Barcelona Wine Bar: Tapas that actually impress.

Bad tapas.

No bueno.

Good tapas…. perfection!

While I love the concept of small, shared plates, I’ve had many a bad tapa.

In my experience, every other dish contains pork, and it’s hard to find enough plates to actually “share.”

Then I stumbled upon Barcelona Wine Bar and their menu looked too good to be true.

While we were not particularly impressed by the first two glasses of wine we tasted (we are a picky crowd, we lucked out when we went for the bottle)… the food delighted.

Let’s just say, Barcelona Wine Bar did not disappoint.

Our server was great. Incredibly patient, pleasant and honest about his favorites. He just chuckled as I asked to taste another glass of wine. To be fair, he warned me that I wouldn’t like my first two choices– and the bottle was definitely the winner.

We came in for a late brunch with an out-of-town guest, so we ordered across the menu.

The seasoning was on point.

Everything from the sautéed mushrooms to the squid was a delight.

Not too oily.

Not too salty.

and cooked, perfectly.

The menu is seasonal, and despite having multiple locations in several states, no one menu is the same— so nothing about it felt like a “chain”.

Overall, the experience was great. Everyone had a blast— and there was the perfect balance of vegetables, fish and meat to suit the pescatarians, vegetarians, and carnivores at the table.

We ordered the MUSHROOMS A LA PLANCHA, GRILLED BROCCOLINI, SNAP PEAS, PATATAS BRAVAS, BLISTERED SHISHITO PEPPERS, HANGER STEAK, BARRAMUNDI A LA PLANCHA, MARINATED BEETS, PULPO GALLEGO (Squid) and a few other items.

We’ve been back a handful of times with only good things to say.

My only complaint?

I wish they were open for lunch during the week.