La Barra — Restaurant in New York

Had a lovely tapas dinner on Saturday - since the restaurant was full, 5 of us sat around the bar and did have to wait a bit for our counters were cleaned & server showed up. Although we only ordered 3 orders of bread and 7 tapas plates, we left very satisfied and full.

FOOD ACEITUNAS ALIÑADAS - Spanish marinated olives ($7, 4/5). Can't go wrong. Order right away with bread ($4/per ~5" loaf) & olive oil. Ask the server for black pepper and rouse your appetite! ANCHOAS DE SANTONA PUJADO SOLANO - Anchovies served with pan con tomate ($25, 3/5). This one was rather expensive for what it was. Anchovies are savory and goes well with the slightly sweet acidity he of the tomato sauce on the bread, but it's mainly bread... GAMBAS AL AJILLO - Red shrimps w/ EVOO, garlic, chili, bay leaf and oloroso wine ($19.50, 5/5) A darkhorse. Shrimp itself is pretty decent, but it's the garlicky wine sauce infused w/ a chili that steals the show. Dip that bread, enough said. PULPO A LA GALLEGA - Boiled Spanish octopus w/ olive oil mashed potatoes ($25, 5/5) The famous octopus. It is not at all tough or rubbery but is just a pleasure in your mouth. Surprisingly filling with the creamy mashed potatoes. We ordered 2 and we licked the plate clean CROQUETAS DE POLLO - Chicken croquet w/ bechamel sauce (4/5, $14) Hard not to like. Yes, it is a bit heavy being creamy but really enjoyable because it's not dry and the skin is very light and crispy. Kids will love this. PATATAS BRAVAS - Fried potatoes w/ salsa brava and alioli (5/5, $14) The famous. Your french fries on steroids. It's like meatier version of Shake Shack fries but with addictive ketchup-y sauce that keeps you going back for more.

It's Little Spain market place so the vibe is great. I enjoyed the above with a glass of white but everyone else with table water did just fine. Our waiter was attentive (as much as he could) and we'd come back again for more... except we might just dine at the other stalls so that we can just sit in the general...

We went with friends to Mercado Little Spain for dinner. Very nice food court place. The variety of food choices and drinks. Finally we landed in restaurant Spanish Diner. Appetizers were great and I highly recommend to try them. CROQUETS DEL DIA had creamy full of flavors filling. And ENSALADILLA UCRANIANA were nicely crispy, made with the thin fluffy pastry and delicate filling with tuna. We enjoyed every bite of them. The main dishes can be devoted on successful part and the other not so. The star was CANELONES GRATINADOS CON FOIE. Hot, delicious, full of flavor souse and mix of filling in the thin layer of the canelones. You would not ever regret ordering it. FRICANDO DE TERNERA - a beef stew with mushrooms and white rice was ordinary, almost cold and nothing to say about. Just stewed beef. We were excited to get PAN CON TOMATE, but the bread was delivered cold with very plain taste of topping and felt as a week old. I love to eat lentils so I ordered LENTEJAS CON CHORIZO. It was a disappointment. No flavors, not enough seasoning with extremely hard and weird taste of sausage. Not really a dish that should be served. By the end of the dinner the cup of cappuccino and piece of TARTA DE QUESO ( goat cheesecake) was the great finisher. You definitely should visit this place but ask the advice of your waiter about food choices. All that our waiter recommended us were...

Disappointing Experience at La Barra - Won’t Be Coming Back

My friends and I decided to visit La Barra at the Spanish Mercado in Hudson Yards, expecting a great dining experience, but instead, we were met with rude service, disorganization, and overall bad vibes.

From the moment we arrived, the staff's attitude was unwelcoming and unprofessional. A male waiter with a beard made us wait to place an order until he personally came over, and when we politely asked if they could clean up the bar area before seating us, we were met with attitude. At one point, he even asked us if we had called him a moron—completely unprovoked and uncalled for.

When we finally placed our order with a female waitress, her attitude was just as dismissive. We were served a cold Patatas Tortilla, and when we asked if it could be heated up, she flat-out said "NO, that's how it is." After insisting, she finally agreed, but with an unpleasant demeanor.

At that point, our gut feeling told us to leave before our Valentine’s Day was completely ruined. We asked for a manager, who at least took the time to apologize and gave us her card, but by then, the damage was done.

We won’t be returning, and we do NOT recommend this place. The rudeness of the waitstaff and the chaotic dining experience made it impossible to enjoy our meal. There are plenty of great Spanish restaurants in NYC—this is not...