At first glance, Laci’s Tapas Bar looks like a quiet, dark house. The shutters are closed tight and the huge, bright red doors appear sealed shut.

But on the inside, it has a totally opposite feel.

The restaurant, located on Hawley Avenue, has a friendly and alluring atmosphere, mostly because of the people in the room. Customers laugh as they drink wine and nibble on tapas, a small, delectable version of common food favorites that will have you wanting more — if you can afford it.

The food is priced high, but it is more about the delightful, bite-sized tastes than filling an empty stomach.

The inside boasts warm tones and low lighting of red and yellow accenting the whole restaurant. I felt comfortable the minute I walked in. The hostess offered a smile and asked to hang our jackets before she led us to our table.

I ordered Chicken & Prosciutto Bites for $8 and Beef Wellington Laci’s Style for $10 from the list of “Carnivorous Tapas.” I also ordered an Artisan Cheese Plate, $10, and Laci’s Lollipops, $9, from the list of “Herbivorous Tapas.”

The chicken and prosciutto wasn’t what I expected. On the menu, it said there would be chicken, sliced apples and caramelized onion wrapped in prosciutto and topped with a cranberry gastrique sauce. Instead, I didn’t detect any apples or caramelized onion, and the cranberry sauce was served on the side.

The dish came with three packaged bites, and the size was no bigger than my thumb. I thought the chicken was baked too long because it was too dry, and the prosciutto overwhelmed the whole experience. There was no balance in tastes of sweet, tangy and salty.

The Beef Wellington Laci’s Style was my favorite. It also wasn’t what I expected it to be, but it was still appetizing. As it said on the menu, it is sliced filet, bleu cheese and mashed potatoes baked in a puff pastry with horseradish aioli. The aioli was lightly drizzled over each bundle.

It tasted like a Philly cheesesteak stuffed in flaky puff pastry. The blue cheese wasn’t strong at all, and I wondered if the cooks forgot to add it in. The dish came in three small bundles with each size no bigger than a credit card.

Next up was the Artisan Cheese Plate, which had many vibrant colors and a surprising variety of foods. The cheeses and seasonal fruits were a delight. With each bite of cheese, I had a piece of fruit right after, which was a refreshing and sweet taste every time. I developed a pattern of eating this plate in that fashion.

Laci’s Lollipops — which sounds like a dessert, but isn’t — were simply cherry tomatoes cut in half, stuffed with a ball of mozzarella cheese and topped with a basil leaf and drizzle of balsamic vinegar. Each bite was served on a wooden skewer. Although it was tasty, at $9, the simplicity of it was too overpriced.

The main attraction was the bar in the center of the room, featuring a bowl of Goldfish crackers rather than bar nuts. I wouldn’t say this place is kid-friendly, since the ambience of the whole experience felt like it was more of a place for adults to converse and laugh over delicious munchies and wine.

Most of the prices of the small-size appetizers were no more than $10. The food was so delicious, it’ll make you wish you were in Spain, where tapas are offered in nearly every restaurant.

But there just isn’t enough. If you go to Laci’s Tapas Bar starving, it’s a restaurant that will keep both your stomach and wallets empty.

Published on January 26, 2014 at 11:54 pm

Contact Vekonda: vluangap@syr.edu