1252 Tapas Bar

Joanne Witt Scout

Joined 5 years ago

<3 the new location in Uptown Park - lite bites, fab sangria, wines & beers, go with a group & enjoy the Euro-patio

mai pham Scout

Joined 6 years ago

Cute tapas meets sports bar. 1252 Tapas Bar is a super cute tapas place in The Woodlands Marketplace. With an attractive patio packed to the hilt with good looking people on a pleasantly warm evening, this place is well located and "happening" enough to attract the curious passer-by (me!). If there's people, it must be good, right?

I loved a lot of things about 1252. The decor was nouveau glamour with shiny chandeliers, and an artsy round mirror on the main wall. My husband loved the 3 large flat screen TV's showing golf, and couldn't have been happier. The long, high bar table running lengthwise down the middle of the restaurant was a perfect setting for eating tapas, so we plunked ourselves smack in the middle where we could see the action and the TV. The energetic, attentive, youngish-twentiesomething staff helped set the scene - If the staff look good, the people watching factor goes up a notch, and they had their fair share of nice-to-look-at staff.

The menu stayed true to Spanish tapas roots, heavy on Iberico ham, patatas bravas, gambas (shrimp) with garlic and various other traditional items. The dishes were a bit pricey considering what came out. 4 pieces of bread with tomato and Iberico ham were $8.95. But the presentation was beautiful and everything looked very attractive as it arrived at the table. I enjoyed our cold dishes better than the hot. The gambas al ajillo (shrimp with garlic) sauce was overly pungent with alcohol flavor, while the shrimp was a bit overcooked and lacking in flavor. The scallops/bacon in saffron cream sauce only saving grace was the bacon. The sauce had very little depth and the scallops were a tad on the overdone side as well. The tomato/garlic bread with the jamon Iberico was quite good taste-wise, but the edges of the jamon were very tough so you couldn't bite through without pulling a piece of tough skin out of your mouth.

I found the music selection strangely out of place, a random array of Beatles and soft rock was playing in a place that would have had a much better vibe with something latin or Spanish like Gipsy Kings. But then again, with the big screen TV's, I guess the music was aimed towards the sports spectators more than the foodie patrons....

Overall, I enjoyed 1252 Tapas Bar and wouldn't mind going back if I'm in the Woodland's area. There is a bit of improvement needed in the food execution but the ambience and the scene make up for a lot. I had a lot of fun people watching and sitting at the long table, munching on my tapas.