Barrafina (tapas) – London, England (9.5/10)
Dec 4th, 2007 by admin
[UPDATE: 20/04/2009 I revisited Barrafina, so please see new review here]
Having patiently waited for three whole months before returning to Barrafina, (read previous review here), I was really excited to see if the tapas was as excellent in reality as they were in my memory. A Japanese friend visiting from Tokyo came along with me. If anyone can appreciate good food, it’s my friend J.
Arriving at 5.30 to avoid the dreaded queue, most of the stools were still empty. As before, the service was superb – genuinely friendly, helpful and relaxed. Our waiter even helped me take some photos of the seafood on ice, as it was too busy for me to slip behind the counter. And despite the queue behind us growing ever longer, not for a moment did we feel rushed to eat up and leave. It’s funny how these days, restaurants give you a window of about 2 hours in which you’re supposed to eat, drink, pay up and leave. I understand the importance of customer turnover, but Barrafina, which doesn’t take reservations, doesn’t impose a time limit on how long one can sit on a stool and eat.
What we ordered:
The specials sounded good (these change on a daily basis depending on what they have freshly delivered) – razor clams (£5.20), which I had last time and J wanted to try, having seen the photo. Heavenly! There was also another type of clam (sorry, the name escapes me) a la Plancha (£7.50). Not so special though. And the suckling pig (£15.50) was crying out to be ordered. This turned out to be a whole leg of pig(let) and the meat was incredibly tender and flavoursome. If you ordered this plus a few smaller dishes, you’d be very satisfied, as we were.
From the standard menu, as they were so delicious last time, I chose the grilled lamb cutlets (£6.50) so that J could try them. They were as succulent as I remembered them, and highly recommended. The sardines a la Plancha (£6.00) were small and a bit too bony for my liking. The Pisto with Duck Egg (£6.80) was suggested by our waiter, and turned out to be rather nice. It’s like a ratatouille, with a fried duck egg on top, which you can pop and mix into the vegetables. To finish off the evening, J ordered the Classic Tortilla (£4.00), which was simply the best. It was soft and a little juicy in the middle. I could have eaten two of them on my own.
The verdict?
With water, and service charge, our bill came to £63.00. It’s not cheap, and alcohol and dessert would increase the total. But the food is truly sensational, we were fully satisfied (stuffed, to be precise) and the service fantastic. To sum up, Barrafina is still one of my favourite restaurants in London. And J loved it too.
10 – Perfection, 9.5 – Sensational, 9 – Outstanding, 8.5 – Superb,
8 – Excellent, 7.5 – Very Good, 7 - Good, 6.5 - Above Average, 6 – Average
All the London restaurant reviews on World Foodie Guide
Contact Details:
Barrafina
54 Frith Street
London W1D 4SL
Tel: 0207 813 8016
www.barrafina.co.uk
Helen Yuet Ling Pang @ World Foodie Guide
Hi Helen. I must check this out. I am always looking for good recommendations in this area. Thanks for the recommendation!
Hi Niamh! You’ll love it, I’m sure. Just avoid peak times, otherwise you’ll have to wait for absolutely ages and it won’t be fun. Let me know what you think of it – no doubt I’ll be reading your review on your blog soon!