Aioli Bodega Española

Davis Location

808 2nd Street

(530) 757-2766

Sacramento Location

1800 L Street, Sacramento

(916) 447-9440

Hours

Lunch Monday to Friday: 11:30 AM to 2:30pm

Dinner Sunday to Wednesday: 5:00 PM to 10:00pm

Thursday to Saturday: 5:00 PM to 11:00 PM

Websites

Sacramento Midtown

Virtual Tour

Price Range

$6-$8/$15-$20 depending on what part of the menu is appealing

Payment Methods

American Express, Diner's Club, MasterCard, Visa

Aioli Bodega Española is a restaurant that serves Spanish cuisine (including Tapas) in an upscale setting. They also have a Sacramento location. Welcome to Aioli Bodega Española Restaurants, where our authentic food, wine and ambiance will transport you to Spain for the evening. They offer a full selection of Spanish tapas, meals, wines, and desserts for lunch or dinner.

They replaced Cafe California in this location.

• Read a story and see more photos in Davis Life Magazine.
  

• Read a review with beautiful photos in Davis Life Magazine.
  

• Upscale Spanish Cuisine Comes to Downtown Davis — California Aggie article (2006-02-27)

Comments:

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• Reviews from 2006 ~ 17 comments
  

• Reviews from 2007 ~ 10 comments

2008-01-20 23:06:11   I went to this place with my boyfriend when they first opened, and had a horrible experience. It took an hour and a half to get our food, and the chicken tappa dish was very overcooked. I told the waiter about it, and he said that I should come in any day but saturday for the chicken because the chef tends to overcook the chicken on the weekends. I thought he was joking, but he wasn't. No offer to replace the chicken, and no offer to take it off our bill. We went there a second time because we were given a gift certificate, and there was a huge improvement. The waiter (different one this time) even gave us a complimentary tappa so that we can give the chef our opinion on it! I think they just had to work out the kinks. —Dr.Lindsay

2008-01-31 12:09:50   very nice date restaurant. My wife and I went here and the bartender was very friendly and kind. The food was awesome, really good. very rich and savory dishes, we had a shrimp bisque that was so, so good. The drinks use fresh squeezed juice not any cheap mixers. —DagonJones

2008-02-19 22:26:52   Yummy spanish tomato soup! The specialty dishes are very reasonably priced for the amount of high quality food. The tapas, while tasty, are a little pricey for the quantity. Many of the tapas should be a dollar less. The service was attentive when we've been with small groups (2-6 people), but somewhat slow for a larger group. Nice atmosphere except if you get stuck in the nook off to the left side of the main sitting area. The table (or is it two tables?) seem to have been added for additional seating, but are not as nice and cozy as the other tables. The veggie options could be improved a little, but overall one of the top places to go in town for a more upscale yet laid back dinner. —mj

2008-04-15 18:54:51   I absolutely loved the food here, I would definetly say that this was the best and most high end fare I've had in Davis. Service was friendly but the waitress definetly talked down to my boyfriend and I, be it our age or my piercings I would just like to note that those things don't necessarily meen we are ignorant so please don't be judgemental of your patrons it's very infuriating. But like I said excellent food so we'll be back very soon. —sdlexie

2008-05-03 10:48:38   I recently ate here, and what I was most impressed with was the fresh squeezed juice (they have a press right there attached to the bar) they use in their cocktails. Very delicious touch! —Catan

2008-05-03 12:27:17   We visited here last summer/late spring, and honestly, all I can remember is how freezing it was. It was pretty warm outside, but inside I shivered the entire meal. It wasn't fun. —ElleWeber

2008-07-06 08:21:00   This is a weird question, but for someone just starting to explore Spanish food and culture for the first time, what's good a dish to try for a newbie to Spanish food? —thelonepiper555

• Not a weird question at all... seems to me that trying some of the tapas (small plates) might be a good way to start — that way you could try a number of different things that sound good, and see what you like. Hmm, maybe I didn't answer your question. But I haven't really had a bad dish here. —CovertProfessor
  

2008-11-18 20:16:53   yesterday i came with a friend of mine for a lunch. I like the restaurant, especially the interior decoration and the paintings on the walls. The food was new to me since I hadn't tried spanish food. By the way, I really enjoyed the best service and the food provided! I urge you to come as many times as possible! —davisangel

2009-01-09 20:46:57   just got from dinner where the food was okay but overpriced for small portions and very slow service. it was probably because of our age and dress attire(college students in casual clothes). Everyone else who had grey hair or collared shirts were attended to often. we however, were ignored for most of the time. the good parts were the paintings on the wall and the baskets and baskets of bread that the girl kept bringing to us. but yea our guy waiter didn't even stop by again after he delivered our dinner to us. —skinnyfatgirl

2009-02-07 23:50:07   If you are here for food, you should order the full plates (forgot how they are called on the menu, but you get the idea) and not the tapas. Their regular meals are actually plentiful, well prepared, and not that expensive. —Xenophon

