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Barrafina - review by sulin

Sun, 26 Oct 2008 00:14:26 +0000

Barrafina - review by sulin

Rating: 4.5

Location: 54 Frith St, W1D 4SL, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7813 8010

Website: http://www.barrafina.co.uk/

Tags: lively, spanish, crowded, expensive

A good friend of mine happened to be in town last week and so we arranged to meet at Barrafina, one of his favourite restaurants in London and one that Iâ¬"d been meaning to try. We met there at noon on a Saturday and were the second and third people to grab seats at the bar. The place filled up within half an hour so it seems the best thing to do is to get there when it just opens (they donâ¬"t take bookings).

When I saw ham croquetas on the menu, I knew I had to have them! We ordered those while still perusing the menu. They were extremely creamy inside and crisp on the outside and exactly how I like my croquetas!

From the daily specials, we ordered the grilled razor clams with olive oil, garlic and parsley. These were probably cooked a la plancha and were not at all rubbery but tender and so flavourful. My friend recommended the grilled lamb cutlets from the regular menu and so they went into our order. Very soft and we got stuck in with our fingers here. Also from the specials was the cavolo nero, braised with olive oil and garlic. Beautiful! The cavolo nero still had a bite but was tender and had toasted patches that were wonderful. I just bought some cavolo nero at my farmersâ¬" market to try replicating it this week. Another special - this time it was grilled squid, stuffed with tomato and chorizo. Again, this dish was faultless.

We were starting to get full at this point and so focused our attention on desserts! I chose the chocolate tart while my friend ordered the fig salad with creme chantilly and toasted sliced almonds. Both were truly delicious. There was a bit of cream alongside my chocolate tart, which was rich and dense and a little of eating like eating dark chocolate ganache in a thin pastry shell. As for my friendâ¬"s fig salad, it was fresh ripe figs with a huge mound of creme chantilly (I originally mistook it for ice cream). I could have eaten a huge bowlful of this - the almonds and caramel sauce over top made it perfect.

It seems strange that we didnâ¬"t order any of their sliced jamon but though they had a leg prominently displayed on the counter, no one was having any. It was hot food all the way for everyone. Their tortillas looked fantastic too - little individual ones with soft innards - Iâ¬"ll definitely try one next time.

However, it wasnâ¬"t a cheap lunch. For all the food, one glass of wine and all the tap water we could drink, it was Â£50 for the two of us. However, even with the limited seating, we never once felt rushed and our waitress was happy for us to order one or two tapas at a time. Thereâ¬"s a small counter along the wall where you can wait with a drink and a small bite for a seat - but as I noticed above, itâ¬"s probably easiest if you show up when they just open. I canâ¬"t wait to return (after Iâ¬"ve saved up a bit)!

Photos at the blog: http://tamarindandthyme.wordpress.com/2008/10/20/a-tapas-lunch-at-barrafina/

Cafe Espana - review by foodbymark

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 21:55:18 +0000

Cafe Espana - review by foodbymark

Rating: 3.3

Location: 63 Old Compton Street, W1D 6HT, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7494 1271

Tags: spanish

Having just come back from Barcelona I felt the urge to eat Spanish food and a quick net search pointed us at Cafe Espana. Cafe Espana certainly has a lot to live up to - The reviews on lots of sites were glowing, apart from some tell tale reviews from various sites. With expectations set high, it is easy to be let down. The restaurant itself is extremely cramped and we were levered into our tiny area by the stairs upstairs. I had to be careful not to knock the table behind my chair as I skillfully squatted and slid into my seat.

We chose the seafood paella. Paella is the quintessential Spanish dish perhaps one of the best ways of judging a restaurant. Whilst we were able to order very quickly, the dish took 55 minutes to arrive and all we had to quench our hunger was some freshly cut stale bread and a little butter.

When the food did finally arrive, the dish was certainly impressive looking and enough to feed a family of four. But we were quickly disappointed. Whilst seafood ingredients were seemingly plentiful, there were only two king prawns and the rest were tiny shrimps in their shells so small that after you had gone through the effort or deshelling them, there was only smallest crayfish sized shrimp - the effort was hardly worth it. The mussels had been so cooked that they had shrunken and become chewy, the fish was full of bones, the calamari was tough and chewy and we had an assortment of peas ranging of brilliant fresh green to dull brown and mushy. And worst of all the rice had become mushy. Paella rice should be dry and separate when done, not creamy like risotto.

