Bar Catalina — Restaurant in Mississauga

My girlfriend and I have tried many restaurants in the Port Credit Area and since we love Tapas and Paella, decided to give Bar Catalina a try.

The lady on the phone was super pleasant and told us our food would be ready in an specified time, and it was. We left and there was a small inconsistency with our order. I called back and the lady quickly made ammends and offered us a free dish for the inconvenience.

Here's what we tried:

Appetizer:

Croqutas de Jamon iberco (ham croquettes)

This was absolutely delicious and a "home-run" of an appetizer. It's a croquette with ham inside and garlic aioli dipping sauce on the side. There are 4 croquettes per serving. This appetizer is filling for one or two persons.

Mains:

Paella Valencianca (chicken and rabbit paella)

This paella was obviously freshly made and the ingredients fresh. While flavourful I found the meat to be a tad dry. The lima beans were cooked perfectly. If you like the taste of saffron then you'll enjoy this paella. This dish is filling for two people.

Secreto iberto de bellota (grilled pork flank steak, potatoes, and onions)

This meat dish was the favorite main course meal. The flank steak was perfectly cooked, but lacked a touch of seasoning. The potatoes were perfectly cooked, sweet, and melted in your mouth. This dish is filling for one person.

Dessert:

Torrijas (Spanish style French toast)

This Spanish style French toast is one thick cut sweet-ish dessert. It almost reminds me of tres leches a little bit, but in the form of french toast. The one slice is filling for one person.

Overall Impression:

I thought the food was definitely fresh and prepared by hands that cared. The portions could be a little larger in my opinion. Also I think a little bit more attention could be given when preparing food to avoid mishaps/incorrect orders. However, overall I enjoyed my meal and would like to give this restaurant another chance once dine in...

4.4 Stars

🅿️ Parking ⭐️⭐️ 🗒️ Unfortunately, this place does not have its own parking lot, but there are regulated public parking lots with meters, and parking is free on Sundays from 9 AM to 10 PM.

🖼️ Decoration ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 🗒️ The place is small but cozy, the decoration is in line with the restaurant's theme, we particularly loved the decoration of the bar and the stairs leading down to the bathroom.

👃🏼Smell⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 🗒️ The place has the typical great smell of a typical Spanish restaurant, the building doesn't have any inappropriate smells like some other places in the area.

🚻 Restrooms ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 🗒️ The bathrooms were clean, had everything necessary like soap, paper towels, and no bad smell.

Waitress⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 🗒️

⏱️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 🗒️ There were only two more occupied tables in the place, we ordered at 2:10 PM and our appetizers (croquettes and octopus) were served at 2:18 PM. Our paella at 2:30 PM.

🍷Beverages ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 🗒️ We could see on the menu a wide selection of national and imported wines, prices were reasonable, ideal for good conversation and enjoying good food.

🥘 Food ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 🗒️

Ham croquettes: We would give them 4 stars. Octopus: We would give it 4.5 stars, the cooking was perfect, the presentation magnificent, but a bit low in salt, the temperature was not adequate. Fish and seafood paella: Undoubtedly the most anticipated dish of the occasion, but we must admit that unfortunately it did not meet our expectations, although the appearance was quite good, it lacked that typical crust of a good paella, and there was excess oil, we would give it a 3.5.

🍮Dessert ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 🗒️

💲Prices ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 🗒️ Excellent, in line with the quality, location, and portions....

Perfect ambience and food, this restaurant takes you right to Spain without catching a plane. It feels like you’re in a bar in Andalucía!

Customer service is great. Kitchen was closing in 20 minutes and still, they made a paella for us (it takes about 30 minutes to get it done). They all went above and beyond to make our experience perfect.

Croquetas de jamón ibérico were the perfect flavour and texture, just like my mom makes them :) Patatas bravas tasted incredible. Potatoes were cooked to perfection, crispy outside and soft inside as they should be, and the sauces were just like the ones you will taste in Spain. The sangria was the best I’ve tried in Toronto! And the star of the night was the paella valenciana… as an alicantina myself (from Alicante, Comunidad Valenciana, Spain), I know how a paella valenciana has to be done and this one was exactly how it has to be done! A real paella valenciana, and whoever says the contrary does not know enough or anything about Spanish gastronomy. They make the paella with all the correct ingredients: rabbit, chicken, garrafón, bomba rice,… The technique used for having some sticky rice to the pan (socarrat) is what makes this paella more authentic and what made it perfect. I was just missing some alioli or lemon on the side as I’m used to, but still, it was perfection! Crema catalana was the perfect finisher for the night, and again… perfectly cooked :)

I can’t wait to visit again and try the rest...