Don Luis in Elmbridge

I came back from Barcelona and found this restaurant on the same day. I was greeted in a very warm and friendly way by this gentleman that I never asked his name, but I think he’s mixed South American. The babatas bravas is just like in Barcelona and all the other tapas are deliciously good. Buena comida, bueno vino y atmòsfera fantástica. Gracias 🙏

I was highly recommended to come to this restaurant. I was not disappointed. The staff were very friendly and the atmosphere was very cozy. The food was outstanding. The Gambas, the Patatas Bravas, the Croquetas, I could go on and on. I will definitely come back and will recommend this lovely family run restaurant.

A charming restaurant with very delicious and quality food, the patatas bravas, the paella, the ham and cheese croquettes, everything was spectacular. The service is exceptionally friendly and attentive, it is the ideal place to enjoy a dinner or lunch with exquisite food.

A wonderful experience! It won us over from the first bite. Everything was delicious, the paella was simply spectacular and the tapas, like the croquettes and patatas bravas, were incredible. The staff was very friendly and attentive, making our visit even more special.

Lovely tapas in Esher, all dishes were delicious, beautiful interior and great service 👌🏼

Came in for a spontaneous lunch with my partner and we were not disappointed. From when we entered, the waiter was really friendly and the service was good. Having gone to Spain a few times, the food here tasted authentic - just as if we were in Spain, which is quite hard to find in London! The chef also came to greet us and we had to pay our compliments to him (Raul).

A very nice place the spectacular food and the attention of the staff was amazing very helpful.

The service was very welcoming and when we ordered the food arrived quickly for the amount we ordered. The paella was cooked to a tasty degree, but the bottom was a bit salty. All the food was very delicious with the croquettes being very creamy. Overall quite a good Hispanic restaurant.

Tasty Tapas Friendly staff Good value too Highly recommend

We had one of the best tapas meals I’ve had at Don Luis. The food was excellent and varied. The staff were delightful and we will definitely return soon.

First visit to this small independent restaurant. It feels like we pretty much ordered the entire menu and can provide a pretty good review of the food offerings. All in all, the tapas selections are both vast in numbers and great in quality. Plenty of the traditional options you’d expect plus there were about half a dozen slightly unusual “specials” on offer. Of particular note were the jamon croquettes! We also ordered a paella to share for the table and we felt this didn’t quite live up to the quality of the smaller dishes. A little salty and the other flavours didn’t really come through. Not a massive issue since we enjoyed everything else before.

Ordered three dishes. Gambas and squid were good but the cheese board was poor and overpriced for what it was. The cheese was sparse with some broken crackers scattered over the top. Some of the grapes were shrivelled and mushy so we told the waitress. She said she needed to let the manageress know who then came to tell us that the grapes were ‘fresh in today’ - no apology. I repeated that they were not good and showed her. She then replaced the grapes and took the offending ones off the plate with her hands. I don’t think it would have been unreasonable for the entire plate to be taken away and returned with fresh grapes. The rest of the staff were delightful. However, not sure I’d bother returning because of the attitude of the manageress.

Poorly cooked paella which cost me and my son £42.00. There was no saffron flavour nor fragrance…worst of all, the rice was only half cooked, so soggy and hard in the core! Owner didn’t look happy when we told him the truth!

Popped in after a visit to cinema. What a delightful surprise! Some really clever dishes in this tapas restaurant. Winners were the courgette flower tempura and their own take on chocolate fondant. It is pricey but that won’t stop us from returning. Well done chef.

The food was delicious, the service was flawless and the atmosphere was amazing - felt like I was abroad. Will definitely be returning again!

The quality of the food was shockingly poor. I ordered the paella, which was priced at £43, and to my dismay, it contained pieces of cardboard. Not only did this compromise the taste and authenticity of the dish, but it also raised serious concerns about the hygiene standards in your kitchen. Additionally, the paella was filled with chicken bones, which is completely unacceptable for a dish of this nature and exorbitant price. Furthermore, the service I received was abysmal. The manager, in particular, was exceptionally rude when I raised these concerns. Instead of addressing the issues with professionalism and empathy, they dismissed them callously, stating, "Well, you still managed to eat most of it." This response was not only disrespectful but also indicative of a lack of regard for customer satisfaction.

