Spain Dining in the U.S. at Barcelona Restaurant in Connecticut, Review of West Hartford Location: "
No matter how much I wish I was in Spain right now, I am stuck in the United States....thinking about good times and good authentic tapas and pealla.
Luckily for me and anyone located in the Northeast United States, the centrally located state of Connecticut is home to 6 Barcelona Wine Bar & Restaurants. Barcelona Wine Bar & Restaurant is a Spanish restaurant with a focus on tapas, a handful of entrees and a long list of expensive wine.
The 6 locations are Greenwich, Stamford, Fairfield, South Norwalk, New Haven and West Hartford.
Before chosing one, I read several reviews. Each location is different - different atmostphere, different menu, different chef, different waitstaff. Some restaurants are smaller, some are bigger. Some waitstaff can be new and unskilled, some can be excellent and polished.
Me and my guest chose the Bacelona West Hartford, CT location.
What's especially cool about Barcelona West Hartford?
- The menu changes weekly. The chef is always brewing up something new. The downside is the dishes I mention may not be available when you go.
- The restaurant is cozy and warm. The interior section is nicely designed and there's a bar area too. On a warm June evening, we sat outside on the patio. It kind of has the laid-back feeling of Spain.
- The location. Barcelona West Hartford is located in West Hartford Center, a nice little shopping district with a lot of unique shops (a rarity these days) and other bars and restaurants that is fun to walk around.
Drinks
We went with something basic that reminds me of good times in Spain: a pitcher of Sangria. Barcelona West Hartford had a choice of white wine or red wine sangria. We've only had red wine sangria before. So we tried something different and went with the white wine sangria. Sangria is a mixture of wine and juice. The drinking glass had fruit rinds in it for flavoring. It was around $27 for a pitcher. Not cheap, but it was good. The pitcher we had was more than enough for 2.
Tapas
Tapas are small portions, like appetizers in the US, except that in Spain, a full meal can be the result of eating 3 or 4 tapas while hopping from restaurant to restaurant as part of a socializing experience. Barcelona West Hartford had a nice selection of tapas: ham (jamon) dishes, tortilla espanola, empanadas, anchovies, various seafood choices and lots more.
We shared a tortilla espanola, which is a potato and egg omelette that came in the shape of a pie wedge. Very good. We also had beef empanadas, which consisted of beef wrapped in a dough shell and served with sauce. Also very good.
Entree
Instead of just doing tapas, we saw paella on the menu and had to do that. My expectations were not high for paella in the US. However, I was pleasantly surprised. Paella can be made many ways, sometimes all seafood, sometimes all meat, sometimes a mixture. Barcelona West Hartford served a mixed paella with seafood and meat. When it came out, I was surprised to see 2 giant shrimp on top (gambas, I think). They don't come from US waters around here so my guess is that they were probably frozen and imported from Spain. Regardless, they still tasted pretty good. In traditional style, they were served head and all. Chop off the head, peal off the legs and shell, and eat. Easy and yummy.
Below the shrimp, the paella pan was full of delicious yellow rice. On the edges of the pan were mussels and clams. Mixed in the rice were chicken, chorizo sausage slices and a little bit of calimari.
How good was this paella versus other paella I've had? That's very subjective AND I love paella. I've had seafood paella on the beach in Costa Del Sol in Spain that I'd rate a 10. I've had fast food paella in Sevilla that I'd rate a 7. Everywhere else is an 8, including Barcelona West Hartford.
Dessert
Even though we were quite full from the tapas and paella, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to get churros con chocolate. Well worth it! We thought the churros con chocolate - fried dough that you dip in melted chocolate - were better than ones we have had in Spain! But to be fair to Spain, it was only by a small margin! Our general opinion is that churros con chocolat is great anywhere you can get it. If Barcelona West Hartford has it on the menu the night you visit, get it! It is likely better than anything else. When we went, the other desserts looked to be popular desserts common to many restaurants in the US and abroad - like flan and ice cream - though we didn't get to see what the other desserts looked like when prepared.
Other comments
Fine Spain dining like this is hard to find - believe me, I've looked - and comes at a price. The price is fair but if you go all out like we did, with tapas, entrees, dessert and wine, the tab may end up in the $100+ range for 2. For me, fancy dining is a rare occassion and I want it to be worth the price. Barcelona Wine Bar and Restaurant did live up to my expectations.
The Barcelona West Hartford location (971 Farmington Ave. West Hartford, CT 06107) is a little hard to find. It is not on the main street (though there's a sign). Instead, it is tucked away on a corner of a parking lot.
We went on a Saturday evening and we surprised it was not packed. I'm sure some days it is jammed full. Reservations are recommended and be done by calling or even right on the restaurant's website.
What's culturally different about the experience?
The norms of eating in a restaurant in Spain are different than in the US. The US is more fast-paced and restaurant patrons are always in a rush. In Spain, restaurant patrons usually take their time, sometimes spending a few hours in the restaurant, sipping on cafe con leche after the meal and in no hurry to go anywhere. Barcelona West Hartford reflects the social norms of the US instead of Spain.
The waitstaff in the US make their money from tips which are usually around 15% of the total price of the meal. The waitress we had was very attentive and asked us several times if we needed anything else - almost too many times. The waitstaff in Spain are often full-timers who do not get paid on tips like in the US. In Spain, the norm is to put your hand up to flag the waitstaff when you need something, like the check.
La cuenta, por favor! (check, please)
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