2009-02-15 11:47:27   The worst! I made reservations on Valentine's Day for me and my girlfriend. while we were waiting, four people were seated ahead of us without reservations! which pissed me and my girlfriend off which was a great way to start out our dinner.The food was awful and overpriced.the service was horrible i can not believe they get away with their prices. as we were leaving one of the servers bumped into my girlfriend and didn't even say anything. I DO NOT THINK THEY LIKE YOUNGER PEOPLE AT ALL(18-21). I'm going to call the manager and will post his reply to what i have to say. —AdamcityofDavis

2009-02-15 23:59:54   My boyfriend and I also ate there on valentines day and had a horrible experience. We arrived at 10 and the restaurant was basically empty, the waiter made us sit at the bar for 15 minutes while he "prepared" our table until my boyfriend asked another waiter if we could sit at one of the five empty set tables next to us. Our waited was the host and wore a vest while the others did not, but I thought it was ironic how he was running around telling the others what to do while blatantly ignoring us the entire night. He finally took our order after we had been sitting unattended for 30 minutes. My boyfriend and I both ordered appetizers only, and twenty minutes later he brought my boyfriends but not mine. I didn't get my food until my boyfriend had to stand up and ask another waiter for my food, which they brought promtly because it had been ready the whole time. In addition, the waiter also got my order wrong. When we were waiting for our bill we also had to listen to our waiter yell at one of the waitresses right behind us for ten minutes. Throughout the entire meal, the only person who was particularly nice to us was the bartender. It may have been because we are young (18-19), but regardless of the reason it was extremely rude and horrible service, and on valentines of all days. When it comes to service at restaurants my boyfriend and I are usually very understanding, but this experience by far was our worst and we will not be going there again. —Rwor

2009-02-17 09:33:30   Ya me and my girlfriend fit that younger group (18-22) and i think that is why. We should be able to attend these restaurants regardless of age especially for the prices. i called aioli's left a message with both of my numbers and still no call back. in fact we went over to dos coyotes after this place and they were 5 min from closing and they were still happy to serve me and my girlfriend.I told them about aioli's and they said they heard a similar experience.The great service with a smile and amazing food made up for the worst experience at aioli's. aioli's is not for younger people especially on v-day. —AdamcityofDavis

2009-02-17 18:48:52   well i called back because they do not like to return messages. I spoke to a lady and told her that i want to speak to the manager. she put me on hold then came back to ask why i needed to talk to him. i told her that i needed to speak with him. so i spoke to ludovic(the manager) and he told me to stop by the restaurant at 5pm tomorrow. i will write back and tell you how he is going to handle this situation. —AdamcityofDavis

2009-03-05 08:55:29   I just ate at Aioli last night. We were going to a show at mondovi and in kinda a rush but we let our server know we were in a rush and she quickly recommended some great tapas that were quick to make. The gambas were the best of all of the dishs. I have read reveiws about the service being bad, but our server Adrian was amazing. She took care of us very well, reminding us what time it was when it was close to the time we should be leaving. I had a great time and for all of you who are new to the resturaunt or who had a bad experience I recommend requesting her as your waitress. She was great! I will definatly be back. —AmandaSwartz

2009-03-20 21:26:52   Tonight I went there on a date. The service was dreadful. We waited for 45 minutes for two dishes. Several other groups, seated after us, were served before us. Fortunately, after the two dishes, we were full. Maybe that was because they stuffed us full of complementary bread. The owner went around to several tables with older customers, but mostly ignored tables with younger customers. While we were waiting (we were there for over an hour) maybe one other group came in. It was a Friday night. That should say something. —popofosho

2009-03-26 13:35:32   This restaurant is a very poor value. I've been there twice (each time as a guest of others). The tapas are flavorful and artfully prepared and laid out with all due care using fine ingredients. But paying $9-10 for a little plate that doesn't have enough on it to feed a chihuahua is beyond what I could take. First time the service was rude, second time it was good. If you go, get someone else to spring for it. I wasn't too surprised that the place was uncrowded even at peak dinner time. Restroom was not very clean. —grzyb

2009-05-10 15:31:49   The food and ambiance here is REALLY good and I always look forward to coming here but sometimes the slow service makes me very irritable during my meal. They recently took my favorite dish off the menu though. The price here is a little high for Davis but imo its worth the food quality. —Michelleshueh

2009-06-21 10:03:44   Great, just great!! I consider this one of my top 3 restaurants in all of Davis! Food is delicious, the quality of service is outstanding and the atmosphere is modern and upscale.

People are gonna say the meals were small but that's how Tapas are... small "samplers" to the eyes of Americans. You're suppose to order 3-4 different Tapas and share'em. That's the true Spanish culture! Expect to pay $40 for a dinner for two.—aaron.smith

2009-09-19 12:43:45   the first time i ate here i really liked the food/experience. friendly bartender, nice mojitos, good food... then i went again with a b-day party a year or so later. it was good but we had to wait 45 minutes for a table although i had called in for a reservation. the last time i went (may '09) it was the most ridiculous experience i've had in a very long time.
first- the lemonade.
mine was a delightful handmade concoction of fresh lemons and sugar, my date's was a lemon squeezed in water. seriously. i asked our server to sweeten it up & it came back with a layer of undissolved sugar congealing on the bottom of the glass.
the food- our plate of roasted vegi's were way too greasy and were presented to us as "LEGUMES". the waitress had no clue about eggplant, carrots, peppers?
can't see it getting better.

—mjwagner