Bodega La Puntual — Restaurant in Barcelona

My husband and I went here for lunch and took his son and daughter-in-law for her birthday while we were all visiting Barcelona. The experience was great. I had made a reservation online, which is very convenient. The place seems to get quite busy and is popular so definitely book a table if you're more than 2 people and you don't want to sit at stools. The space is quite large, opening up in the back once you get past the front bar area. It's charming inside and comfortable.

We ordered the meat tablet, the Manchego cheese tablet, had bread with tomato, then the pimientos de padron (fried green peppers), their patatas bravas, and two orders of their Bombas. It was all delicious and the portions were a great size for sharing between 4 people. Along with the bottle of wine for three of us, my husband and his son had a few large beers. For all that, it was a great price, especially considering that we got a nicer bottle of wine. My only constructive criticism is that the bravas came out really fast and we would have preferred if they had brought the meat and cheese first and taken more time bringing out the dishes. When we got the check, our server offered us 'chupitos' (shots of liquor) on the house and we chose the crema de orujo which is really nice. It's great to see places still doing that because it's a typical Spanish tradition but is not done as much as it used to be.

The server we had was a young woman who was very nice. She was attentive but didn't rush us, and she gave us great recommendations for wine. We chose one of their nicer bottles from the region and it was wonderful. The other staff we encountered were also very nice, saying hello as we passed by when we arrived and were seated, and saying goodbye when we left.

I've read some reviews that say this place caters to tourist but that is the way it is with all the places in this area. And even with that, it's still a great place. We had a great time and would...

Waiters preferred to let me choke than give me a piece of bread.

I have come here several times in my trips to Barcelona. This time I got a larger fish bone stuck in my throat, I could still breathe but not well and was struggling speaking a bit. I just wanted some water and a dry piece of bread to try and dislodge it, as I was worried it would get in a place where my throat would maybe close up. So I signaler for the waitress, explained and asked her. After 5 minutes she finally came with some water, which didn't help. I asked her again, obviously my face is red. She comes back with her colleague, and he tells me that he cannot give me bread and I'd have to pay for it. (we had already finished our meal for two people) Worst customer service I've ever experienced. If you have a paying customer with a red face who is obviously distressed, I think you can afford to give out a piece of bread. Or just bring me the bread at least and worry about the rest after. A part of me wishes I would have passed out and interrupt the service. What a disgrace. I suggest you take your money to any of the other tapas places that have food just as good, but at least wouldn't cause of fuss for something like this. What an...

The Cheescake is really interesting - it’s one thing we enjoying during our visit. On another hand everything else from quality of the food, prices and ambient were disappointing. We ordered pulpo and burrata. Both came within 3 min of ordering meaning the dishes are prepared. It fought our attention straight away and not to be surprise - pulpo for a horrendous price of 30 euros and a neglible portion was completely hard and chewy, absolutely overcooked. But they don’t seem to care because they get all the traffic that can’t get space in the amazing Xampanyet or Tapeo just in front. Don’t make our mistake - it’s worth waiting for a place in a good restaurant and avoid paying crazy prices in la puntual for really bad food. On positive side: if you are lucky to be seated in the main room the ambient there seemed nice, unfortunately we were sat in the corridor by the kitchen with all the waiters running back and forth just on our back. It was more stressful than anything. Not recommending...