Barrica

We booked a table for four on-line a few days in advance and arrived on time at6.30pm on20 December. It was therefore disappointing to be shown to a high table for eight right inside the doorway which already contained four people who had sprawled out. Although they offered to move up, we didn’t feel well treated by the waitress particularly when there were lots of empty tables at the back of the restaurant. The manager was too busy chatting to deal with our complaint and so we walked out. Instead we went to Istanbul Mezze Bar (www.istanbulmeze.co.uk) in nearby Cleveland Street, where we were delighted to find staff who appreciated our custom.

July 2011
I was looking for a Tapas bar and Barrica was the only one with a free table, within 1 night of booking, at a reasonable hour. So I booked it. Then I read the reviews. And was a little worried…
However, it was fab. I received a call a couple of hours before arriving to confirm the table and was asked if I minded a high bar table, which I thought was a nice touch. And on reflection, I think it was better than a table and slightly more intimate.
The service was exemplary and authentic: the staff were great at recommendations and advice. When we ordered a rioja rosada, they double checked that we wanted rose and not red.
The food was superb – manchego with rosemary was especially tasty as was the bacalao parillada. It came at the right intervals and in the right amounts. My only slight disappointment was patatas bravas – the aioli sauce didn't taste too fresh, but then I have yet to find this traditional Spanish dish live up to its reputation, in London.
We found the atmosphere bang on for a Friday – buzzy and lively without being too noisy, as the tables were spaced well enough apart.. After a couple of hours, the Manager told us we'd have to vacate the table but then let us stay and found other available tables for incoming customers.
I loved the feeling that I was in a genuine tapas bar and could easily have been in a Spanish city, rather than London. I would certainly go back and would undoubtedly recommend Barrica to friends.

A disgrace.
I went with six people on a Friday night.
Our experience there was so awful that one person, for the first time in their lives, refused to pay service, and insisted it be taken off the bill. None of us would do that lightly, but this place was so rude and graceless, I regret not asking to knock further items off the bill.

The table was booked well in advance, and reconfirmed at 5pm on the day.
We arrived, they had given the table away, having claimed to have lost the booking. They passed us on to a table for four, which they claimed was for six. Since all of us had the gift of sight, we could see there were only four sets of cutlery on the tables. And only four chairs.
Furthermore they stuck us on these uncomfortable high tables, made more so by the fact we were squeezed in a way too small space. A promise to move us to a proper table, as we'd booked, was later broken. Because, as one waiter confessed, they'd managed to give that away too.
The service continued to be hostile. Ok it was Friday night, and if busy that can be tricky for a restaurant. But everything, but everything, had to be asked for again, and again. I've been in places where this has happened and you'll live with it, because the staff have some charm and concept of treating customers with with a degree of respect. But not here, and not this night. I wondered if I was being overly precious, but the whole table was experiencing the same rudeness following on from incompetence. And some of the friends I was eating with have survived war zones.
I'm a fan of the place three doors down, Saltyard, but this place wasn't even close food wise. Nor compared to Barrafina, or El Parador.
For instance the clams came as a miserly portion, with one closed, meaning it was potentially poisonous. When that was pointed out quietly to the manager, it was greeted by the Fawlty Towers line of “well that sometimes happens”. Some of the food showed promise, the pistou of walnuts and pumpkin was decent.
The wine list was ok, but it could not make up for one of the worst restaurant experiences in some time.
I hope it was of an off night, I hope it has nothing to do with the fact the majority of our table was African-Caribbean or Asian. The choice of items on the menu (cabrales) seemed to suggest a place that knew about food and thus about how to treat restaurant customers.

I fail to see why I should ever again give my money to people who are hostile to me and my chums.
I don't want fawning service, I just want what most places I go to in London can provide; an honest experience.
I hope you have a better time.
If the restaurant's manager's are reading this, we were there on November 5. And yes, it was a special occasion.

. I ate in Barrica the other night and was very impressed. It is on Goodge Street beside a whole string of other restaurants. Firstly the staff were very extremely friendly and welcoming; the tapas on offer included the list of daily “specials” on the blackboard behind the counter and the regular menu. We chose from both and they were all excellent. They were very helpful & informative with the wine selection regions/areas in Spain etc. You can sit at tables down the back or at high stools & counters at the front. It is a very casual place but lovely food.

