I don't see the Spanish influence in this "Spanish-Portuguese" restaurant.  I thought those were typos on the menu.  I do however hear the Portuguese music playing in the background, I've eaten the empanadas, codfish cakes (pateis de bacalhau), shrimp cakes (rissois de camarão), bacalhau a braz and kale soup (caldo verde).  All of it was wonderful.  This is certainly a good place to have a little drink.  Check it out....very colorful atmosphere!
Review Source:I've been 3 or 4 times in the past and was never wowed by the place. Once before, a friend had reserved a number of tables for her birthday happy hour and the hostess had mistakenly given them all away. The manager put us in the upstairs area because he claimed the tables downstairs were all reserved, but once up there, they wouldn't honor happy hour prices and they kept forgetting we were up there. On top of that, the food was awful and as late as we stayed, those downstairs tables never filled up.
But recently a friend and I both heard that the restaurant was under new management, so we decided to try them again. We came by for happy hour with the idea of drinks and a few tapas to share. I looked over the menu and ordered a Sam Adams Seasonal, which the menu said they had on draft. She came back shortly after with my friends' drinks but said that they didn't sell Sam Adams. Not that they were out, they didn't even sell it. She said I'd have better luck with a bottle than draft so I requested a Blue Moon, which was also on the menu. "No, we don't have that either." she quickly answered. She told me that they just had "regular beers" like Bud, Bud Light, Stella and Heineken. With one last attempt, I requested the Corona Light, also on the menu, and she returned with a Bud Light with a lime in it (That doesn't even take away from the experience, I just wanted to share that funny story.) Apparently they didn't have Corona Light either, but they did have Corona Extra, so that's where we settled. But why not change the menu? The menu looked exactly the same as it had the last time I had been when they were supposedly under different management. I would've even accepted some White-Out over the selections that they no longer offered.
We all decided to order some different tapas. We got chicken wings, cod fish cakes, chicken and beef empanadas and shrimp cakes. The chicken wings were very tasty, dipped in a crispy batter. Some places call them "wing dings". The cod fish cakes used to be my favorite thing on the menu, but this time I wasn't as thrilled. They were flavorless and the only thing that saved them was the dipping sauce that they served with every tapa. The chicken empanadas tasted like a pasty stewed chicken wrapped in a pre-made pocket with no real seasonings and the beef version wasn't much better. The dipping sauce made those worse. Last but not least, the shrimp "cakes" were just chopped up pieces of the smallest shrimp in the sea, over cooked in a sauce that looked a lot like that you'd find in a chicken pot pie, wrapped in the same empanada shell. We didn't even eat that and just cut it open and sent it back. There was nothing cake-like about it.
The service was good, but overall, I saw nothing different about my Barca experience. I'm wondering if my friend and I were both just misinformed about the change in management since nothing indicated a difference. Nice location with ample parking, but I'm done trying.
1 line review: Â decent food at reasonable prices with a cool, if empty and cold, atmosphere.
When you walk into the restaurant you'll immediately pick up on the vibrant colors and Latin music playing. Â Pretty cool, right? Â Yeah, don't get too excited. Â You and the other 4 folks in there can shiver together as you wait for the one server to come by and take your order. Â Now, getting past the basic ambiance issues, the menu is decent with a nice list of tapas at under $10 and a reasonable selection of meat/seafood Spanish dishes all within a $14-$20 range. Â I went with the pork/chicken/clams w/ spicy wine sauce. Â The sauce was quite nice with lots of flavor, but the meat/clams were a tad overcooked. Â Overall, a good dish that could have been better. Â The portion size was generous, so you shouldn't go home hungry. Â Final price for 2 people, including a couple glasses wine, $50.
My friend Traci thinks this place is awesome. Â When she calls a restaurant, we always do well. Â Saturday night was no exception. Â We gathered a group for the Taste of Hartford and ventured out late Saturday night. Â We were a group of nine, we swarmed the bar and drank Portuguese beer while they set us up with a nice grouping of tables, (The Taps were not working) but we were able to meet two new malt beverages - Alls well that ends well.
The meals were excellent, no complaints from even my high maintenance friend. Â She liked hers so much she already wants to go back. Â The stuffed peppers were delicious, there was a Pork and Clam (That's Different) dish that I absolutely loved, but even though I enjoyed mine, I think my neighbor's meal was more flavorful and yummy. Â He was eating a shrimp and scallop dish over linguine. Â Quite a treat. Â I will be ordering that when I go back. Â No question about dessert either, the Chocolate Mousse is a fine ending.
There was a small issue with the bill as we were finishing the evening. Â The manager came out personally and resolved it very graciously. Â
We were very pleased with everything. Â I loved the staff, very genuinely nice and put up with us enjoying ourselves. Â We never had empty water glasses and the food was served piping hot.
