One thing to know about Alma de España is that it’s loud. Not why-did-I-come-here loud—more like the room has been joyously uncorked, matching the flavors on the menu. 

Voices mingle beneath the wood ceiling. Pendant lights glow overhead. Arched mirrors along one wall hang above a long red banquette, catching the movement of servers, wine glasses and hands reaching across tables. By peak dinner time, the dining room feels like a place where guests come hungry, order too much and realize that’s the point.

The Spanish tapas restaurant and wood-fired grill opened in August 2025, and has had about a year to settle into its Southside Village space. There’s a bar, a cozy dining room and, outside, a tight, long strip of tables separated from the dining room by glass.

Four of us went for dinner, which is a good number here. Tapas, after all, is a way of eating. Small plates arrive, get claimed, passed, argued over and finished too quickly. The point isn’t the clean line of a three-course meal. It’s flavor in motion.

Start with the gazpacho con langosta ($17), which tastes fresh in that garden-summoned way—bright, green-edged, with lobster giving it just enough richness. The carpaccio ($27) is another early pleasure. Thin wagyu beef is dressed with lemon and arugula and grated manchego cheese, then finished with lush dots of aioli. The lemon wakes up the richness of the beef without letting the dish go slack.

The xangurro ($15), piquillo peppers stuffed with crab, sits over tomato purée beneath a crisp potato garnish. The dish has a small kick thanks to the peppers, the crab brings softness, and the whole thing lands somewhere between earth and sea. The croquetas de jamon ($14) didn’t entirely win me over. They’re golden and pleasant, but the jamon gets lost inside, and the filling doesn’t have the complexity to make up for it.

The patatas bravas ($14) are more useful. The potatoes are crisp-edged and dressed with garlic aioli. Use them to scoop up the sauces here, especially once the lamb arrives.

That lamb may be Alma de España’s secret specialty. The cordero con romesco ($25) delivers three medium-rare chops over a smoked pepper, walnut and tomato sauce that’s nutty, earthy and warm, with enough depth to make everyone at the table start looking for something to soak up every bit of sauce. (This is where those patatas bravas earn their keep.) The lamb itself is tender and rich, but the pan sauce is what stays.

Branzino a la Donostierra ($52)—whole, deboned and cooked in the style of San Sebastián—arrives charbroiled and dressed simply with olive oil, lemon, salt and pepper. People who flinch at fish served with the head and tail intact are missing the point, and maybe the best parts. Skin, head and tail help hold in flavor. Here, the fish is juicy and silky, the skin carrying a little char, the flesh clean and delicate underneath.

Then there’s the paella de Madrid , with seasonal vegetables and mushrooms ($45). We’re told it’s a house specialty, and yes, it has the drama to justify that. Served family-style only, it is lightly smoky, satisfying and built for sharing. Paella encourages people to lean in, scraping at the browned edges and negotiating the last spoonful.

The wine list roams well beyond Spain, but this is a meal that rewards staying in the Old World. Choose something Spanish, French or Italian to match the spirit of the flavors. And there’s always the housemade sangria, red and white ($14), with loads of fresh fruit.

Many restaurants treat dessert as an afterthought, something sweet to keep the kids happy while the adults stretch the conversation over espresso. You know the formula: something not made in-house. Something chocolate, something vanilla, something safe.

Not here. The natilla de mango ($13), creamy mango with coconut foam, somehow captures and amplifies 10 mangoes in one delicate dish, all perfume and fruit and cool creaminess without collapsing into sugar. The flan de chocolate y ron ($12)—chocolate, coconut and rum flan—is equally rich, with a depth that feels like a reward. And if you love churros, those crispy, cinnamon-sugar fried-dough concoctions, Alma’s are superb ($14) and come with three dipping sauces: chocolate, caramel and guava.

Alma de España is warm, social and best experienced with people who understand sharing isn’t optional; it’s the whole operating system. Order more than seems reasonable, let the table get messy, and pay attention to the dishes that don’t shout the loudest. The lamb is one. The branzino is another. And always leave room for dessert.

Alma de España | 1830 S. Osprey Ave., Sarasota, (941) 365-8426, almatapasandgrill.com