Yesterday my friend and I met up for a drink and a spot of Tapas. Having read about the well respected Barra Fina in a food guide I expected great things and I had been warned of a wait. I was not to be disappointed, on both counts. (No criticism is intended here, just an adjustment of the traditional Spanish mentality toward Tapas.) The word Tapas is directly translated as
"Snacks"The idea is to encourage you to eat whilst drinking, and I am told to encourage one to focus on ones companion more fully than if you were focusing on consuming a full meal. Tapas are sociable snacks, aperitifs, a sensible way to enjoy a drink, food enjoyment and abundant variety.
Barra Fina is a Tapas bar in the heart of Soho whose owners from Spain had intended to create a traditional bar. The bar certainly seems both traditional and modern chic with stools at the counter overlooking the chefs freshly preparing each beautiful creation. Hardly somewhere you expect to be a huge queue. But, sure enough we were told there was a 45 minute wait for a bar stool. In the mean time we were to have a snack from the shorter menu, a glass of wine or sherry and prop ourselves against a ledge for same purpose.
We elected to have Pan con tomate which was a juicy and garlicky sumptuousness and jamon croquetas which had a crunchy exterior and a velvety creamy centre. I hardly would have noticed the wait had it not been for previously clocking those people who were clearly just sitting and not ordering anything at the bar. Surely this is not the idea and I wondered if the owners would ask someone to leave. No such luck, this is of course a laid back friendly and polite bar. So, I embraced the wait and enjoyed the company and conversation.
Fast forward 1 hour 35 minutes (at least) and the waiter/chef/maitre d finally tapped us on the shoulder to take us to our stools. Our excitement was heightened from the sample food, the wait and the food we saw the chefs preparing under our eyes and noses (very clever as much restraint is needed from the customer when faced with the menu and specials). We were not disappointed by our food, mussels in a vinaigrette and sherry mixture, chorizo with potatoes and watercress and artichokes with Serrano ham. I wanted to lick the plate clean but managed to come out of the food haze and remember my manners. Truly delicious, and the Crema Catalana was outstanding, highly spiced and a perfect way to round off the meal.
This certainly was not the tapas experience I expected but I loved it. I would wait for a stool again provided I was not starving. The restaurant has a fantastic ambience, service and most importantly incredible Tapas. I am going to test the mother restaurant out very soon. Muy bien Barra Fina!
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