On Monday I found myself wanting to go someplace new for dinner. Bocado is just around the corner so two of us headed over. We were just in time to try the tasting menu so we gave it a try. Now I don't eat pork so was a bit worried that I would be limited to the dishes. However when I let the manager know he offered to change the two starter tapas to non-pork options. As people have stated below, the service and ambiance is top notch. Very impressive and attentive throughout the meal.
Ok, on to food. First the walnut bread is lovely. It comes with a red sauce rather than butter, and it's good. With the set we each also got a nice glass of sangria, and then ended up each ordering a glass of red wine. It was nice to see some reasonable wine prices (i.e. bottles under 300 rmb).
Our first course arrived, my partner had the ham & chicken croquettes and mine were changed to mushroom. YUMMY! I was a little worried about the portions however as we were hungry...but then the second course arrived. They were specialty toasts, his had ham, mine anchovies. Again, the anchovy was delicious. Then on to the main, the seafood paella. As soon as it arrived I mixed it all together in order to keep it from drying out, and all the flavor to settle. I think that this helped as neither my partner or myself agree with the other comments that it was bland. I thought it was a nice mix of flavors and textures. The manager came over to check on us and see what we thought of the dish. Seeing as we had finished it, I think it would be fair to say we enjoyed.
The set dessert was a Catalan cream pie which was also very tasty.

All in all it was enjoyable. So much so I've got plans to go back next week. I'm looking forward to trying the squid ink paella as it looked fantastic.

I agree with previous reviewer, the atmosphere is great, but food needs more salt and extra kick on all 4 tapas we ordered. They also ran out of a wine and a dish we tried ordering. The garlic shrimp tastes a bit rubbery, salted cod salad was nice, ham and cheese croquette was bland too. For spanish food, I think Las tapas is better ....

Went to Bocado last friday night with 6 of my friends. We booked and got the big table at the back of the restaurant which was perfect for us and my friends.

When I entered the place, I thought: wow it looks cosy and nice. Candles everywhere and a really good atmosphere going on. The place was packed with expats mainly.

The Maitre de maison greeted us and was very nice all night long. Being there when we need him without being too much. I have to say: The service was really great.

The food: I was very disappointed. The appetizers were fine but small but the bigger disappointment was the paella. It was tasteless! We took the fish one and the meat one and both were totally tasteless! I mean come on!!! A spanish restaurant with tasteless Paella?! We ordered a lot of Sangria as well. Around 4 pitchers if I recall. Price of a pitcher: 170 RMB!!! What??? To make Sangria is the cheapest thing ever. One of my friend just arrived from Spain after 5 years working there and he told me that the price are tripled compared to Spain and portions are smaller. Anyway, overall we were very disappointed and left with a 2800 RMB bill. I won't go back.

Kudos to the manager that does his work perfectly but they have to make a big effort on the food and prices!

I never really wrote any reviews before but i thought it was really necessary to let other people know that this restaurant it’s worth a visit.

From the moment we opened the door we were in love with the place. The staff was super nice, decoration really cool, makes you feel comfortable and chilled after a busy day at work.

Sangria as expected was good but after we saw food coming out of the kitchen looking good we decided to order a few tapas as well and what started as an after work drink with colleagues, ended up in a nice superb dinner.

The food is traditionally Spanish, decent portions, a great variety for all tastes.

I will come back again for sure !

All the food was really well seasoned and nicely presented
We started the meal with some tapas and then followed into the main part of the inner with the recommended black seafood paella, which was certainly a crowd pleaser.
The manchego cheese, though simply presented is a really tasty hard cheese.
The Spanish ham was delicious and for the price the best value in any of the Spanish restaurants that I've been to in Shanghai
The truffle croquettes were very beyond delicious, worth going just for these little gems.
Batatas Bravas made from baby potatoes with the garlic and brava sauce were well balanced by the two sauces.
The BBQ-ed Spanish blood sausages had a delicious rich and smokey flavor that were well balanced with the cooked bell peppers
After dinner the manager surprised us with a complimentary dessert of flan and chocolate mousse (on an olive oil bread - who would have guessed that it would taste so great together).
We'll be going back for sure!