Lovely atmosphere and great service. We enjoyed all the food and wine. Recommended.

The restaurant looks very nice. The owner looks very stressed and doesn't smile very much which makes him look unfriendly. There was only one waitress which was working very hard to accommodate everyone but towards the end of the evening the owner was having a go at this poor woman and telling her to shush in front of the customers so that was far from professional. The food was OK but overall our experience was spoilt by the unprofessionalism of the owner himself. So, we are not returning at all.

Some of the dishes were lovely like the tiger prawns and the lamb dish. But others were a little underwhelming such as patatas bravas. The deserts were lovely though so well worth ordering one. The jug of Sangria has a lot of ice and less sangria so not really worth the £30. Service was excellent though. Couldnt fault it. And the restaurant has a nice friendly busy vibe.

We had a lovely meal here on Friday 1 March. Two tapas each was just the right amount of food. The food was delicious (their bread is divine!) and the service was very good. Lovely ambience, warm & welcome atmosphere. Not too big, which is nice, nor is it too noisy. I would highly recommend it.

Absolutely gorgeous tapas restaurant! Everything was delicious and I’m so happy we found this place!!

First visit to this restaurant and the food was absolutely amazing, we ordered two dishes each, four of us dining with one vegetarian. Wonderful selection of food, all really tasty and served hot. Wine was pretty expensive but good and a selection of non alcoholic for the drivers. Service was excellent, unhurried but attentive. We will go back there for sure.

Had dinner here recently for Valentine’s Day and loved it. We got a free glass of bubbly on arrival, the service was great and all the food was really tasty. Would come again!

We arrived just wanting some light food before the cinema. Ordered tapas and t arrived in 10 minutes. The gammas were Devine and cooked perfectly, not overcooked as many tapas places. The octopus was firm and juicy, the tortillas were awesome. I could go on but it was all great! Thoroughly recommend without qualification.

Can someone teach the chefs how to make a proper Paella? this place used to be great...

Such a wonderful atmosphere and authentic Rich, tasting Tapas. service was in impeccable. Restaurant had a wonderful Spanish vibe and I highly recommend going. A little gem hidden away.

Delicious tapas and great service!

I went on a wednesday and they had live music with Bandi2 band. It was lovely.

Don Luis is a marvellous tapas place on Esher high street. This has to be the best prosciutto I've ever eaten in the UK. Every slice was quality and the standout dish. Often tapas can be overly oily but not here. Thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish.

I had high hopes for this but unfortunately I won’t be returning. I noticed as soon as we sat down at least 5 flies buzzing around people’s heads. I was attacked by 2 of them. Service was slow and we didn’t receive one of the tapas which we realised we were billed for. Flies really shouldn’t be buzzing around people’s food!

Wow! Yet again stunning food lovely atmosphere great service keep up the great work people ….love this place👍🏻

Clearly a popular option, with quite a wide ranging menu. Slightly surprised, but very happy, to see stuffed courgette flowers on the menu in November! There were the standard Spanish dishes you'd expect to see, and enough vegetarian options to make a meal. Some dishes were very rich, so you might want a salad or something to cut through that. I've deducted a point for some fairly aggressive wine up selling. I get it's the job of serving staff, but there's a way to do it. Booking advised.

1 star food hygiene rating (major improvement necessary) inspected on 22nd September 2023 according to the food standards agency - Yuk!!

Not the greatest dining experience I have had as although some of the dishes were good the whole evening was rather overshadowed by the generally poor service. Little guidance on ordering is one thing but when you respond to a customer complaint on the quality of the Cote de Boeuf by saying that that is the type of cow it doesn’t endear you to your customers. Overall no-one really took charge on the “hospitality” side despite there being enough front of house staff. Must do better.

This was the second time visiting the establishment and although the food was amazing we did unfortunately have an incident with one of the dishes which we sent back and were only refunded 99p which became irrelevant as an extra charge for £1 was put back on the bill for a misc food item that didn’t exist. One of our desserts was also forgotten about and had I not looked at the receipt for that we would of been charged. Unfortunately the other was missed. The incident was handled poorly which was such a shame as the rest of the food was amazing and the staff did seem really lovely. Especially when we came in mid week. The two men who served us that time were so lovely! However, the second visit was not the case. Such a shame as we have just moved here and really enjoyed our first visit but probably won’t visit again after that. We paid service charge as I said it was only that dish but had I looked at the receipt properly I would of taken that off due to the lack of accountability on the establishments behalf.

