Barka Mediterranean Seafood & Steak — Restaurant in Mountain Lakes

I usually don't write reviews but this experience couldn't go unspoken. From the time my mom and I walked in, I thought great "I'm going to take my mom out for a nice meal." A friend of mine had highly recommended this place and I was looking forward to a good seafood paella. I had called ahead to make a reservation and we were seated in a booth. Being Superbowl Sunday there was 1 table with 4 guests who had placed their order and 1 couple who had finished their meal and just winding down. The other dining space may have had 1-2 tables occupied as a father was walking around with his child. I mention all of this to note that they were not busy. As we were perusing the menu, a lady came by to ask what water we'd like and later brought over some bread. By this time, the servers were all attending to the party of 4 whose food had arrived and afterwards walked by our table again without stopping by. The 3 male servers were off to the side talking to one another and continued to not come to our table to see if we'd like to order a drink or anything. The lady came by again to fill the water that I had finished and I asked if we could get someone to order some drinks. If I hadn't who knows how much longer we would have waited. He came over and explained that he thought someone else had the table, even though he had previously been talking with the other 2 male servers. So we ordered our drinks and an appetizer. I have lived in major cities and dined in all sorts of establishments, but I haven't ever felt this stigmatized and treated so differently based on the servers' perception of my English mom and Asian self. For a very nicely appointed restaurant that purports to be "upscale and sophisticated," they certainly lacked the class that they're trying to personify. There's a finer level of class that comes in the way we treat one another as human beings, which I've come across in less fine establishments where they may not have this ambience but it's made up in spades by the way they make each guest feel attended to. While the drinks and fried calamari were very good, the judgment and biases of the staff made for a horrible dining experience and we left without ordering anything else. I'm disappointed as I know the experience we had was based on perceived looks, prejudices and nothing more. If we had looked differently our dining experience may have been more favorable. Shame on the staff and management for letting anyone walk away with such an experience, they're in an industry where every guest should walk away feeling at the very least satisfied... by the food, service, etc. What a huge disappointment and if I could give no stars...

Barka is quite disappointing, especially at its price point. Hadn’t been for years, and my wife and I thought the last time we went it was a different restaurant. But it was the same. That last time she got a pasta dish and the pasta was overcooked to the point of mush (mush being a theme here). Similar experience this time around. I don’t write many reviews, but Barka charges enough that I think people should know what to expect before dropping that kind of money.

The food was very disappointing, with one exception. I ordered a stuffed calamari appetizer from the specials menu. The calamari was very tough, like rubber. But it was the stuffing that made the dish almost inedible. It was the consistency of wet mush (maybe like an off putting oatmeal), and unseasoned. Not good. It was in a tomato and olive sauce that was ok, but again, unseasoned. You just cannot make a tomato sauce without salt. Food 101. This was just bad. No other way to say it.

I got a dover sole entree stuffed with crab that was fine. But it came with risotto that was very overcooked. Again, it was mush. No consistency, no creaminess, nothing you would want in a risotto. Unfortunately, something like half of their dishes are served with risotto, but it seems they don’t know how risotto is supposed to be prepared. I ate the fish and left the overcooked rice on the plate.

The one exception was the Chilean sea bass my wife ordered. It came with risotto but, luckily, she subbed it out for sautéed spinach. The fish was cooked perfectly and the spinach was very good. This was a bright spot in our meal.

The wine list was basic, and disappointing for a restaurant that sells itself as a high end Mediterranean seafood spot. There were five Italian whites and four were Pinot Grigios. The other was from Piedmont. How about something Sicilian, or from a coastal region, that isn’t Pinot Grigio? Or something from Greece?

That might sound nit-picky, but Barka’s prices are very high. Dinner was $300 for the two of us before tip. It bills itself as a high-end restaurant, but it doesn’t execute on basics like pastas and risotto, doesn’t season a tomato sauce, and has basic, yet still high priced, wines. For the prices they charge, you should expect a kitchen that executes and wines that accentuate the food you are eating. At best, it’s a very bad value and at worst (the stuffed calamari, the risotto)...

“Husband and wife need hearing aid after dinner at Barka Mediterranean Grill”

A funny heading huh? Let’s say it all started when we got the colossal shrimp at $4 each. We were thinking we also needed new glasses when we saw that they were approximately a U15 size. $4 each? You have to be kidding me. U8 size would have been fair.

The main course was excellent. My wife had beef short ribs and I had Chilean Sea Bass. It was cooked to perfection. $39 so not cheap, but it was excellent. At the end of the meal, my wife expressed surprise that I never got the spinach as shown on the menu. I asked to see the menu again and I guess one could have been confused by the wording. However, there were perhaps two leaves mixed in with some white beans, so I really don't regard the menu as accurate portrayal of what is offered to diners. I love spinach so it struck a chord.

I mentioned this to our waiter and he was kind enough to tell the other waiter to not charge for the meal. I thought it was generous, especially as they came along with a small dessert for us to share shortly afterwards.

Things had worked out well until I saw that my bill included the full cost of the sea bass. I mentioned this to the waiter who swore he never said that it would be deducted. My wife and I were stunned. He swore he never said it……but he surely did. I didn’t care at this point. The damage was done and I told him to just take my Amex.

I have never had that done to me in four decades of fine dining. As a result, I left a $1 tip. I will not return, which is a pity, because the cooking was...