Bardeni el meatbar - Caldeni — Restaurant in Barcelona

Perhaps if you enjoy raw or undercooked meet, or previously prepared food, or just saying you dined at a Michelin star restaurant, you might enjoy this place. I notice most reviews are quite old, so perhaps this used to be much better. We ended up here after our concierge recommended it for lunch after and due to the proximity to our La Sagrada Familia tour as it was a short walk and the area was filled with mostly take out style and casual restaurants otherwise. We were seated by 1:40 and the restaurant was almost filled at the time. The menu is rather limited to mostly beef, much of it what I would describe as delicacy items for those that enjoy more exotic food, ie sweetbreads, oxtail canneloni, steak tartare. Coming from So Cal near the beach, we have plenty of fine dining and beef options, although do not really care for some of these more exotic options. But, we decided to try to the steak tartare, and play it safe by ordering tuna tataki which is common where we live. We also ordered bottled water, bread with olive oil, two steak sandwiches and two orders of meatballs for entrees (that were supposed to be in a romensca sauce described by waitress as being made with tomatoes and peppers). We never received our water nor the olive oil, but did receive butter which they actually charge you for, as well as the bread. Forgot to check if we were charged for the water and olive oil as that is extra as well. Anyhow, the steak tartare was okay if you are into steak tartare. The tuna tataki was seared rare as described, but it was served entirely cold even on outside like it had been pre-made. In fact, in the red center were several brown spots as if it has been exposed to air. It did not taste that fresh and the sauce was just okay. It was one of the worst tuna tataki dishes I have had. When ordering our mains, we had asked if the meatballs could be cooked a bit more since they are cooked medium rare, and one person in our party asked if the sauce on their sandwich could be on the side, before ordering. We were told by the waitress a flat no with no explanation. We had no idea our steak sandwiches would be prepared rare (although she did mention the medium rare on the meatballs) as there was no mention by waitress or on menu even though we did inquire about it. The meatballs were indeed medium rare as we were told, but the entire meatballs were on the cold side, like they had been prepared about an hour before. Maybe this was because we did not get the food until about 2:40 after the kitchen closed at 2:30. But when we asked to warm up the food, we were told no, again no explanation. Our steak sandwiches also came rare and thus unedible for us and when we also asked to cook them more, we were also told no, also no explanation. When we told the waitress we could not eat them in this rare condition, but she said there was nothing she could do. She did not offer to take it off the bill, nor offer us anything else. She simply walked away. The meat of the meatballs were moist and would have been good had they been freshly prepared and warm. I am unclear what sauce they were actually in as it looked like clear beef broth and had little taste. It certainly was not a tomato and pepper sauce though. We all shared some of the cold meatballs because the rest of our food was not edible at all. The steak was also very fatty as it was very visually noticeable. It was said to be from Kansas. While that might be special to someone in another country, that is not a big deal from someone coming from S Cal. I have to question the people who said this is best meat or beef they have had anywhere, and where else they have dined before. We paid for the food we did not eat, and it was the only bad meal and negative experience we had of our week long trip. I do not usually leave many reviews, good or bad, but I felt I should forewarn others to hopefully prevent them from having a similar...

Best meal of my time in Barcelona over the past week, bar none. I visited solo and sat at the bar, having booked conveniently online. My Spanish isn’t what it used to be, and the lovely ladies behind the bar (I’m sorry I didn’t take their names) were most accommodating. There were too many appealing things on the menu, so I elected for 4 items and only had a slight bit of my last course available, passing on dessert.

Now to las comidas, I started with the pastry of leek with foie gras. This was one of the best bites I’ve ever eaten, and I’d fly to Barcelona just to eat it. Photo below. Next, they offered me a chance to just have one unit each of the taco and the fricando sandwich. I have photographed the taco, but was too excited for the fricando sandwich to remember to take a photo. Finally, the suckling pig which was a daily special. The crispy ness of the skin is EXACTLY as you dreamt it would be, and the sweetness of the apple and sauce cuts through the richness perfectly. I left a small amount and had no room for dessert.

I’m not going to win a Pulitzer Prize for this review, but I can tell you now that when anyone asks me where to eat in Barcelona, it will be Bardeni for a nice ambiance, kind staff, reasonably priced flawless food, and an all around warm experience that any meat lover will savor.

Now, go and book your table at the best...

Extremely rude wait staff. Insulting service. Will not go back.

We went into Bardeni at 8.30pm, ordered two glasses of cava and started to look over the menu. The waiter kept insisting that we order food right away, even though we were still unsure what we wanted. We felt a lot of pressure and hostility from the waiter. Both me and my friend started to feel really uncomfortable.

Then we were told that we had to clear the table before 10pm for other guests (even though reservations are not allowed). That would give us 1 hour to eat, which is not a lot of time. He said we had to order at least 3 dishes right away or that we had to leave. My friend felt uncomfortable because of his tone and said that maybe we will just go to another place. The waiter then very rudely replied that that would be better for him, and he would prefer us to leave. We hadn't even been there for 15 minutes. We left without paying for the cava which we had barely touched. We were both very offended and disgusted by his manners. We asked for the waiter's name but they refused to tell us...