BCN Taste & Tradition — Restaurant in Houston

Firstly, the service was excellent. Our server was clearly proud of the restaurant he worked in and it was not only enjoyable but refreshing to see. We were seated in a lovely enclave of two tables by a Picasso to admire throughout our meal. It was behind a glass situated between my fiance and I. We were also given a tour of the art after our meal which was so nice of them!

The FOOD itself was fine.

The patatas bravas were disappointing. I feel if you are going to "reinvent" a classic tapa that is loved by all.. you really have to do it in a way that still gives the people what they want. There was entirely too much cream involved. A dollop on each was too much not to mention the dipping creme on the side.. for what? Once in your mouth, it created a cream explosion. I could hardly taste the potato and any crispness the potatoes may have had was immediately overcome by the texture of the cream. The cream (mayo) itself was bland. 6/10.

The lobster sea cucumber rice was tasty But a few pieces of lobster would have gone a long way. The sea cucumber itself fell under the "cool to say we tried this" category but on its own did nothing for our palettes. It was enjoyable but not memorable. 7/10

The butternut squash soup was very good . I feel it was too heavy to be followed by a main but the flavor was there. We both agreed it got better as you ate it 8/10

For our mains, my fiance got the iberico pig. He enjoyed it! 8/10

I got the branzino. I thoroughly enjoyed the crispness of the skin without the fish itself being overcooked. The dish itself was not memorable.. a tad bland and while I knew it was accompanied by avocado I was disappointed to see it was just a half an avocado with some lemon in the center and a bit of glaze? It was fine.. but there are endless options to choose from when pairing a branzino and the grapefruit and avocado were just on the plate. It felt lazy. As another reviewer mentioned.. it felt like an experienced home chef prepared the dish which is not at all what one would expect.

The desserts were very good. I had the fillo dough filled with cream. It was delish with the raspberry puree. My fiance thoroughly enjoyed his molten cake.

I feel one needs to be chosen.. either classic dishes done traditionally and precisely in line with the classic catalan style OR a reinvention of the classics that elevates the original through much more flavor. It seems BCN has an identity crisis. (the soup felt inventive, but the pig and fish were simple, and the patatas bravas were just a let down).

Overall, would recommend for the experience especially if you are seated directly next to some artwork.. but do keep your expectations low for the dishes themselves. Happy to have tried it, we enjoyed our evening overall but expected more...

One star for a restaurant with a glorious reputation? Sadly so, but our eagerness to celebrate New Year’s Eve at BCN and the anticipation of its vaunted menu simply did not come close to meeting our expectations. The price of an evening at this homage to Catalonian food drifts in the stratosphere of fine dining in Houston, so we had expecting to be dazzled. The staff were lovely and the set menu looked sumptuous and inviting - we ordered wine and smiled at the surroundings and relaxed into the ambiance. The courses arrived one after another and, I hate to say it, they simply didn’t work, were a bit odd, or lacked the ‘wow’ factor expected of a high end dining. The cold foie gras diced and thrown into a mess of lettuce and syrupy pear on a plate case in point. The main dishes were good, but also just okay, with both our choices overcooked. You could argue we simply don’t understand Catalonian food, but we’ve enjoyed it in some of the finer restaurants in Spain and the dinner was an odd rather than intriguing translation. Service was slow rather than measured, adding to the contradiction the evening. Granted it was New Year’s Eve so perhaps the kitchen was pressed, but the cost of dinner was $700 for the set menu for two and a moderately priced bottle of wine. At that price, EVERYTHING should be spectacular rather than okay, making you wonder how the chef and kitchen pull it off. Rush or no rush, there are no excuses for poor presentation at this level. I have eaten at Michelin star restaurants for less and been blown away. I will happily pay for an extravagant and exceptional dinner that is memorable for extraordinary service, wine, and food; won’t blink an eye even though I don’t spend that kind of money lightly. Sadly, for a BCN experience, we both felt we would have been better off sharing a couple of plates at Pappadeaux’s and spending the rest on a bottle of brilliant vintage champagne. Sadly disappointing on...

We went to BCN on a Saturday night without reservations, arriving around 6:15 p.m. after nearby mass. Although they were booked full, they recognized that we were ahead of the main rush and scrambled to find us a table for two. Even the seats at the bar were reserved - so if you show up without a reservation (as did another reviewer), that's hardly a reason to give them a bad review because you can't plan ahead.

This is a very upscale restaurant with attention to fine-dining details that you will typically find only in European restaurants. They carefully follow all the protocols regarding plating, utensils, serving and clearing, and interaction with the waiter. If you want your waiter to introduce himself (or herself) and become your BFF, this is not the place for you. If you want to be continuously interrupted by your new BFF (the waiter), asking you "Howsitgoin'??", this is not the place for you. If you want to show up in blue jeans or cutoffs and flip-flops, this is not the place for you (I don't know if they have a dress code, but every customer that I saw was well dressed - at the very least with button-down shirts. Many were in jacket/tie.)

A small cheese and olive appetizer was complimentary and had some of the tastiest olives I've had in a long time.My mixed green salad with a variety of European cheeses and citrus was wonderful. I then had lobster with rice and a fish-stock sauce (I think). Delicate and delicious. My wife had fish - equally delightful, she said. The bread is really good, and its hard brown crust reminded us of European table bread.

One last comment for these Google reviews. I noted a recent one for BCN with ONE star and no supporting commentary. If somebody posts such a detrimental rating without saying why, it should be removed by Google since it impacts the "headline" of how many stars the restaurant is...