What a fabulous happy hour stop over. Okay, so it was actually a SUPER late lunch but instead of hitting up our normal variation on the taco or botana, we looked up special offers on Yelp in the valley. Turns out, a couple of blocks away, Barcelona had a free dessert with entree.
We were the only folks in the place so we got great seating right by the bar where Ted, nicest server evar, took care of us with impeccable service. He honored our check in and told us about Mobile VIP, another check in service. We got two free drinks bc of that, managed to down four more gigantic sangrias (on happy hour) and ordered all 5 $5 tapas on the HH menu.
Patatas Bravas, crispy shrimp, a cheese, chorizo plate, spicy meatballs and a bowl of olives later, we were fat and sassy. A little yawny from the sangria and the good food, the low lights and the waning afternoon light. A great stop over -- but make sure you're there during HH or the prices get pretty steep!
Wow! What an amazing place. I felt like I wast isn't in the valley because of how unique it is. I recommend anyone to go there whether its on a date, with out of town friends, in town friends, before going out to downtown mcallen, or any occasion. I didn't eat there, only went for drinks so next time I go back ill try the food. It has a spanish feel to it, and there is even a man who plays music to add more of a spanish feel. The staff is great!! I stayed there late upon closing and even then the waiter told us to take our time and did not rush us out to leave. I am definitely going to go back :-) on a scale of 1-10 this place is a 10+
Review Source:I went here for new years with a couple of friends. Â Barcelona is a beautiful bar/restaurant with great food and service. Â We got a table but I'm thinking I'll go back and sit at the bar next time. Â This would be a great place for a date, it is cozy and beautifully decorated.
There was live music the night I went and you could actually hold a conversation.
The sangria is fantastic and my favorite tapas was the grilled portobello mushroom.
The cheese/fruit plate was so so and I wouldn't order it again...
I can't wait to go back to Barcelona!
4 star service, location, and food. Â Expect to pay $75 for 2 tapas, pitcher of sangria, and dessert. Â We got the clams and the shrimp tapas, both dead on in taste. Â The sangria was good, but nothing to write home about and the bread was a little burnt. Â The reason it's a 3 star and not a 4, is the price, it could be cheaper. Â I wouldn't mind spending more overall if the taps were in the $6-7 range rather than $10-12, how can the Taps at Toro in Boston be less than here?
Review Source:I recently visited my brother and his family in Texas. Â It was my first vacation in a loooonnnnggg time and was meant to simply be a sit-on-my-ass, play guitar, screw-the-exercise kind of thing. Â But, thanks to his love of food that equals mine, it morphed into a free-for-all Texas food crawl over the 5 days. Â I really don't think I will ever eat BBQ or Mexican food in the D now, without a sense of emptiness. I am spoiled for the real deal. Â Even the beloved Lupitas cannot hold a candle to the Mexican food I was served at... wait for it....................... a gas station!
Despite the abundance of killer BBQ, Mexican, and Tex-Mex, the highlight of our culinary adventure was Barcelona Tapas and Bar. Â One might think, given the area it's located in, you would receive Mexicanized/Americanized versions of Spanish food but that is not the case. Â What you get is full-on, unfiltered, Spanish flavor profiles.
There are 20 tapas selections on the menu as well as a few entrees served family style. Â Of the the 20 tapas, we sampled 16. Â As I don't really want to describe all 16, I'll stick to the ones that were my favorite. Â Do understand that every selection was phenomenal, the ones on the following list blew me away.
1. Â Sardines on toast - No, I am not talking about those greasy, canned abominations that you get a Kroger. Â I'm referring to the lightly vinegar/oil dressed, smaller sardines that taste of the ocean. Â Served on small slices of a baguette with a pimento, it is a wonder of flavor in a simple package.
2. Escargot in garlic butter - Unlike the French, the snails are served unshelled, swimming in a pool of butter that has been loaded with a ton of garlic. After the snails were consumed, the remaining lake of butter was polished off with liberal use of the table bread. Â Grilled shrimp were also served this way. Â Heaven!
3. Lamb Chops with pimento sauce - close to being the best lamb chops I have ever eaten. Â In my opinion, the pimento sauce paired with the lamb better than the typical mint jelly.
4. Albondigas (pork/beef meatballs) in tomato sauce - they quite literally evaporated on your tongue.
5. Lomo (pork tenderloin) - of course I had to have some piggy.
One item that is worth mentioning is the sangria - served in a pitcher. Â I drank about 1/2 of that pitcher on my own (there were 4 of us) and I'm really not that big of a drinker. Â That's how good it was.
I'm normally not one to mention ambiance, or service in my reviews but I'm gonna make an exception here. Â Service was exemplary - water glass always filled, great recommendations by the server. Â The live back-ground music was provided by a flamenco guitarist. Â The volume was just right for being able to carry on a conversation while still enjoying the music.
Oh how I wish we had a tapas place of this caliber in the D. Â I would never cook again.