I was walking around Covent Garden with a friend late Friday evening, intending to just grab another glass of wine somewhere, when we stumbled across Barrafina, which has been at the top of our to-dine lists for ages. Luckily, with the opening of two new locations (including this one), the Michelin starred restaurant has become a lot more accessible, despite its no reservations policy. We were given an estimated wait time of 45 minutes, but you spend all of that at one of their many window ledges, with a menu of "para picar" bar snacks and a wine list, so what more do you need? Plus, the para picar is also part of the main menu, so it's like eating your first course while you wait.
We got an order of crab croquettes, which was absolutely lush. It was oozing with crab, as opposed to crab cakes that are generally more starchy and solid. We also got a bottle of red wine, the Old Vines 2012 Espelt, that was beautifully smooth and one of the best wines I've had in a long time. (One bottle ended up not being enough). The wait time flew by and before we knew it, we were seated at the bar, surrounded by Spanish people on either side. A lot of the clientele seem to be Spanish... it can be argued that they get somewhat better service. In any case, that's when you know you are at a very authentic restaurant.
Since we'd already had a bite to eat earlier, we refrained from ordering the whole menu, but it would have been rude to not get at least a few dishes. We got the Spanish tortilla with prawns, garlic, and mushrooms, though I didn't note any prawns, and it was more of a dark, flavorful, almost soy sauce tasting version of Spanish tortilla. I would definitely recommend it. We also got one of the seafood specials, which was described to me as a fried mini dover sole. That was ok, but difficult to eat because of all the bones. Meanwhile, I had massive food envy at the Spanish girls next to us who ordered chipirones, basically fried calamari - should definitely have gotten that. Lastly, we got the Iberian pork ribs, the star of the show. It was basically like a beef stew type of sauce with braised onions and carrots, and the short rib falling off of the bones. So amazing. And a very generous portion size, much larger than what you would expect for tapas.
We sat at the bar for quite a bit, talking with the staff and the fellow diners seated next to us. I think it would be difficult to come with a group larger than 3, simply because it's difficult to make conversation with large groups while seated at a bar. We did not feel any pressure to leave, and there weren't many arrivals after us because the restaurant closes at 11 PM (must be disappointing for diners accustomed to Spanish dinner time). But now that I know how pleasant the wait experience is, I would definitely come again! It was infinitely better than my time at Social Wine & Tapas, where you are crammed in a tight lobby with no food or drink until the very end. Barrafina was amazing, can't rate it highly enough! read more