Restaurante La Barca del Salamanca — Restaurant in Barcelona

WARNING to first time visitors – Be careful what you are ordering at Salamanca so you are not stuck with enormous bill.   I debated writing a review on our meal because the meal was really excellent in terms of taste and meal preparation however afterward I still felt like I was a little taken advantage of and delivered food without knowing the price.  Perhaps it is partially my own fault but I read a few other reviews that said similar things so I thought I would relay my experience so others could be aware.

We are a family of 4 and stopped hungry for dinner before many people had arrived yet on March 25.  Our daughter saw the lobster and expressed interest, so we told the waiter.  He brought my wife over to the seafood counter and showed her the seafood presentation table and she mentioned a few things that we like.  He promptly came back and took our menus and said he would prepare something for us.  My wife mentioned she wasn’t sure exactly what they planned to cook but said it might cost a bit because of the seafood.  I was fine with a little more expensive of a meal and therefore not having to think ponder over the menu.  I didn’t really get a chance to look at the menu much as I was attending to the kids, but I did notice some of the prices were on the high end so I thought it could wind up in the $250 range.  That would be on the very expensive side for our family, but I thought it would be a fun experience, so being a little too trusting I went with it (oops!).

My son is 10 and pretty picky eater so he only ate a bowl of spaghetti and some of the dessert pieces.  My daughter is only 7 and ate a portion of an enormous lobster they cooked for her.  They brought a huge seafood plater for my wife and I that was filled with several lobsters, shrimp, clams and a large octopus appetizer prior to that.  As I said everything was really delicious but we struggled to eat it all left some things uneaten.  It was all a long a bit vague and unclear what pricing would be and whether even the little things that were delivered to our table without request, were on the house or not (like the bread, dessert,  little aperitif, etc.).  At one point I noticed the neighbor table make a bit of a stink about the waiter bringing appetizer things they didn’t order.  At first I thought “what’s the big deal” but later realized they were maybe keen to this practice and didn’t want to be charged for things they didn’t order or couldn’t finish because they were full.

As you probably guessed the meal price was really crazy. (€ 650 ).  With tip and conversion it was nearly $800.    I have never spent that much for a meal before in my life, and certainly wouldn’t desire to.   The waiter stood there carefully pointing out gratuity was not included and watched me closely…clearly expecting a tip.  I did add a tip to the bill but looking back on it I wished I hadn’t because it felt like we were not given a good opportunity to understand what was being brought and how much it would cost us.  The big lobster for my 7 year old was € 200 just itself.  (who would expect to deliver that as a meal for a 7 yr old and that she would eat it all?).  Embarrassingly, the 4 of us know Spanish so we can’t reasonably say it was a language issue either.  After thinking about it the next day I felt a bit embarrassed and taken advantage that I should have pushed back more clearly up front what the prices of the items were and what was actually being ordered and cooked for our family.  I do therefore take some responsibility in the expense for not giving the waiter more boundaries.

I do think you will enjoy the food at Salamanca however my suggestion if you eat here is to make it very clear what you do and do not want for your meal and reject anything that was brought without you asking.   I also suggest you ask the cost of everything up front, and  I hope you can avoid the exorbitant bill we...

We enjoyed a delicious dinner at Salamanca this week. It was chilly outside, so we hesitated to sit in the outdoor tent. But once inside, we realized it was perfectly heated and evenly warm throughout. This gala tent venue would be suitable for large wedding receptions or other outdoor gala events. The only downside is that the tent walls are opaque, so you can not enjoy a view of the beautiful Barceloneta beach just a few steps away.

Once we were seated, the waiter, Gul, greeted us warmly and delivered a dish of tomato toast to our table as he asked for our drink orders. If you are fussy about a small charge (2E) and don´t want the toast, you can tell them to remove it. We enjoyed it along with our delicious cocktails: a light and perfectly balanced mojito with plenty of muddled fresh mint, lime, and white rum and a Hendricks Gin and Tonic.

While we were still deciding among the many choices on their extended menu, another small appetizer plate arrived. Again, you can decline the offering if you want, but we were quite famished, both of us having skipped lunch, so we enjoyed the thinly sliced Iberian sausage and olives.

We ordered the Seafood Soup from Grandma´s Recipe, Red Prawns with Garlic, Grilled Fresh Prawns from Vinaros, Grilled Sole a la Meuniere, Galician-style Octopus, and a plate of fresh grilled vegetables. What a feast!

