Barrica

My favourite tapas place in London, and I like the dark, low-lit interior - it's a great place for a tête à tête. The menu features the usual suspects but the stand-out dishes have usually been the specials - had some memorable grilled lamb here once. If you're into sherry, you'll find some interesting ones on the list. The wines are good too, with Spanish wines that you don't often find in restaurants in the UK. You have to book a table, or you don't get in, even on mid-week nights.

I really love eating tapas and have been on a mission since my arrival in London three years ago, to find an affordable and authentic tapas bar. I would definitely say that Barrica has the beverage side of things sorted. Wine list is well thought out and comprehensive- you can find something for everyone. I love the casual, relaxed atmosphere but it seemed a bit empty when I came in. Then again I came in at an odd hour on a Saturday afternoon.

The patatas bravas weren’t as mouth-watering as the ones I remember having in Barcelona, but the albondigas, croquetas and the divine gambas al ajillo more than made up for it. Service was fine, but nothing particularly memorable.

Delicious food with great service. Tapas portions are tiny so do ask the waitress how many you’ll need per person. They have a great selection of wine and the olive oil served with the bread is to die for (it’s from Brindisa, the Spanish food Mecca in Borough Market).

I had a great weeknight dinner here with 2 visiting friends. I felt compelled to write a short review, given that I myself was a bit anxious for booking this place after reading the mixed reviews online. It was a relief to find that the food was all great, the costs quite reasonable, and service not as bad as some people made it out to be!

Food - we ordered about 8 tapas dishes and they were ALL delicious. The veal cheeks were out of this world, the squid flavourful, and a friend loved the gazpacho he had. Yes the portions are tiny, as many mentioned. But the cooking standard was pretty high.

Drinks - not too happy with the rose sangria pitcher. It was very tasty, but there was SO much ice in the pitcher!!

Ambience - warm and cosy. Lovely except for the really loud group next to us, it got extremely loud and difficult to hear each other after a while.

Service - our waitress was smiley and efficient, though her English wasn't very good.

Costs - Bill came to 90 pounds for 4, with just the sangria and 1 glass of wine. Very reasonable for central London. Wish there were more food for the money, though.

I'd recommend Barrica - don't be put off by the negative reviews. It's worth a visit.

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Barrica is one of several Spanish restaurants in the Fitzrovia/Soho area, only a couple of doors down from Salt Yard. The space itself is warm and attractive with buttercup yellow walls, chequerboard floors, the obligatory dangling hams and an expanse of dark wooden cabinets housing wine bottles. I was a little late and my housemate had already kicked things off with a glass of sweet-ish, amber coloured manzanilla, which she, after some coaxing, allowed me to try as we squinted at the specials board.

We chose a selection of dishes. The Catalan staple, escalavida, was very nice indeed, a triptych of smoky char-grilled aubergine, pepper and red onion. A plate of dark, garlicky grilled mushrooms came dotted with nuggets of queso fresco; of the available cheeses we opted for the villarejo, a nutty, hard cheese with rosemary in the rind, served with a miniature blob of membrillo.

My housemate, no vegetarian she, also went for the charcoal grilled chorizo, which hit her happy spot - she sopped up every last dot of orange, chorizo-infused oil with bread.

She also chose two dishes from the specials board: white beans and tuna and some anchovy toasts. The latter was a clear favourite, the bread rubbed with garlic and tomato and topped with pieces of queso fresco and a single silver sliver of anchovy. The white bean dish was fine, herby, (I stole some of the beans) but not overly memorable.

A dish of warm beetroot ribboned with spinach was far more interesting. A vibrant amethyst colour and dotted with flaked almonds, it was robust and creamy if perhaps a little underseasoned.

Oh and there were patatas bravas too, because there’s always room for fried potatoes. These were, again, OK, not too exciting; the sauce was a tad gloopy and we left the blob of aioli alone. It was the only thing that didn’t get eaten.

For dessert we ordered the chocolate sorbet with turron. What we received did not bear much resemblance to a sorbet. In fact it looked more like the chocolate pot that was also listed on the dessert menu. We decided to keep it, rather than cause a fuss, and were glad we did as it was nice and fudgey, if lacking that intense chocolate hit that the words ‘chocolate pot’ usually promise.

Apart from a rather chilly reception on entering, service was friendly and reasonably efficient with the exception of the dessert mix up. Our waiter also had to deal with a table of four rather obnoxious suited types who seemed determined to outdo each other, ordering dish after dish after dish and letting no sentence pass without an expletive.

Our bill came to £33 each, which included service and a tiny but slightly cheeky charge for second helpings of not very exciting bread. All things considered we really enjoyed our meal and I certainly appreciated the variety of vegetable dishes available.

I was a bit hesitant to head to Barrica after reading a few negative reviews on some London foodie blogs...

However, a friend of mine was in town and in that area, so I decided we should take the plunge and head to Barrica to give it a try. I had a craving for tapas that wouldn't quit so I was hoping this place would fit the bill.

Upon entering the place, I was already impressed with the friendly atmosphere and the hospitality of the host (Manager?) who recommended I sit at one of the bar tables to wait for my friend. You see, I hadn't reserved and just walked in at 7:00pm and clearly this is a "reservations" type of place. Instead of the "oh, you didn't book?!?" attitude that I tend to get at these types of places, the host was nothing but friendly and accommodating.

I was really pleased when I asked for a wine recommendation and my server told me that two of the wines were excellent and offered me tastes of both before settling on my choice. The complimentary bread basket with olive oil was great - either I was really hungry or that oil was laced with some kind of illicit substance (or both!) because I gobbled it up!

The wine was delicious and the tapas were too, though the portions were a bit on the small side, even for tapas! (I know, I know, they're SUPPOSED to be small dishes, but these ones were smaller than usual) But, the price of each was really reasonable so we made up for the smaller size by ordering extras! Service was extremely fast and friendly which just added to the positive experience.

Some of my favorites included the grilled peppers, empanadas and the grilled chorizo. Yum yum!

As the night progressed, the place got more and more packed and bustling and clearly is a popular choice in the area. I'll definitely be back when the tapas craving strikes again!