Barrafina

The place has an amazing buzz - it is well laid out, the interaction with the chefs is exhilarating, the staff are efficient and personable.

The wine list is small but interesting, and I loved the little touch of the waiter bringining the bottle and filling up your glass again, rather than bringing a fresh glass. Little details like this make a place.

There's only one minor problem. The food. It's dull, dull, dull. You sit down after the long wait, get your toast with alioli, and expect a great explosion of garlic in your mouth. Nothing. Mayonnaise. The tortilla tastes of cardboard, the roasted peppers are tired and sad. Shame, as it could have been perfection incarnated!
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Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 7
Thursday, September 18, 2008

Not worth the wait or the money. Tuna tartar was tasty, but the jamon looked like it had been hacked off with a chainsaw. My guess is that people enjoy it because by the time that they have waited in line for an hour, they have downed a fair amount of wine on an empty stomach and are grateful for any solid food.

I would head down to Borough for Brindisa if I was interested in Tapas.
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K
Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 4
Thursday, August 28, 2008

This place has the best Croquettas I've ever tasted (including all the places I've eaten in Spain) My Sister lives in Southern Spain and this was a special treat for her as she is used to eating in places that are a bit more rough and ready.

We ate much more than was intended as each item cooked behind the bar in plain view made us order (eyes bigger than the stomach) The Fino I had wasn't cold enough (a minor disaster) but everything else was spot on.

I would agree with all others who recommend to go early, nowhere is worth the long wait when it's really busy and vastly over priced for what it is! Go check it out for yourself.....
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Ger
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 6
Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Went with my daughter for lunch today, extremely lucky to secure our places just after ten minutes of queueing. This place has to be one of the highlights for me this year. The food, service and ambience were all faultless. The grilled Dover Sole and the Jamon de Jabugo were worth the expense; I would have given 10 for the food except that the acquired blandness of the Classic Tortlla renders the verdict otherwise. This place might be expensive, but it'll cost even more to go to Barcelona these days.
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bellaphon
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 7
Thursday, May 29, 2008

My girlfriend who is Spanish and myself ate out in Barrafina last night after hearing great reviews about the food. The food was quite hit and miss. The croquettas were too soft and milky with large very chewy bits of ham, the Alioli was more like mayonnaise, nothing like the authentic handmade version you get in Barcelona, the tortilla was slightly burnt and dry on the outside but still raw in the middle, and the patatas bravas were more like poor quality chips with far too much salt.

The atmosphere was great and really lively, but even compared to some of London's other Spanish places, the food wasn't up to scratch. Over the years, we've eaten out in dozens of London's Spanish restaurants and would say that Lola Rojo, Tendido Cero, Galicia and La Siesta in Ealing lead the way in authentic Spanish food.
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Marc
Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 5
Thursday, April 24, 2008

My boyfriend and I decided to visit Barrafina after hearing good reviews on the place.

It was a Friday night and consequently we had a long wait - 1.5h. Unfortunately I did not think the food was as amazing as it was made out in the reviews. Also the menu was limited and I expected more choice from the seaford range. Non alcoholic drinks were overpriced. For instance, I paid 4 pounds for a glass of orange juice, which was not freshly squeezed I might add, however my boyfriend had a glass of rioja which cost just 50p extra!

This is not a place I'd rush to again in a hurry!
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Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 4
Saturday, April 05, 2008

Having constantly been recommended barrafina, i decided to give it a go with my partner. We were not disappointed, the food was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. The spinach and jamon tortilla is the best i've tasted of all the Spanish resturants i've been to. The fresh taste of the Mozambique prawns was not overpowered but too much flavouring. I recommend you arrive early (before 7), we arrive just after 7 and waited about 40 minutes and they even stopped taking ppl through the door after some time. However, the staff were very attentive to ppl during this wait.
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Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Tuesday, February 19, 2008

I went with a friend on Friday night and had to wait for over 1h... you wouldn't wait that long in Spain to eat some tapas, but here in London there are just a handful of good tapas bars, so you have to wait.

While waiting we had some tapas and wine, so it wasn't too bad and service was swift and friendly. When we finally got a seat at the bar, we only had 1 main course, but overall we were happy about the place and the food. The bill was £45 each since we had 3 glassess of wine each, which was of very good quality.

I would recommend this place, but I think it's too crowded for what it is. Go on a Monday / tuesday night, they say it's less busy.
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Alby - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 7
Saturday, February 16, 2008

Last time I went here I almost cried with joy because the food was so good. I love this place.
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George
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Thursday, January 31, 2008

Barrafina is quite possibly the best tapas bar in London at the moment. Being the little sister of Fino, the same exceptional quality and passion is in the atmosphere, kitchen and food. Being able to watch the chefs cook each dish is great eye candy and really sets you up for the delicious tastes and great ingredients served.

Compliments to the head chef, Nieves Barragan. You can see he is meticulous and serious about his food which enabled us to experience a culinary delight.

My only qualm about this place however is... the manager.... to be quite honest he was simply just irritating. A lack of managerial skills much needed in a place where it is first come first serve and the bustling popularity means waiting times of up to 45 minutes in a queue. He seemed to flop around like a fish out of water aimlessly.

Having said that, that will definitely not be stopping me from frequenting Barrafina. I am back there tonight and looking greatly forward to it!
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Kitty
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Friday, December 28, 2007