I view Restaurants reservations like job interviews: you book a slot, turn up and expect to be fed or interviewed. I have a simple rule too; 15 minutes grace period then out. So we turn up at Barrica at the alotted hour, to be told that we'll have to wait, as the big table that had booked had more people turn up than they had thought. Now I'm sorry, but how is that my problem?

To be fair, it was something of a miracle that there was a reservation at all; I am all for Spanish restaurants employing Spanish bar staff. After all, it certainly adds to the authenticity. They should at least have some English, otherwise making a reservation is something of a challange. So three calls later, I have (I think) confirmed a table. So it seemed.

Anyway, we waited at the bar, with a beautiful La Bota Manzanilla (and a dry torta on a cocktail stick). So far, so average. Just as the clock turn 15 minutes and we were about to leave for Salt Yard next door, a table appeared.

Things immediately looked up with a lovely plate of Pan Tomaca and some Jamon Bellota. Nicely crisp bread, dripping with tomato; paper thin cuts of sweet, fatty ham. The perfect starter to any meal. The trouble is, other than a gorgeously peppery olive oil (that came with the bread basket) and the wines, it was all a bit downhill from there. Snails weren't at all, they were winkles. This of itself is fine, but I am still no closer to identifying the mojo sauce. The croquetas were ok, but dry rather than runny inside and the smoked mushrooms certainly above average.

A few years back, Fino took tapas restaurants above and away from the cheap and cheerful, La Rueda style, raising the bar for what we think of tapas to be. The likes of Salt Yard, Barrafina, Iberica Tapas, Brindisa Tapas and Dehesa have all kept that bar high. For all its attempts to reach those heights, Barrica falls short. It is a fun place, the food is fine, the drinks very fine, but somehow it doesn't quite get there.

Barrica is very good value for money, would be fun with a good group of people and is small enough to be packed every night. The wine list is the high point: a really good spread of Spanish wines, many by the glass and good value throughout.

This new tapas bar is a welcome addition to the already busy restaurant scene around Goodge Street.

I called ahead to book a table and was told they couldn't fit me in until 9.30 but I was welcome to try my luck at their busy bar. Easier said than done as their bar stools feature infuriating sloping rails that make it impossible to rest your feet on and at 5' 2″ I was falling off and climbing back on like a 8 year old.

The manager saw my discomfort and explained they had been open only 7 weeks and he was ‘pained’ that the bar stools weren't right. He assured us he would replace them and make it more comfortable to eat at the bar in future. He found us a table and we got comfy for our 4 hour marathon!

The food was excellent. Realy high grade olive oil for dipping bread, delicious stuffed olives and salted almonds to start us off. Followed by prawns (no mayo dip – shame) that were good but absolutely covered in unneccesary salt. Patatas bravas with really crispy potatoes, a sweet sundried tomato tasting sauce and plenty of aioli soon distracted me. My friend had also ordered Seville spiced carrots as they reminded her of the jars of spiced root vegetables so typical in many Spanish bars. They were amazing and I would highly recommend them. Whole pickled herb covered sweet baby carrots. Delicious. The bonemarrow on toast was apparently superb with baby shallots and sherry dressing. The Manchego cheese with rosemary was nice and the blended blue cheese was fantastic, both severed with an usual but delicious jelly, fig perhaps?

I finished with their chocolate pot which was one of the nicest, albeit richest deserts I've had in ages. A slightly crisp outer coating followed by a very dense mousse with chunks of high quality chocolate at the bottom.

The service was friendly, informal and Spanish! The English owner was very hands on, taking orders and hosting. Although they are clearly having some expected teething problems he seems to be dealing with them in the best way – with good humour and passion for his product. I kind of fell in love with this place and can't wait to return.

All that food plus (too much) wine – £40 a head.

Really enjoyed the evening at Barrica. Started with a draught Spanish beer at the bar and ended with a draught Spanish beer at the bar. In between, we ordered some great tapas in the seated restaurant area.

There's plenty of choice of dishes, and the staff recommended some excellent wines to go with the food. Good fun, relaxed atmosphere.

Will be coming back (regularly I suspect!).