La Barceloneta — Restaurant in Reykjavik

A Taste of Spain That Missed the Mark

As someone who grew up enjoying authentic Spanish cuisine and tapas during frequent holidays, I visited Barcelonetta with high hopes. The atmosphere of the restaurant is fantastic—warm, inviting, and clearly aimed at creating a lively Iberian feel. Our initial optimism was further fueled by our Spanish-speaking server, suggesting a genuine connection to the cuisine.

Unfortunately, the promise of the setting did not translate to the food. The wait time for tapas was excessive, and when the dishes finally arrived, the portion sizes were noticeably meager, an issue that would truly disappoint any Spanish diner.

The Food: Small Portions, Major Inconsistencies

We ordered a selection of classic tapas and found several significant shortcomings:

Gambas al Ajillo (Prawns): This was the sole highlight of the meal. The flavor was excellent, but the portion—just five small shrimp—was shockingly small and provided poor value for the price.

Patatas Bravas: This dish was a major letdown in authenticity. The potatoes were served with what tasted like generic ketchup and aioli, lacking the traditional, and essential, spicy brava sauce. It was entirely bland and uninspired.

Chipirones (Fried Squid): These arrived over-fried, leaving them dry and largely flavorless.

Pulpo a la Gallega (Galician-Style Octopus): This was perhaps the most unusual and disappointing dish. The texture of the octopus was uncanny—so soft it seemed unnatural—and the accompanying potatoes were also heavily overcooked. This completely missed the mark for a simple, earthy Galician classic.

Croqueta: The croqueta was also a pale imitation of the authentic article, lacking the creamy, deep flavor and perfect texture one expects.

To try and erase the memory of the octopus, we shared the pudding for dessert, which unfortunately tasted like a commercially packaged mix.

Value and Final Impressions

Our small selection of tapas and two drinks came to 20,000 ISK, a price point that demands high quality and authenticity. Given the overall poor execution and minuscule portions, we felt the value was extremely low.

We did not try the paella or other rice dishes, as we had focused on tapas. However, based on this highly disappointing experience, I am hesitant to return to sample the rest of the menu, especially given the price. Barcelonetta has a beautiful space and friendly staff, but the kitchen needs to drastically improve the authenticity and quality of its tapas to...

On our short stay in Iceland we took a tour with an awesome Spanish-Icelandic guide Martin. I asked him for some great food recommendations and he recommended La Barceloneta. Sadly, they were closed the next day and then we had to leave for Greenland. Two weeks later, we came back to Reykjavik for one more night before going home and I really wanted to try the paella that I have been dreaming about for two weeks. I dragged our group there across the whole town, so the expectations were high. :) Well, La Barceloneta did not disappoint! First we got a bowl of salmorejo which was insanely delicious. Then we had the seafood paella while our friends ordered the chicken paella. We all loved the food. The people there were very nice and fun to chat with as well. I wish I lived closer so I could get my weekly serving of...

Had lunch there and chose a seafood paella lunch offer. The dish was basically a modest serving of paella rice with just two small peeled shrimps. That was the total amount of seafood in that dish and when I say small shrimps I mean the the small version, not just because they were peeled. The price was 3900 ISK. I really want to like this place and the guys running it seem nice enough, but this was really a rather sad affair for what I assume is supposed to be their signature dish. Maybe I was unlucky and should have complained, but I usually don't do that. The rice was tasty so this is more of a strong suggestion to them to make some effort because they can easily...