Tapas, Temptations, and Taste: A Flavor Journey at Barcelona Wine Bar
I am obsessed with Tampa's history, especially regarding restaurants and comparing cuisine over time. So, with visions of Valencia Garden running through my head, my tasting crew and I venture to the new Barcelona Wine Bar in South Tampa.
The interior décor is a salute to Tampa’s early cigar factories. Legit industrial décor pieces, old-look wood tables and benches, and warm directional lighting join exposed beams and corrugated galvanized steel ceilings to give it an industrial feel. However, that design also contributes to a noise level that is not conducive to conversation. Our server says she is losing her voice but is a pro. The large, quieter, nicely appointed wrap-around outdoor patio would be better for conversation, but it’s a rare cold and rainy night, so we stick to the indoors. The main dining room circles the bar, and most table seats are by a window. The rear dining room, while smaller, offers a view of the open kitchen.
Barcelona rear dining room with view of the open kitchen
Barcelona Wine Bar’s exterior features a nicely appointed a wrap-around porch
The menu has a list of nine intriguing craft cocktails. It’s a modern mix of spirits combined with unique ingredients with a separate section for Gintonics, inspired by three regions in Spain. Everyone at the table eyes the Bourbon Spice Rack. If you’re a bourbon fan, it’s the way to go. Four Roses Bourbon, Maple syrup, Cardamaro (wine-based aperitif infused with cardoon and thistle), lemon, Cardamom, and lavender bitters make for a delicious combo! It is indeed a glass of bourbon that the spice rack fell into. The cocktail list also has no alcohol and low alcohol options, which is a smart addition. The full-service bar mixes up traditional cocktails as well.
The Bourbon Spice Rack with Four Roses Bourbon, Cardamaro, Maple Syrup, Lemon, Cardamom & Lavender Bitters is not much to look at, but if you’re a bourbon mixed drink fan, this is the one.
The Barcelona Wine Bar Menu is packed with options: charcuterie, tapas, salads, large plates are all sharable.
The main menu has a nice cross-section of wine by the glass or bottle. Domestic and imported sparkling, white, rose, and reds are featured. They offer three- and six-oz pours and one-sip samples of any wine customers want to try. Three oz. wine flights are also available as selected by the customer or recommended by the house. A separate wine book boasts over 400 bottles from Spain, Latin America, and other international and domestic vintages, some available by the glass. Many are sourced from organic and family-run vineyards.
Three beers are available on draft, and 14 regional craft and international brands are in bottles and cans.
On to the main thing: the menu. Everything is sharable. It’s a sizable, heavily Spanish-influenced list of charcuterie and cheese, tapas, salads, large plates, and desserts. Executive Chef Victor Lopez sharpened his skills in several restaurants in South Florida and brought the tastes of Catalonia to this kitchen.
Our server warns that ordering the “large plates” takes between 30 and 45 minutes and should be ordered upfront.
There are 18 options of charcuterie and cheese for customers to mix and match, or the kitchen has chosen a preselected tray of goodies. Eight choices of pork, including sausage and ham, and ten cheese selections from cow and goat's milk make up the seasonal options. The preselected Aperitivo Board sounds like a good intro. It is! It’s a well-rounded cross-section of goodness, with the patatas bravas being the brightest star. Warm, crispy fried chunks of potatoes are topped with gooey cheese, sitting in a smokey tomato sauce. Yep!
Aperitivo Board, Marinated Olives, Patatas Bravas, Guindillas, Almonds, fuet, Jamon Serrano, Manchego, Idiazábal
Patatas bravas-Warm, crispy fried chunks of potatoes are topped with gooey cheese
The selection of 32 tapas, including bread, vegetables, seafood, pork, and beef, is overwhelming. Like the charcuterie, most dishes have enticing flavors, spices, and textures begging to come to the table. It would take days to sample everything, and I didn’t bring a pillow or my jammies. So, we attack it democratically. Each one of my three crew and I select a dish. I think we nailed it.