We had another lovely meal at don luis as always .. BUT…SHRINKFLATION has hit Esher the portions were so much smaller less Jamon less gambas and the cheese board was tiny and uninteresting for £15 !! Come on Don luis don’t rip us off!!!!

Great food, lovely friendly staff, group of 4 of us and we all enjoyed the whole experience. We will be back, thank you.

We dined out at Don Louis last night in Esher and it was an fantastic experience as always. I have eaten here twice before - Food 10/10 Service 10/10 Atmosphere 10/10. We went with a mix of Tapas and a few bits from the specials board. It's nice to see an independent restaurant in the Highstreet who knows what they're doing - Look forward to coming back soon

Delicious food! Great atmosphere and very friendly staff. We will be back!

Amazing authentic Spanish food and an absolutely lovely and friendly service. I can’t wait to come back again for more tapas!!

One of the best Spanish restaurants!

Just discovered Don Luis in last few months and been twice already. Really delicious beatiful food cooked with skill and flare. Great specials board. Polite friendly service with a family feel with a good atmosphere. Good wine list and best of all food and wine are reasonably priced for Esher compared to other resturants. Already booked our 3rd visit.

Our first time in Don Luis tonight (Wednesday). It was a last minute decision to eat out and hadn’t done much research on reviews etc. Everything we ordered was absolutely delicious and tasted so fresh. Sauces amazing. And topped off by two stunning desserts. Have to say it was the tastiest meal I’ve had for a long time. We will definitely be back and will try manage our expectations of a repeat performance.

Amazing food Excellent service It's a must try

Having lived in Valencia, I was glad to find authentic dishes, cooked well and full of flavour. We will be back!

I am so happy that the place we chose to eat originally was closed and we visited this tapas restaurant instead! Lovely food! Everything was delicious, and portions were really generous. I really liked the service. The lady was so nice and explained everything to us. There was no long wait and everything was fresh. I am sure we will visit again if we are in the area.

Really great place! Delicious food. Friendly service. Buzzy atmosphere. It is pricey (e.g. £10 for a large glass of wine or a glass of sangria). But otherwise perfect.

We had a lovely evening here catching up with friends. The staff were very friendly and gave us amazing service!! It’s a lovely comfy restaurant, very nice decor. Every single item of food was delicious. We had tapas from the menu, and some specials. Portions were great and food hot and fresh…Then we all had a pudding. My choice was Churros!!! Yum. We could not fault a single thing about our evening from the minute we arrived to leaving. Thank you for a great night. We will definitely be returning!!

Shame, the food is good. The service is terrible. To quote, “no you can’t have any more water, we need the table back now”, after one hour. Service team need a reality check.

Have eaten here 5 or 6 times. We know our Spanish food and this place has by far the best tapas in Surrey. Super tasty and generous portions. Great service too even when very busy

Excellent Spanish dishes. You can imagine you were in Spain, though in sterling ££ pricy a bit.

Fabulous food and wine at this restaurant and fantastic service - would highly recommend a visit..

Excellent food, I only had tapas; 4 different ones (chicken, lamb skewers, galician octopus, and tortilla) and dessert (crema catalana). But I found it expensive for the portion sizes you get. Anyway, my wife and two other lady friends loved it too and found the portions OK. The red wine I chose (Navarra region) was excellent.

Lovely restaurant even though it was super busy Staff were very friendly and knowledgeable about all the dishes on the menu Will definitely return

This was without question - the best Spanish tapas we have experienced anywhere in the UK! My wife is Spanish - so more than qualified to give this feedback. Every aspect from service to ambience to the incredible food - perfection that there are simply not enough superlatives to capture. We began with the Mediterranean salad and crusty warm baguette with alioli - delicious combination. We followed with 3 dishes from the specials board - all 3 were beyond incredible - freshest grilled king prawns - shells simply fell off to reveal the sweet meat, slow cooked lamb - wow - another one in a million. All dishes accompanied by an organic red from Alicante - light, fruity and one bottle never enough 😀 We recommend this hidden gem - located on Esher High Street - whether you live close or far - you will not regret this!!!