Risotto di mare, with two glasses of house white came to Â£27. Perhaps in hindsight we should've ordered tapas and perhaps it was a bad day for the restaurant's kitchen. The cooking is standard Spanish fare and there are certainly no culinary flares. Their home style food at knock down prices has certainly won fans but I dare to disagree and unfortunately the Paella here gets two thumbs down.

Cafe Espana - review by greeneyedemu

Sun, 14 Sep 2008 17:37:59 +0000

Cafe Espana - review by greeneyedemu

Rating: 3.3

Location: 63 Old Compton Street, W1D 6HT, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7494 1271

Tags: spanish, family & home feel, cheap eat

Cafe Espana is a little restaurant on Old Compton Street in Soho. It is relatively quiet early on in the evening, or early in the week, but as it gets later a queue starts to form outside the doors and it is a long wait to get a table- this is one very popular restaurant.
I have been to this place loads and only really ever had the tapas, but it is always more than filling, and is one of my favourite places in London- great food with a reasonable price tag! We always have the tortilla Espanola- most tapas places would only give you a slice- here you get the whole thing, and it is delicious! The chorizo con vino is lovely, really tasty and flavoursome. The mussels come with a white wine/garlic sauce. The patatas bravas are also always ordered- they are just the right amount of spicy- not too hot but have nice kick! We also always have the alioli and bread- very very garlicky! Every time I come I am tempted with the amazing looking paella, but the tapas is just so nice! Maybe next time!
The food and drink here is incredibly reasonably priced and is real Spanish food. It rarely comes to more than Â£15 per person, and we usually eat and drink a lot! The service is really good= very friendly and attentive by genuine Spanish wait staff.
This place is a great place for fantastic cheap food. Iâ¬"d recommend it, definitely.

Barrafina - review by bellaphon

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 21:44:26 +0000

Barrafina - review by bellaphon

Rating: 4.5

Location: 54 Frith St, W1D 4SL, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7813 8010

Website: http://www.barrafina.co.uk/

Tags: lively, spanish, crowded, expensive

On the four occasions or so Iâ¬"ve been here, luck often prevails with me securing a seat within ten minutes of queuing. This place has to be one of the highlights for me this year. The food, service and ambience were all pretty much faultless. The catches of the day from the wet fish counter and the Jamon de Jabugo are well worth the expense and repeat visits. Other memorable dishes sampled included Grilled Quail with Allioli, Pork Chop with Cauliflower Puree, Ham Croquetas, Ariston and on and on. This place is good; so good that I feel totally spirited away and it sort of turns me into a happy shiny person. I would have given the perfect 10 for the food except that the acquired blandness of the Classic Tortlla renders the verdict otherwise.

Barrafina is expensive, but then again itâ¬"ll cost even more to go to Barcelona these days.

Barrafina - review by Alita

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 18:16:43 +0000

Barrafina - review by Alita

Rating: 4.5

Location: 54 Frith St, W1D 4SL, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7813 8010

Website: http://www.barrafina.co.uk/

Tags: lively, spanish, crowded, expensive

Barrafina is a little tricky to find since it announces its presence with little more than a word on the front door, but you'll find it easily enough if you look for a small restaurant with a queue flowing down the street. In fact, the second time I visited I was initially turned away but remained steadfast in the queue, was joined by my friend and (eventually) sat down to a very nice meal.

The staff are attentive and serve drinks and small snacks while you're waiting. Be prepared for a long queue, especially on weekends.

The food itself is generally excellent and mouth-watering, though I found the Pan Con Tomate less flavoursome than I hoped. The prawn and pepper tortilla was cooked in front of us and was deliciously runny inside (a personal favourite) and I can recommend the Sardines la Plancha. Though I do have a thing for sardines. The Creme Catalana was nice, if a touch too sweet. Our chef was incredibly jovial and made some good suggestions.

I'm no wine drinker but I managed to imbibe two very nice glasses of red, one at the bar and one during.

Expect to pay over Â£60 for two with wine for a modest tapas meal and far more for a spanish feast.