We found this restaurant as it was part of the taste of Hartford.
We were informed when we sat down that they recently changed ownership and it was now more of a Portuguese restaurant then a tapas bar. We all had the codfish cakes, pork and clams and chocoate mousse. The food was AMAZING! The waistaff was very attentive and the food was served very quickly.
We will be going back very soon.
The only item I would change is that I wish they had highchairs. We had to hold our daughter - but thats an easy fix!
We have visited this restaurant 2 nights in 2 weeks, after our 1st great experience.
Both times we were the only ones dining, but all the better in this case.
The place itself is interesting on the inside decor-wise as well as the layout. All the dinnerware, glasses and utensils have a unique design or shape to them.
Our waitress was extremely friendly and helpful. We had her the 2nd time we were there too and she remembered us, what we had to eat, and where we sat asking us if we wanted the same seat. She even remembered that I cant have apples which impressed me.
The food was fabulous and the presentation of it was beautifully done. We had the seafood cerviche (seafood was fresh too!), yuca fries, sweet potato fries, the hamburguesa (hamburger that had deliciousspices - so good I had it both times), and chicken empanadas. Â They also made a really great espresso martini. The second time we had the hamburguesa, a seafood soup (cant remember the name), and crab cakes, as well as more chicken empanadas. You can see 2 of the meals that I took photos of and uploaded (the seafood cerviche and empanadas)
The chef came out and talked to us for a bit and shared some insight into his food, all made by him that day as well as the amazing sauces and dips that accompanied our food and some information on how he makes them.
Our only disappointment was that they only had apple pie for desert and I cant eat apples. The second time we were there he had just made pumpkin flan but it wasn't ready to serve.
Huge dinners with drinks for  2 for around $40 total both times which pleased me.
Extremely happy with the food, service, atmosphere, and prices.
While the food at Barcas isn't mind blowing, it was good nonetheless and served its purpose. The menu was eclectic; I had the Yuca Frita; Â yucca fries served with garlic cilantro mayonnaise. I was more impressed with the mayonnaise, as it had just the right amount of tang and did justice to simple yucca fries. I also tried the Bollos de Cangrejo; mini crab cakes served with fresh pineapple and tomato salad with a spicy remoulade sauce, and then the Calamares Fritos; basically, fried calamari also served w/ a spicy sauce. I love calamari and this was my favorite appetizer. The calamari were perfectly crispy. The batter was definitely different than what I'm used to.
The atmosphere was fun, hip, and funky and the service was excellent, notwithstanding the fact that it was busy and I opted to sit at the bar... they were still attentive and friendly.
I definitely would like to go back again to get a better idea about the other menu items. Wine and cocktail offerings are also delicious!
I was hoping for more with my visit to Barca, but what we left with was some awesome drinks and okay food.
I love tapas style bars because it is a great way to try a bunch of food that you normally couldn't get, but what we got at Barca was pretty standard fare for most restaurants.
There were four other people out with me so we got a good sampling of the menu. Â We ordered:
*Tamal de Helote - Fresh steamed Cornmeal Tamal served with Lola Sauce.
*Empanadas - Beef filled crispy Turnovers with Chilean Pebre Sauce.
*Steak Spanish Flat Bread with Cheese and Steak
*Calamares Fritos - Fried Calamari served with a Spicy Remoulade Sauce. Â
*Papa Rellena - Traditional Peruvian Potato stuffed with Beef and served with the Chefs traditional litely spiced home made sauce.
*Quesadilla de Pollo - Flour Tortilla filled with marinated Chicken amd Monterey Jack Cheese.
*Chorizo Encebollado -Sauteéd Spanish Chorizo with Onions and Green Olives.
*Causa Limena - Spiced up Mashed Yellow Potatoes stuffed with Tuna and Avocado.
Each of these plates (except for the steak flat bread) were all reasonably sized for a tapas portion.  I ordered the above items from best to worse, and unfortunately it is a very quick drop off.  The tamal, empanadas and flat bread were good. I would actually recommend them.  The calamari and  papa rellena were okay, though I think I have had better calamari during a happy hour some places.  The last three dishes were just unacceptable.  The quesadilla was just a hot mess with no creativity and really stretched the boundaries of tapas.  The chorizo dish did have chorizo in it, but just barely and the onions overtook the dish (let alone the most saltly olives I have ever had). And lastly, the causa limena should have been returned if it wasn't for me making everyone else try bites of it.  I could go on about this dish for ever, but I have never ate a dish that I would completely reverese the temperature it was served me at.  The causa limena comes out cold which is just totally wrong.  Also, looking back at the menu today, I do not remember and reminence of avacado or spice!
The drinks are excellent and the bar seems to come up with some awesome combinations. Â I had a drink that included both gin and white port (along with fresh orange juice!) which I could have drank all night. Â Come here for drinks and hope you ate before.