Great tapas, really lovely, helpful staff, recommend!

Firstly, excellent service! Felt like we were in one of those fine restaurants with our own sommelier but guidance on the tapas also spot on. The food was authentic and delicious. Definitely going back as too much to choose from and it was an experience to be repeated. Not been out in evening for long time so this was a welcome treat.

Nice restaurant. Super friendly staff. Tasty food.

I think it would probably be a nice place for a quick lunch - not dinner. I rang them to say I’d be no more than 10 minutes late, we were met with an extremely frustrated individual on the other end of the phone who abruptly told us we needed to be off the table by 8 (less than 2 hours) and that they were absolutely fully booked that night. I understood but the tone was unnecessary, and the restaurant was by no means full when we got there/ when we left. Food was ok, some bits were very salty but overall good selection. The real kicker was how rushed we were. The turnover of food and drinks was lightning speed and we were shoved the bill within a minute of our plates being taken away. Waitress hung around our table the whole evening and we couldn’t relax into the meal at all, never experienced anything like it. It was a shame as it was a 60th birthday too. As I said if you’re looking for a quick bite I am sure it’s nice, but would not recommend for a relaxing evening meal.

It's a nice Spanish restaurant, where you can enjoy the food with friends and family.

Excellent food, and the seafood and chicken paella, very good, I felt like I was in Valencia Magnificent Chef.

Nice food the same as spain The best spanish chef in uk

Best Spanish restaurant I had ever tried in UK, tapas and paella are all perfect, price is relatively high but definitely worth it, highly recommended.

Really tasty food, cosy atmosphere and lovely staff - however when we got our bill we were completely shocked - not at all what we were expecting for a few plates of tapas and a jug of sangria. Food came out one plate of tapas at a time, which we felt really detracted from our whole experience. Staff would also quickly swipe each dish away the moment it looked remotely finished, meaning we couldn't dip into leftover sauces and really savour all the flavours together as we had intended. Might go again, but will be very careful what I order and certainly won't go for the very pricey sangria.

This is my favourite place in Esher, the staff is friendly and attentive. The Spanish wines are great and the food is amazing (I ate already in a few occasions here) every time is everything is wonderful, today I had the special ribs croquets WoW!!! I will be back. Thank you again!

Delicious and super friendly local Spanish restaurant. We had a large group and they were so welcoming and the food was fab. A great find in Esher and will be back....best restaurant in Esher currently!

I could close my eyes and imagine eating this food in Spain. It was delicious, and the portion was big. The server was friendly and overall a nice restaurant.

It was spontaneous decision to dine at Don Luis. We had a lovely meal and there was a comforting ambience, with welcoming and attentive staff, especially Tidora, and we never felt ignored. Definitely coming back!

Absolutely delicious food, generous portions and at a reasonable price. Best tapas in the area! Would definitely recommend!

By far the best Spanish restaurant where I've eaten outside of Spain. The quality of the products was superb and the food was so well cooked. I'd say it's one of those places where they actually take pride on what they do. Highly recommended.

Beautiful tapas - the real deal! Sensible sized. Different types of spanish sausage, tortilla, prawns, and vegetables done spanish style with manchego

Saturday evening quiet couple’s night out. Excellent authentic Spanish food at reasonable prices. After three years living in Madrid it was a real pleasure to have tapas just as they are in Spain. Tortilla, chorizo in red wine, chipirones and pardon peppers all spot on. And cheese stuffed courgette flower an unusual treat. Estella de Galicia - Spain’s finest beer in my view - available, along with decent wines. Very attentive and friendly service in a warm, if slightly flat, atmosphere. Five tapas, few glasses of wine and a beer - just about right - (four would probably be fine for a lot of folks). £86 inc service. Recommended.

Came here for a New Year’s Eve dinner. Had a variety of dishes, and they were all delicious! Will definitely be returning and would highly recommend.

Absolutely amazing food! Highly recommend. Yum :D

First time visiting since I moved to Esher. Loved it, fresh food with taste and flavours, fantastic wine, service with a smile. Thank you!

