaurant is located in not a very nice area, and you would never think you can find such a delicious place there. ![]() I would have given Candela Restaurant almost 5 stars if it is not for my main course, that unfortunately I did not enjoy very much - but lets start from the beginning.
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