Address: 54 Frith Street, London, W1D 4SL
Summary: Worth the wait tapas.
We stopped by Barrafina on a week night, initially planning to meet friends, who could not make it last minute. The place, unexpectedly for us, was packed, and the waiter informed us early on that we are looking at an hour or so wait. But, people seemed to be enjoying the food so much that we decided to stay. After one hour and 15 minutes, a whole bottle of wonderful red Spanish wine, and some tapas (bread and olive oil - £2, toast with Al-i-oli £3, Chorizo, Potato and Watercress £6.9) and peering into a we-are-done-but-we-will-play-with-our-food-because-I-am-just-about-to-impress-him/her couple conversations, we were getting, well, himmm... impatient! If it were not for the two extremely competent waiters, who sense the tenseness of the queuers, we would have left long before we were summoned to an "outside" table. The night was warm, and our neighbouring table was friendly, so it was good that we agreed to be seated outside.
Aaah, finally the real food: pimientos de padron (£4.70) were nicely salty, except 2 very very spicy ones, they were a pure delight. I was not a huge fan of the classic tortilla (£5.90) as it was too runny inside in my opinion. Steve, on the other hand, liked it this way. Consulting with other Spanish people, we learned that what makes a good tortilla is a religious discussion, and it is very acceptable that it looks uncooked inside. Oh, well. The other two tapas we tried were: Grilled Quail with Al-i-Oli £6.90 and Rump of Lamp £9.90. Both are quite tasty, but, do not stand a chance to the simple pleasures of chorizo and padron peppers, bread, Al-i-oli.
As dessert, we had Chocolate Tart £4.70 and Crèma Catalana £4.50. Crèma Catalana was very nice, I love to break the sugar with my spoon to little pieces and this one cracked wonderfully. Chocolate Tart was OK, but it is always better to stick to the classics. :)
We had an entertaining time in Barrafina, thanks to mostly their excellent waiters. We will probably come again at a time we queue less.