Barrafina - review by chrisp

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 13:47:35 +0000

Barrafina - review by chrisp

Rating: 4.5

Location: 54 Frith St, W1D 4SL, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7813 8010

Website: http://www.barrafina.co.uk/

Tags: expensive, spanish, crowded

There tends to be a pattern when new styles of cuisine are introduced to this country. The pioneer restaurants will be toned down, tame versions of the originals, designed to appeal to the masses; think Pizza Express in the 60s or Yo! Sushi in the 90s. Nothing too weird, nothing too offensive to the timid British palette, but due mainly to the novelty factor they are wild successes, at least for the first few years. Then once the novelty wears off, a new wave of more adventurous outlets open that offer something more closely approximating the "authentic" taste from abroad. So then you start noticing things like octopus or squid in your nigiri, or fresh basil and real buffalo mozzerella on your pizza. I'm generalising of course, but with passing time it seems diners, having gotten over the original shock factor and bragging rights of trying something new, will demand a more genuine experience. At least, snobs like me do.

There is sometimes a "Stage 3": Having mastered the said style of cuisine, some brave restauranteurs will take it one step further, and you end up with bizarre fusions like French-Japanese or Afghan-Ethopian. Most of these are hideous, so it's generally in the what I like to call "Stage 2" restaurants are you most likely to get a good meal. So where La Tasca bravely brought spanish tapas to an anonymous shopping mall near you, Barrafina in Soho ups the ante by actually trying to do it well.

However, this is London, and there are certain conditions. Tapas in Spain (at least outside the tourist areas of Catalonia) are little plates of bitesize morsels (chorizo, bread & tomato, croquettas, etc.) that are placed on your drink for free (yes, free!) whenever you order. In Barrafina, you pay Â£7 for a tiny plate of skewered quail and then have to cough up another Â£5 for a glass of Manzanilla sherry. Still, you'd think I'd be used to it by now.

Moaning aside, Barrafina was actually a reasonably enjoyable way to spend an evening. Looking less inside like an authentic tapas bar than a 1950s American diner, there were a dozen or so red leather stools alongside a gleaming chrome bar. The food (at least most of it) was cooked on a hot plate just behind the bar in full view of the diners, which was great fun to watch. Serving staff and kitchen staff all wore the same white outfits and moved around in the same space so you actually felt quite involved in the whole process. We randomly picked a few things from the menu and sat back and watched as they were cooked in front of us.

First to arrive was Pan amb Tomate (tomato bread), which was actually as good as I've had in Spain. Tomato flesh on crunchy bread spiced with raw garlic, it is admittedly a difficult thing to get wrong but even so was very nice. A board of sliced chorizo appeared next, which were only OK but swiftly followed with sweet and succulent whole prawns cooked in salt, the best of all the dishes we tried. The special tomato salad was full of flavour but hugely overseasoned - it was crunchy with salt. I saw the chef loading it with the stuff as I was sat about 3 foot away whilst the dish was being prepared, and I probably should have said something at the time, but never mind. Next, a couple of roast quail were tasty and succulent but with quite a layer of fat and again overseasoned. The accompanying aioli was delicious however, and we kept it back to dip our pimientos in. Finally, a dish of lamb cutlets was well cooked and presented, although I'm not sure how closely this fits the "tapas" brief.

The bill, with a couple of glasses of sherry and some nice Catalan red wine, came to Â£70 for two. This is a lot for tapas (I can only imagine the amount of food you'd have if you spent Â£70 in a tapas bar in Madrid), but not a lot for London to be honest. And we did have plenty to eat and drink. So I can recommend Barrafina - they're doing the best they can providing food such as this in one of the most expensive cities in the world, and they do it with a certain amount of style.

Cafe Espana - review by jovike

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 15:30:23 +0000

Cafe Espana - review by jovike

Rating: 3.3

Location: 63 Old Compton Street, W1D 6HT, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7494 1271

Tags: lively, international, good value, spanish, crowded

I've been here three or four times and always have the paella because it is the best in the world - and never managed to finish one yet because it's too big. Yes, I do know my paella because I have spent a couple of weeks trying arroz and paella around Valencia.

The paella is topped with giant prawns (already removed in my picture), mussels, and contains plenty of chicken, prawns, fish and calamari.

Taking a star off because the music was too loud last time.

