Barcelona has been on my list for a very long time, mostly because it's one of the very few places in the area serving escargot. When I was invited to join someone for dinner here, I jumped at the opportunity.
I was pleasantly surprised at the inside, I was expecting an old school, outdated dining room for some reason. It was nice and bright inside with comfortable seating and tablecloth settings. I probably passed this place 100 times and I actually didn't know it was so close to me. The service was pretty slow for my table, but I don't mind a slow paced dinner so it's not a big negative. Took a while to get our drink order in and for the wine to arrive. After that, everything was paced well for a relaxing dinner.
As mentioned, I had to order the escargot. I love it and order it at any chance I can, so I was excited to try their preparation. "Caracoles" on the menu, Spanish for snails, served in a pesto sauce with peppers, a top a piece of toasted bread. It was a great dish, the snails were plump and delicious, the pesto was a perfect match, and a bite of everything was perfectly balanced. It was a fun dish and would be good introduction to escargot for anyone.
The entrees are served with a side salad and bread so that came out next. It's a treat to find restaurants that still include bread and salad with entrees, however I will say this course left a lot to be desired. The greens were a little limp and warm, and the blue cheese seemed bottled. The bread was warm but I do not believe they make it in house, and the olive tapenade was maybe 3 pieces of olive in a bowl of olive oil with no seasoning. Not really an issue but a chilled salad plate and house dressing would have went a long way.
I ordered the Veal Daniel, and my dining partner ordered the Tilapia Perez. The tilapia dish looked great and was enjoyed, it was a really nice Maine lobster tail on top, which is great because other pictures I saw it looked like it was served with warm water lobster tail which is no comparison to the real deal. My entree, Veal Daniel, while it was delicious and prepared very well, was not what I expected. It was similar to a creamy tomato vodka sauce when it was described as a Jack Daniels cream sauce. Maybe I misunderstood the menu, as I was expecting more of a mushroom cream sauce. That being said, it was delicious. The linguini was perfectly al dente, the dish was very well seasoned and the veal was super tender. I love veal and I order it whenever I can. Both dishes were presented nicely and the portions were perfect. I took half of my entree home.
Over all, I think my experience was really good and exceeded my expectations. This place is not talked about too often, maybe due to the old school dining perception. I will note that the dining crowd was on the older side and it's not a new, modern dining experience like other trending spots. But it was really good for what we got and the prices were fair. The woman at the host station, who I assume is the manager or owner, was very welcoming and gracious during the visit. They have a large menu and I wouldn't hesitate to return and try another dish. Solid spot. read more