Barcelona Wine Bar — Restaurant in Minneapolis

Barcelona is... technically a wine and tapas bar. There are so many wines available. I asked for a chardonnay recommendation, went with the recommendation, and most certainly was not served what I ordered. It was a good enough white wine, but it was not a buttery chardonay. I know my wine tastes are no longer en vogue, however, it is still nice to be served what you ask for- especially if the restaurant is sold as a wine bar.

The restaurant is busy and vibrant. Patrons aged from just old enough to drink alcohol to middle aged, well dressed for the most part. People were on dates or in groups of friends. The decor was modern art mixed with antique books, exposed bricks, and low lighting. The music volume is very loud, and I had to yell across our very small table to be heard by my partner. By the end of our 1.5 hour experience my voice was shot. The tables were small, closely packed, and not especially comfortable.

We ordered several tapas while we were there. The sourdough marscapone was undercooked, and the chorizo was arguably pork but not at all chorizo. It was buttery and salty and the sauce was very soupy. Luckily we had also ordered focaccia so we could dip our bread in it. However, to call the tiny loaf we had focaccia was a stretch. It was a very small, room temperature, square of what seemed to be whole wheat bread that was slathered in olive oil and salt. It was not at all a true focaccia. I don't recommend it. We also got the burrata, which was nothing like any other burrata I've ever had. It was not a large deliciously creamy soft cheese ball that is well seasoned. It was very dissapointing; three very small balls of cold mozzarella on a bed of baby spinach and a microgreen of some kind, with some fresh herb on top and a lemony drizzle. Don't bother with that menu item. The scallops were uncooked, small, and few. They were on a soupy crunchy bed of celery (?) In a creamy cold sauce with capers and fennel. I would not recommend this item either. We had the hanger steak which was on an atrocious red pepper sauce that tasted like roasted red peppers that were powdered, mixed with flour, and then reconstituted. The steak was medium rare, a very small and chewy cut, served cold and had some crispy breaded onions on the side. Again, I do not recommend this menu item. The mushrooms were very decent, in a salty buttery cream sauce and served warm. The patatas bravas were decent. They were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, served with a flavorless red sauce and a creamy garlic sauce that was vaguely reminiscent of an aoli. Overall, it is expensive and loud and the food is not very good. The service is efficient, but not particularly warm or welcoming. They are clearly turning tables and very busy.

If you like to go out to trendy restaurants, it is that. However, if you are at all interested in enjoying your food I do not recommend this restaurant. There are much better wine and tapas bars...

1/5 overall. BEWARE. CASHLESS RESTAURANT. NOT LISTED IN TAB OR THEIR MENU.

I’ve been to 3 other Barca locations. This one was by far the least appealing.

Bar - waited 15 minutes without any acknowledgement or even a drink menu. We were waiting for a table anyway, but it just felt unprofessional. The smallest Barca wine bar by seats (by at least a third) I’ve seen. Maybe Minneapolis isn’t meant for wine bars?

Service - good. Our server was lovely. As a Spanish & Catalan & Portuguese & English speaker, I couldn’t understand how she was pronouncing some the words but I just went with what she was saying. That’s not an issue for me, I’m used to it personally and has nothing to do with the service in general.

Wanting to do wines with tapas at a small two top, I’m used to wine and a plate or two each round we order. We were warned by our server “The bar is taking longer than normal” and we didn’t care.

My biggest complaint was our server didn’t re-set our plates after we order another tapa and more wine. Not a huge issue. But we ordered the croquetas, and after 15 minutes of having those ordered, our first course plates finally then were cleared. Fine by me. Another 10-15 passed after ordering another drink (not being reset with silverware for the croquetas), and I asked if the croquetas were on the way. The server looked shocked and verbally said “I thought you had those already….” I just asked for the tab and not for her to have the kitchen “check on the order” because everything felt slow already, and I could tell by her not resetting the table she had no idea what was going on or what was ordered.

I’ve never had that bad of timing in a tapas restaurant for tapas.

After asking for the tab, we waited 10-15 mins for the server to come back. I hate leaving cash on a table without handing it to the server.

We left for the airport immediately after leaving the restaurant. I left cash for the restaurant and for a tip - I did not need change.

We were called 25ish minutes after our departure by the restaurant then saying “We are cashless” and even asked “can you come back”

Cashless restaurants still are required to accept cash as a currency, but do not have to offer change back.

The “cashless” perspective should have been put on the tab, and or menu. I was told “it’s posted on paper on our door.”. If you’ve ever been in the North Loop at night, no paper sign outside is visible. Especially for those of us with ocular issues. It’s usually something required on a menu or tab itself.

The tab itself, under croquetas were voided because of “Took too long” Which was printed on the tab and I personally thought looked tacky for them as a restaurant.

I was hoping to have 4-6 courses with lots of wine pairings. Barca MSP is not the place to go for that.

Airport restaurant service was surprisingly much more “fine” for us tonight,...

My foodie daughter really recommended Barcelona. So we made and early dinner reservation for four, to have dinner before going to the Guthrie. Walking into the dark, moody restaurant with brick lined walls, I passed a wall of wine bottles; looking quickly, Barcelona is very serious about its wines. My daughter had a house special Catalan Gin cocktail, and she loved it. My wife had a Gonzalo Obregon port, which seemed to have a tawny color and it could have been a bit more chilled, but since port doesn't appear in many restaurants, this was excellent. I struggled to read the menu, both for a lack of of light at table level and for the type which seemed to be about 0.25 point or smaller. I found a fantastic wine: a Rezobal Blanco, a Basque wine, whose taste was completely new to my palate. It reminded of a sauvignon blanc, but it had some minerality, citrus and it was very refreshing. Our server Mohammed was an excellent guide and advisor for our choosing the tapas, or small plates. I think we wound up having about two each, and we were all satisfied because each plate were little compositions of flavors and textures. Mohammed made sure to allow us to finish what was on the table before allowing the rest of the orders to be made.

Everything comes out hot from the kitchen, and this is a lovely way to dine. Our favorites included the homemade, fresh ricotta with roasted butternut squash and homemade focaccia; croquettes with ham and manchego cheese inside, served with garlic aioli was another consensus favorite; a simple looking chicken thigh was tasty; empanadas with the doneness of Cornish pasties held a spicy beef and came with a red pepper sauce; a small salmon plank was nice but salmon seems to dominate the flavor because of its texture and high sodium. It was a fine dish but the accoutrements of whipped parsnip with a touch of fennel were wonderful. We all shared a Basque cheesecake, which was totally unlike anything else we've had. We often order heavy, New York style cheesecake out of habit. I would order this again, anytime.

There are a couple of small nits. The wine glass size choices are 3 oz. or 6 oz. A four ounce pour is more standard, 3 seemed peculiar. Having to open iPhones with a flashlight is not a propos for fine dining, but I am not sure what the solution is.

For a unique wine and dining experience, you must stop by Barcelona. I will bring some pocket tools for my low vision issues, but I know that our family will be back. Thanks, Mo,...