The Sopa de Marisco Receta de la Abuela was the best fish soup I have had in Barcelona. The broth was rich and full of a variety of seafood. The seasoning perfectly harmonized with the fish, subtly enhancing its flavors. The serving of soup was so large that I enjoyed only half of it and took half home to enjoy for lunch the next day.

My dining companion was thrilled with her octopus. It was fresh, tender, and crunchy, and its coating was crunchy.

Next, we dived into the Gambas Rojos de Playa al Ajillo. Again, the freshness of the seafood was apparent. They were bathed in a mouth-watering garlic, herbs, and butter reduction—a perfect delight!

We then shared the Sole Meuniere, Langoustines, and vegetables. The sole was fresh and flavorfully matched with its Meuniere sauce, which used the light flavors of butter, parsley, and lemon juice to enhance its mild and delicate flavor. The Langoustines were perfectly cooked and were mild and sweet with nice large chunks of seafood to pry from the soft shells. The veggie plate abounded with savory mushrooms, a potato, cherry tomatoes, and a bit of red pepper.

After this feast, fully half of which we took home to enjoy the next day, we had no room for dessert, even though their dessert menu looked large, varied, and tempting. Our serviable waiter brought a couple of mango shots, which were the perfect digestif. Gul´s service throughout the meal was attentive and genial without being overly present. I never like to have wait service that hovers. Gul always appeared at just the right moment to bring the next dish or clear away the remains. We were very happy with his service and factored that into our tip. Considering everything we ordered, and including our tip, the total was about 150 euros, which, although alot, was appropriate for the amazing spread, the quality of the food served, and the excellent service. We will go back again, especially when we have visitors we...

Tldr: For the sake of your money and a sincere recommendation from a fellow human, I would strongly advise to avoid this place unless you are looking for a tourist trap which hard-sells frozen-tasting seafood and undercooked rice.

Details:

We decided to give this restaurant a try on our 2nd last night in wonderful Barcelona, seeing that it had an average 4.1 star google review. Boy, were we in for a nasty treat.

Ambience +Pros: Look and feel of the restaurant was pretty by the bay, albeit with music a little too loud.

-Cons: You will see touters outside the restaurant trying to welcome you into their restaurant with smiley faces. Funny how they didn’t even bother to look at us when we left after eating.

Food +Pros: Portions were large. On a side note, please note that price of paella on the menu is for 1 person (minimum order size is 2 person). We noted that this disclaimer was not on the menu and was only made know to us after we proactively clarified with the Indian waiter, whose poor service I would cover later below.

-Cons: We were so excited to try the paella in Barcelona and if it could outshine the one we had in Valencia ,which is the origins of Paella (Absolutely recommend Restaurant Navarro if you visit Valencia). With the tasteless seafood which crumbles in your mouth coupled with crunchy rice, this restaurant gives Barcelona a terrible name. My SO also started to throw up and had the runs when we got back to the hotel. But ok, I would like to stay factual here and not call wolf without having actual medical forensic evidence which links it to then restaurant food.

Service +Pros: Waiter offered to show us some “live seafood” at the back to choose. Turned out to be prawns mussels on ice. We note that the waiter picked up these raw seafood with his barehands and tossed them around disrespectfully like they were trash, for the lack of a better word. -Cons: I am usually very forgiving of amateur waiters. It is a challenging customer-facing job no doubt. However, what I cannot condone is a waiter with a sense of entitlement. This Indian waiter we had kept trying to coerce us to purchase more food when we already order 2 mains and a starter (only 3 dishes? How about more starters? Or some seafood platter?). By the way, we barely finished 30% of the food due to the above mentioned reasons. The straw that broke the camels back was when the bill came. The waiter had the cheek to quip “just to let you know, service charges are not included in the bill”. He probably though I didn’t know Spanish but I did see run through the receipt and saw a 10% Servicio included. Nonetheless, I still rounded up the bill to the nearest Euro against my better judgement. You should have seen the look on his face when he saw the 80cents “tip”. In fact, I was expecting him to question me on the small tip, which would give me the opportunity to provide his lady manager some constructive feedback. I suppose he knew better and whisked away in a huff.

Conclusion:

Avoid. Worst food and service in Barcelona hands-down. On a side note, visit Ciutat Comdal if you like some nice...