Seared scallops, served in a puree of cauliflower pimentón coulis (garlic cauliflower), are golden brown on the top and sweet and firm to the bite. I want more pizazz from the garlic cali, but still, it’s lush. Pickled golden and red beets are served in a swirl of Skordalia and topped with dill. I’m not much of a beet fan (too many icky experiences in middle school cafeterias), but these are bright, sweet, and heroically tasty. Bite-sized crispy oyster mushrooms are breaded, fried, and sitting in a tangy and herbaceous mojo verde pool. The tangy sauce mixed with those savory shrooms wraps my mouth in happy. Our fourth tapa, grouper cheeks, arrives late after the main dishes are served. It’s four bites of tender grouper baked in olive oil and garlic and sprinkled with parsley.
Crispy Oyster Mushrooms in a pool of lush Mojo Verde
Pickled Beets with skordalia accented by dill is a bright, sweet, chilled surprise.
Seared Scallops, Cauliflower Pimentón Coulis could use a little more pizazz, but are a buttery bite
There are six large plate options, and three of them are Paella; Verduras (vegetable), Salvaje (with everything- chicken, pork belly, gaucho sausage, chorizo, and chickpeas), and Mariscos (traditional seafood- shrimp, clams, mussels, calamari.) Paella is a national dish in Spain originating in Valencia. It’s the litmus test for modern Spanish cuisine. Let’s start there. We opt for Paella Mariscos, a large cast iron pan packed with a generous amount of seafood on a bed of saffron-infused rice and garnished with parsley. A challenge in preparing this dish is getting the rice done while dealing with differing cooking times for the seafood. Everything is just right. Mussels and clams are open and warm, medium shrimp are firm and tasty, and the calamari rings are slightly chewy and tender. The rice is rich and complex with a taste that combines savory, smoky, and slightly sweet flavors.
The supreme dish of the night, the pièce de resistance (however you say that in Spanish) is whole Branzino (Mediterranean sea bass), served with carrots, arugula, and cider vinaigrette. The presentation is beautiful. For added drama, we elect to have it fileted and deboned tableside, a feat handled brilliantly by our server. After placing the steamy dish in the middle of the table for communal dining, we all clamor for a bite of the fresh, flakey, tender white fish. It is fabulous… and gone in minutes.
Paella Mariscos, with shrimp, clams, mussels, and calamari, is rich and complex
The evening's hero is Branzino, with carrots, arugula, and cider vinaigrette. The presentation, tableside prep, and flaky white fish take the top prize.
Gone in sixty seconds (almost). Tableside Branzino prep adds to the experience. That beautiful Mediterranean sea bass is fileted and boned before we make it disappear
The Barcelona dessert menu has a standard coffee and tea offering and four desserts. Two of the four options also have a Spanish influence. Flan Catalan and Basque Burnt Cheesecake come with a Spanish accent, but we try our luck with the (trendy) Olive Oil Cake and Chocolate Cake with Coffee Crème Anglaise. Both are respectable. The warm chocolate cake hits like a lava cake, gooey on the inside, with almond crumble outside. It’s a satisfying tapas wrappas.
Chocolate Cake with coffee crème anglaise and a crunch almond crumble hit like lava cake with its warm, gooey insides
It wouldn’t be a Spanish meal without Flan Catalan. Look at that beautiful caramel!
We’ll be back. We left too many temptations untasted. Did I mention 32 tapas? Take in Barcelona when you are ready to experience one of Tampa’s hottest trends and excellent Spanish food. They offer weekly specials like half-off bottles on Mondays. Reservations are strongly recommended. Parking can be tricky, but they do offer valet. Prices are South Tampa moderate, the atmosphere is energetic and loud, the service is friendly and fast, and their wine list is expansive.
Barcelona Wine Bar, 2907 W. Bay to Bay Blvd. 813.722.0202
Monday 4pm - 12am, Tuesday – Thursday, 4pm - 12am, Friday 4pm - 1am, Saturday 11am - 1am, Sunday 11am - 11pm, Saturday & Sunday Brunch 11am - 3pm