Cafe Espana - review by jovike

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 15:30:23 +0000

Cafe Espana - review by jovike

Rating: 3.3

Location: 63 Old Compton Street, W1D 6HT, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7494 1271

Tags: lively, international, good value, spanish, crowded

Cafe Espana - review by jovike

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 15:30:23 +0000

Cafe Espana - review by jovike

Rating: 3.3

Location: 63 Old Compton Street, W1D 6HT, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7494 1271

Tags: lively, international, good value, spanish, crowded

Cafe Espana - review by jovike

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 15:30:23 +0000

Cafe Espana - review by jovike

Rating: 3.3

Location: 63 Old Compton Street, W1D 6HT, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7494 1271

Tags: lively, international, good value, spanish, crowded

Barrafina - review by gastro1

Sat, 14 Jun 2008 22:54:04 +0000

Barrafina - review by gastro1

Rating: 4.5

Location: 54 Frith St, W1D 4SL, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7813 8010

Website: http://www.barrafina.co.uk/

Tags: lively, good value, spanish, crowded

Superb tapas made with excellent ingredients - just like Fino the sister restaurant.

This establishment shows the many Spanish owned establishment in the UK how it should be done i.e no tinned Russian Salad :-)

Comparable to the best tapas bars in Barcelona, Seville , Madrid and San Sebastian.

Barrafina - review by fabiodebe

Sat, 10 May 2008 16:03:30 +0000

Barrafina - review by fabiodebe

Rating: 4.5

Location: 54 Frith St, W1D 4SL, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7813 8010

Website: http://www.barrafina.co.uk/

Tags: lively, spanish, crowded, expensive

Barrafina is a nice place. It was too busy to eat when I went so I just had some good red wine and a few starters... stuffed olives and ham (the famous jamÃ²n serrano).
The bill said Â£31 for the 2 of us... I wouldn't call it cheap but you can't demand too much if you go in a pretty trendy place in the heart of Soho, can you?

Cafe Espana - review by MattDonegan

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 16:54:50 +0000

Cafe Espana - review by MattDonegan

Rating: 3.3

Location: 63 Old Compton Street, W1D 6HT, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7494 1271

Tags: cosy, proper food, cultured

I have to echo Rocio's comments. This is real Spanish food served by Spanish people.My girlfriend is from Granada, Spain, and knows what she likes. Since we found this place we've been 3 times and enjoued most of the menu. Stick to the typical Spanish tapas rather than the mains and you can't go wrong. Tortilla con chorizo, calamares, gambas a la plancha, are all superb. The staff deserve a special mention because they are so nice-which is so rare in London! Can't wait to go back and have another sopa de pescadito. A meal for two will cost around Â£20-Â£25 quid, less if you just want to nibble. Que aproveche!

Barrafina - review by spacexyz

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 00:18:28 +0000

Barrafina - review by spacexyz

Rating: 4.5

Location: 54 Frith St, W1D 4SL, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7813 8010

Website: http://www.barrafina.co.uk/

Tags: expensive, spanish, pretentious, crowded

Not that the food is bad, in fact is is quite decent although not exceptional, but the whole thing is the biggest rip-off in London, period.

The quality and the preparation are good, the sizes are tiny and the tapas come and go being pushed to you so you move on for the next one, so the service, although friendly is clearly trying to get you moving and the overall experience is that you have been analy raped by a gang of huge russian bearded men.

I must say i prefer to call it Barracara (expensive bar) rather than Barrafina.

I forgot something.. Salt Yard is much better and i believe i can judge it based on the fact i am Spanish.

Copper Chimney - review by BenPhillips

Tue, 21 Aug 2007 15:45:01 +0000

Copper Chimney - review by BenPhillips

Rating: 5.0

Location: The Mall Shopping City, N22 6YA, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 8881 8808

Website: http://www.copper-chimney.com

In the depths of the gangster world that is Wood Green is this little gem. Tacky interiors and being situated next to a cinema in the middle of a shopping mall disguise the fact that this place serves truly amazing food. We've never tried the buffet, this is about the a la carte menu only.

The service is attentive and genuine, the DJ playing Indian pop music on a Saturday night was amusing, unintentionally I'm sure, but amusing nonetheless.

Try the Garlic Mirchi Paneer (make sure you accept to have it sizzling) - one of the nicest Indian dishes I've ever tasted.

I'd consider returning to Wood Green just to visit this restaurant. And that's saying something. Great stuff.