Wow wow wow! We had the best time ever and enjoyed the most delicious food at our super festive Paella Party, hosted at Casa Tapas & Cantina – a custom event for Tallahassee Foodies to celebrate the opening of this new, local, Spanish-fusion restaurant. I had the pleasure of trying their paella at the soft launch a few months ago, so I reached out to see if they’d like to center an entire party around this amazing dish! To my delight, they responded with a very joyful, “YES”!!!
When I first sat down with Claudia, the owner of Casa Tapas & Cantina to plan our custom Paella Party, she said she would love to distinguish this restaurant for it’s España region cuisine, apart from her other Mexican establishments – Casa Grande on Apalachee and CG Margaritas & Cocina in Midtown. You cannot order burritos and nachos at this location, my friends. We took a trip to Europe to get to this dinner event!
We knew paella would be the star of the meal, but now it was time to plan the rest of the menu, as well as a few fun and festive extras to give our large dinner gathering a party vibe!
I loved the process of designing our custom party with Chef Vanessa! She had wonderful recommendations to guide the entire process. Their menu has a variety of fusion options to choose from, but for this plated dinner party, we went full on traditional España regional items only, to educate our guests on the distinct cuisine served at this location!
We featured some comfort food including Paella and Croquetas, mixed with some refreshing items to beat the summer heat including:
- Paella – your choice of chicken or seafood
- Gazpacho Soup Shooters
- Croquetas – Spanish fried bechamel and ham fritters
- Pipirrana – diced tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and onion in a vinaigrette dressing.
- Dessert Trio – Churros, Flan, and Catalana
- Traditional Spanish Sangria
Beyond the food, I also asked for moments that made this dinner feel more special than simply a large party seated together. Casa Tapas & Cantina pulled out all the stops. They had the sangria cart rolling between tables serving up fresh Spanish Sangria to each guest AND served paella on the large party trays. This was such a fun opportunity for Casa Tapas & Cantina to feature all they can do for large parties, in particular if the large group is looking for a moment with party vibes! They have a variety of rooms to choose from, depending on the size of your group.
Chef Henry, absolutely killed it! He was a blast, the ultimate host, and full on entertained our group. He did a fabulous intro of the restaurant, as well explained each dish to our guests, offering up educational moments on the regional dishes, the local ingredients used, as well as the effort they put into their scratch-made food for freshness and flavor. He has such amazing energy, the service was impeccable, and the food was so incredible – everyone was clapping after every round. He even offered us a private tour of the kitchen after our meal.
Chef Vanessa, Chef Henry, and Claudia, thank you so much for the collaborative effort you all poured into this super fun event! I talked to each and every guest and they all said they cannot wait to come back to Casa Tapas & Cantina! I couldn’t be more thrilled with the way everything turned out! You all have set a high standard for my future events to be just as fun lol. Thank you thank you thank you! My sincerest appreciation to all of you, and everyone at Casa Tapas & Cantina, for everything!
Thanks also so very much to Dave Barfield of Lonely Fox Photography for these incredible images, and to our All Access Foodies for joining us for such a fun-filled, beautiful evening.
Casa Tapas & Cantina at:
Socials – Website, Facebook, Instagram
Address – 2705 Apalachee Pkwy, Tallahassee, FL 32301
Phone – (850) 765-1770