As die-hard Mesa fans we were prepared to be disappointed with Bocado but what a charming surprise! Bocado is without doubt a superior Tapas experience! The restaurant itself is traditional but somehow funky! The food was delicious. We loved the octopus (never had such tender 8 legged experience) and we were positively greedy about the meatballs. We also gave the seafood paella a special thumbs up. i've not tasted better outside of Spain.

We had a wonderful night of great food, terrific Spanish wines. The pre-dinner cocktails are as good if not even better than Mesa. The service is warm, friendly and attentive. We'll definitely be back for more!

I find SMSH user lane506's review of Bocado to a have a whiff of lazy disingenuousness, especially given its irritatingly, near illiterate, bullet-point writing style. Anything worth writing about—whether you’re gushing or being critical, penning it in the New York Times or SmartShanghai—is worth writing in complete sentences.

That said, let's talk intelligently about Bocado.

If you are not familiar with Tapas, it's very easy to experience a "what the hell?" moment when smallish dishes begin arriving at your table. For the uninitiated, Tapas is a Spanish cuisine designed to focus less on sitting down to an all-out meal, and more on encouraging laid-back conversation and a casual good time. To this end, Bocado delivers.

Saddled up for two at the newest venue on increasingly popular Yongfu Lu, we ordered Sangria to start, then had a go at what I like to think of as my Tapas bookends: barbecued blood sausage (Morcilla a la parrilla) and sautéed shrimps (Langostinos pil-pil). Filling out our selection, we choose fried potatoes with spicy sauce (Patata bravas) and Manchego cheese and olive oil (Queso manchego y aceite de oliva). Had we been possessed by bigger appetites, for sure we would have taken a shot at one of the Paellas.

Bocado's blood sausage, served over sauteed bell peppers, is pretty damn good, with a rich and complex flavor that takes savoring a moment before you realize just how wonderful it really is. Here, few pieces of blood sausage are plenty to sample; it’s not the kind of thing you load up on. The shrimps sautéed with garlic in olive oil—a standard Tapas favorite—are tasty, to say the least, with just right mix of garlic in olive oil. Beyond the shrimp, the value-added aspect of this dish is the garlic in olive oil, which possesses a zesty kick, and serves as an insanely delicious bread dip that should remain on your table until you pay the bill.

One great thing about Bocado's fried potatoes with spicy Brava sauce is the size of the potato wedges. A far crazy from the greasy, oversized wedges found in sports bars, these smaller, bit sized wedges deliciously won’t weigh you down. The Manchego cheese (made from sheep's milk) on offer had a firm, compact consistency and a buttery texture that is perfect for nibbling or enjoying with a small slice of bread. Being an American, I admittedly had to resist putting together a blood sausage and cheese sandwich to dip in the garlic and olive oil.

Towards the end of our eating, we savored our Tapas with a few bottles of Estrella Inedit beer, recommended by the house. Inedit is a Spanish beer specifically created to accompany food. It definitely has a uniquely light flavor that doesn’t wash away the lingering goodness of your Tapas experience.

Unlike the whinging diner lane506, we were totally pleased with our visit to Bocado. The environment was welcoming and comfortable; the service friendly and efficient. What’s more, Bocado is perfectly located on Yongfu Lu, just below The Apartment, and just minutes walk from popular Anfu Lu—or what I like to call, “Little Europe.” Definitely worth checking out.

Very disappointed:
- Tapas very small, quality very soso
- Paella, 25min wait said on the menu became 1H10min of wait
for a meal that is flat, without flavor, the Chicken paella has 4 little cubes of 1cm of chicken for 3 persons...
- Dressing and sauce, mix of heinz something, definitely not home made.

Feel like everything goes from the Freezer to the microwaves to the table...

Very very disappointed...

I'd been looking forward to our visit as am a big fan of Spanish food - we weren't disappointed.

The service was good - I always like seeing a real restauranteur (in this case Charlie formerly of Mesa) who works in his own place rather than hiring a manager and leaving things to run themselves.

The portions are not so large but the ingredients all seem high quality and certainly taste good. Highlights were the blood sausage and the mussels.

Awesome sangria - again the same price as a bottle of wine - but large carafes and no inkling of a hangover today so presumably not the standard bargain bin red often used for sangria!

Perfect place for a good dinner before going upstairs to the Apartment, and we'll be back next time to sample the paella too.