Barcino - Rockwell — Restaurant in Makati

The Rockwell branch of the Spanish themed restaurant chain. I like the ambiance and, most importantly, the food. I was meeting up with friends, so I wasn't able to take any pictures of the food, aside from the appetizers and drinks that I had while waiting for them. I'll just add more pictures when I go back (and it's good enough that I most probably will).

Service is cordial, but the staff get rather hassled as peak hours approach, such is the popularity of the place. I arrived late afternoon, so I had no problem calling attention and getting service. But my friends arrived early evening, and we stayed a few hours, and as the place filled up, it was harder to get service. Then when we got our bill, it was confused with someone else's. But everything was eventually sorted out, and all through it all, the staff maintained a pleasant demeanor. For the record, it wasn't an attempt to charge us for extra, because once we had sorted things out, we actually ended up paying slightly more than their first charge. It was just a bit of a hassle that could have been avoided with better procedures. Still, just a minor glitch, and not something that will...

had a laid back week night (outdoor) dining experience here. the place was not too crowded but i think they have a few servers coz the service is kinda slow. we even asked to take our pic, the crew said will get back at us, but i guess she forgot.

loved the tapas/dishes we tried —— croquetas de quezo asul (nice crunch in the outside, smooth soft & cheesy inside), almejas a la bilbaina (clams w chili garlic oil sauce), paella del mar (seafood paella), & gulas con gambas al ajillo (shrimps w tiny eels in garlic chili oil). had all of these with paradise sangria (red, we had 2 pitchers for the 3 of us 😝🍹)

we also had churros con chocolat & tartita de queso manchego (cheesecake) for dessert. i think we chose the right dishes this time and enjoyed all of it (we recently tried barcino in sm aura and we only had salad and paella and we didn’t enjoy the food much— the paella was burnt but undercooked (yeah i know, i don’t know how that’s possible too, haha!). good value for money, the only thing i think was overpriced was the gambas w tiny eels. overall experience was good. ☺️😋👣💕 #restlessfeet #eatlivewander...

First time visiting this branch. Not a very good experience.

Food ordered:

Tapas Croquetas pollo y jamon (250 for 4 pcs) - good, bur nothing to write home about Patatas bravas (390) - sulit

Paella Paella de Senyoret (1,280)- supposedly the lazy version of the mixta con azafran (bestseller). Lazy in that there’s no need to peel the shrimp and shuck the mussels. But it seems the chef was lazy to add salt to it as well. AND. Where i take most offense- there was no soccarat!!! That’s a mortal sin for a paella.

Carnes Brocheta de Cerdo y Pollo (650) - honestly, we got this because nainggit kami sa neighboring table. What a mistake. The pork was very tough, chicken not fresh, with both underseasoned. Or parang no seasoning pa nga, like the paella. Wonder where their salt went that night. We couldn’t finish this dish, and no one wanted to take it home either.

Summary: the tapas are filling enough, i would suggest sticking to that with a glass of sangria and then transfer elsewhere for mains.

Overall, just… No. Super not...