Mas

I love MAS! In the winter I like to sit at the bar and watch them prepare food. In the summer I love sitting outside. A small pitcher of their delicious sangria is enough for four!

Food was outstanding - recommended wine was fantastic. Old fashion wasn’t very good - server was pretty good.

A hipstery tapas bar in a bad neighbor. You kinda have to fight for your seat if you want a chance at the bar.

The waitress, all in black dresses, are running around and work as a team to make sure you are good all the time. Nice night, young and fun. Will stop and explain or offer suggestions if need be.

The kitchen is open, three cooks fire up food as it comes it. Very quiet, not talkative, and not open to pictures. The food is good but not worth it for the price. A little under seasoned and small portions but such a lively spot.

Drinks are very good and normally come pretty quickly. Fresh ingredients for both food and drinks.

Overall a cool spot but would maybe try a new spot before returning. Nothing really over the top hands down must have kinda food.

Great food and atmosphere. Really enjoyed it here. Thought everything was reasonably priced as well. Went after a day of hiking and got 5 dishes to split with a friend. We left full. Portions weren't huge, it's tapas, but were appropriate. Highly recommend getting some type of potatoes. That was a large portion and filled us up!

Often, you get the gist of a place after one visit - this is not one of those places. They have a sizable menu and you really can't go wrong with anything, I really look forward to visiting again more than once and finishing out their entire menu.

The tuna and the lamb where absolutely incredible, highly recommend (I've added photos of them).

They have jamón Ibérico and it appears to be the real deal.

This is everything you would be looking for in a diverting tapas place - and only one of two tapas places in town!

Among top 5 in Charlottesville.

Every dish is better than the last. Really enjoy sitting at the bar and watching the magic happen as the food is prepared right in front of you. Will come back as often as possible.

Did you make dinner plans? That's great! Now cancel them and go to Mas.

Seemingly limitless menu sheet of tasty plates ordered vis-a-vis sushi, each plate a perfectly executed Spanish taste treat. From the farm-simple jamon y queso to the chicken liver pate, every dish left you wanting more which I suspect is why this is the most aptly named restaurant around. Service could not have been better, the incredibly friendly bartender nailed every request (if you have any trouble navigating the wine list, worry not - this girl has you covered- her name was Chrissy...I think?) and this is a place you should frequent as regularly as you possibly are able.

10 stars out of ten. The chicken liver pate was UNBELIEVABLE!!

I love Mas! I’ve only been a few times but it has always been amazing. My husband and I went last night for our anniversary and we had the best time. The staff were all super friendly and taking all COVID precautions. The food and cocktails were delicious. We will be back! Worth the 45 minute drive, for sure. Please excuse my poor photo…it does not do the food justice.

Tl;dr: A good spot for a special dinner, but the prices don’t represent the dishes served.

I went here the other night with family to celebrate a birthday, and walked in not knowing what to expect. The seating and decor was pleasing and interesting, albeit a bit uninspired. They provided a satisfactory experience that left me feeling full and happy, but I don’t think I’ll probably go back.

The good:
Friendly, experienced (for the most part) waitstaff, fair portions, overall good food. A good location for a celebration or date. Decent ambiance and lots of art on the walls.

The bad:
Many of the dishes felt a bit underwhelming in their flavor profiles. Interesting combinations and ingredients didn’t make for very interesting flavors. The hostess also couldn’t find our reservation, which, while totally not a big deal, was a little bit of a blow as the first experience walking inside.

Orders:

Bread and cheese- exactly how it sounds. Fantastic bread (a recurring theme) and good cheese. The cheese was maybe too bold and funky for the delicate bread for my taste.

Salad- tasty but nothing special. Unusual dressing which I liked. Not really a standout but everyone in my party enjoyed it.

Broccolini- went between fantastic and blegh bite to bite. Not sure what the seasoning was (perhaps smoked salt and black pepper?). It was delicious in some parts but unevenly applied so that some bites were hugely overpowering in salinity or peppery flavor.

Halibut- this would have been amazing if the curry was just slightly different. Crispy, well cooked, flaky fish, good rice, and a refreshing slaw set this dish up to be a home run. The curry was a great texture but flavor wise, it was just too savory and salty on the upper rear area of the palette. I’ll talk more about this later.

Artichoke heart cheese dip- another instance of a delicious dish with fantastic bread being taken down a notch by overpowering cheese. Perfect texture and very well done, just too cheesy (and I don’t say that lightly!). Between bites of other dishes it was at its best.

Cauliflower- my favorite dish of the evening. Seriously spectacular. Well seasoned, perfectly tender, and steaming hot. I’m usually not much one for cauliflower but this was the best I’ve ever had it.

Tortilla- always fantastic. Hard to make it not delicious. Served piping hot and another group favorite.

Shrimp- a close second to the cauliflower. The sole issue was that the shells were so firmly cooked into the meat that it took each of us minutes to de shell each one. Other than that, these were seriously spectacular. We also appreciated the compound butter, which melted on the crustaceans making them that much more decadent.

Overall tasting notes: many of the dishes had a somewhat garish earthy flavor on the upper back region of the palette. This was especially the case with the curry and broccolini. It’s a flavor profile I usually enjoy, but it was just far too liberally applied in these dishes. Other than that, the food was pretty good. It didn’t hold up with similar restaurants in the area (think little star, which already isn’t my favorite, but has a similar genre of cuisine, pricing, and more interesting flavors), or the ambiance of places like Ten.

All in all, I was satisfied, but not wow’ed. if you’re spending well for an evening out, this is absolutely an option to consider, but would not be one of my top choices. Hope this is helpful!

Server was attentive and friendly. Cocktails were strong and food was so good! We will definitely be back next time we are in town!