I have been to Barca's quite a few times and I am a fan of the fresh seafood soup. Outstanding. I go to the bar sometimes while eating there and the waitresses, bartenders and chefs are super friendly. The food is very good. I've tried quite a few dishes and I haven't been disappointed once. The drinks are also reasonably priced and I was pleasantly surprised by the wine selection. Reading a review criticizing the service took me by surprise that's why I am writing this review. The service at the tables and at the bar is above reproach. I don't know what these yahoos are talking about. I have been there at least 20 times and I have never been disappointed with the service or the food.
Review Source:Our server, Opal, was fantastic.
The food was tasty and prepared simply with a lot of olive oil. I kept wanting to add some heat and spice things up with a few of my dishes though. The flat bread with vegetables was very crispy and a nice serving size. The texture of the scallops were perfect but could have carmalized more in the pan.
I enjoyed the owner-recommended glass of red wine.
I will continue to keep Barca in the rotation and hope it sticks around. The empty dining room on a Friday night has me worried.
Last Friday we finally decided to go there for some tapas and dinner. We made reservations at 8:00p.m but not many people were there that night so we could pick a table of our choice.
Our waitress was new, it was her second day working so she didn't know much but she went to get some help and another waitress Anna was really nice and professional we liked her, she made our night.
For drinks we ordered mojitos, cosmos martini and three olive vodka martini ($9 each). They didn't have lime for my mojito but someone from restaurant went to buy some more so while I was waiting, they gave me a drink on the house. All drinks were really good.
Tapas:
1. Combinación de Quesos Espanoles y Carnes Curades (Combination of Assorted Spanish Cheeses and Cured Meats) that was alright for me, I am not a big fan of cheese but my friend loved it.
2. Vieras con Jamon Serrano (Seared Sea Scallops Wrapped with Spanish Ham over Garlic Bean Sauce) Oh this was delicious, I never thought that scallops with beans will taste so good. A must try!/
3. Setas del Monte Asadas con Mantequilla al Ajo (Wild Mushrooms Sauteéd with Garlic and Butter served with Crusty Bread) For me, this appetizer was little too salty, but for my friends it was perfect.
4. Calamare Fritos (Fried Calamari served with a Spicy Remoulade Sauce) I didn't like it, I had much better in cheaper restaurants. Way too dry.
5. Bollos de Cangrejo (Crabcakes with Spicy Remoulade) The best!!!
6. Empanadas de Pollo (Chicken, Caramelized Onions & Parsley) Didn't care for this one, I didn't realize that it was deep fried. It didn't taste bad but lots of oil on it.
Dinner plates:
Filet Mignon with Mashed Potatoes and Wild Mushrooms Ragout. My friend was very happy that he picked this plate, it was worth $24. Meat was perfect and potatoes had a very special taste (different from other restaurants).
Salmon a la Plancha ( Grilled Salmon, Lemon Caper Sauce, Lyonnaise Potatoes, Sauteéd Spinic). My friend is very picky about sea food, she expects her fish to be perfect and this time she was enjoyed her salmon.
Desserts:
Dulce de Leche Cannolis. I didn't like it, it was way too sweet for me and it's nothing like what they show on their website. They also didn't have fresh raspberries (they had mint on it) I knew about it before I ordered it, still wanted to try it.
Cheese Cake. My husband is a big fan of cheese cakes and this one is from Spain so he decided to try it and he liked it a lot.
Tiramiso. Love it!!! Very moist, not too sweet, just the way it should be.
Creme Brulee I tried it and it wasn't my favorite, but friend liked it.
Atmosphere is cool, I like their décor. Tables are little too small. I hated to go so far to the bathroom, but after all that food I think it's a good idea to go for a walk.
They also have VIP room upstairs and it looks pretty cool. Anybody can rent it for free as long as you buy a bottle of gray goose for $150 and some tapas. (you can also bring your own food to vip section) not many restaurants will let you do that.
At 10:00 p.m. t. j. showed up, but we left so I didn't hear what kind of music he played.
Overall we enjoyed our night out and I think we would go back just to try some other things that they have on the menu.
Looks like a lot money went into this place, but the owner is not likely to see the returns if he keeps up his lax attitude towards service. He said himself that he likes to "take it easy" with his staff, but if I'm going to be paying those prices for not-so-great food, I will at least expect great service. Instead, at Barca you consistently get untrained, young wait staff lacking the service rigors of a high-priced restaurant.
Review Source:I've just been there for the nightlife, but I've had a good time with friends. Â The atmostphere is bright and fun.
Our first experience there was nothing to write home about....bad service, etc. etc....
We gave it another chance and we had the complete opposite experience. Great service, good drinks and food.
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