This Tuesday I went to this restaurant, and I genuinely can say, I was delighted with my meal; I quite enjoy each spanish tapa. I highly recommend this place. The service was good but the quality and taste of the food was excellent. I will definitely come back.

A great family run restaurant, always a nice relaxed evening with lovely tapas and a reasonable wine list. Would recommend

I've been to this restaurant several times, which has been so pleasant. However, I went back there last Friday, and we had to wait for ages. the meat was good but before has been great. Also, unfortunately, they did not have one of my favourite...

Delicious! Most tapas dishes are a slight variant to typical way of cooking them which makes a night here a really enjoyable experience.

Absolutely incredible. Cannot fault anything about this place, 100% recommend. Amazing food, lovely atmosphere, brilliant host. 10/10, can't wait to go back

Nice food but somewhat overpriced for what it is. Upon ordering we asked about the 2 types of squid available and explained we were quite fussy and didn’t like the tentacles. Were told one option was the meaty part only so we ordered. Plate arrived...

Very nice place. I'm from Catalonia and I can say that this restaurant serves proper tapas. The food was delicious and the service was very nice too. The price wasn't too bad, considering that we are in UK.

Excellent, authentic tapas. Friendly and attentive service. Strongly recommended.

Lovely little local tapas place. Staff very friendly and welcoming and all food was beautifully cooked and presented. Delicious.

I have to say, that I’m surprised that this restaurant is not, significantly, higher on the Tripadvisor ‘Charts’ for the Esher area (which includes both Claygate and Hinchley Wood). Very nice and comfortable interior. Equally highly pleasant ambience. Young chap in the waiting staff -...

Very good food. Poor knowledge of service. Bit pricey

One of my favourite tapas restaurants in the UK. great food, great wine and great service. I've been to most top end Spanish restaurants in London and this is definitely up there.

Authentic flavours from Spain in lovely surroundings. Generous tapas portions ideal for a quick meal before going to ESHER Theatre just across the road. Looking forward to our next meal there Friendly efficient service

The food was exceptional, all of it! The service was friendly and bantaful would 100% recommend.

Very authentic tapas. Good selection of tapas, wine choices are limited but well selected. Service is attentive, but gives space when needed. Highly recommend.

Great tapas - all dishes were fresh and brilliantly cooked. Not at all heavy or greasy. We’ll set out restaurant and very friendly service

High quality food,excellent presentation and very delicious food.Highly recommended

The food is excellent. No matter what you select, it will be good. we've been coming here since it opened and return regularly with different friends, Everyone raves about the food and promise to return. The paella is as good as anywhere in Spain. The...

Absolutely delectable, delicious, scrumptious. This is the only photo I took because the food was so tasty I forgot to take any more. The chorizo: 😋 The black pudding 😋 The salted cod 😋😋 (amazingly crisp batter) The padron peppers 😋 (full and succulent) Everything was top notch. Apparently gets quite busy on race days so possibly worth checking when you book. Worth noting that the loos are up a flight of stairs. Lady who served (maybe owner) was knowledgeable, prompt, and very helpful

Visited with a friend prior to going to Esher theatre (great venue) We started with the olives which were unbelievable! I’ve eaten so many olives over the years and these were incredible! Every plate that arrived was absolutely delicious and we relished every mouthful. Lovely...

I heard so much good things about this restaurant since open last year and had to try it out for myself with the family. I am usually a very picky eater, I am married to a professional chef and I must say the chef and the hospitality of the staff here did not disappointment at all. The tapas taste divine, the specials were amazing, I had the pork belly and sizzling prawns and the desserts were delicious. I will be visiting again for sure.

I came here for dinner with friends, a long overdue catch up due to Covid. We were seated under the heater which made some of us very uncomfortable and I wasn’t happy about this as I had specifically requested a particular table and I had...

Cannot express how AMAZING the food is, the service and the overall atmosphere. Would highly recommend to anyone who enjoys amazing food and a wonderful warm atmosphere; not one too miss x

Had a great meal here. Food was fantastic and staff were all very helpful and friendly. Would highly recommend and will definitely come again

Had a fantastic evening here. Food was brilliant, fresh and delicious. Great atmosphere and the staff were very attentive and friendly. Will definitely come again!