Barcelona Wine Bar — Restaurant in Pittsburgh

Great wine list, decent food, poor service.

I should preface this by saying that my wife lived in Barcelona for 3 years, and I've spent time there myself, so we do have high standards for Spanish food. I was especially interested in comparing with Morcilla across town, or the best Spanish restaurant we've encountered Stateside, Cúrate in Asheville.

First the big pluses : Barcelona is open until 12, almost unheard of in Pittsburgh. Also, they have an excellent selection of wines and sherries. Wine prices are very reasonable, and they offer 3oz pours for exactly half cost of the full 6oz pours, so it's a great way to try different things.

After a glass of fino and amontillado at the bar, we were seated at a very small two-person table. Considering that shared plates are a staple of this cuisine, that was disappointing to see; I knew we'd be crowded.

Looking at the menu, we were quite confused to see that the first three tapas were all fully Italian. Focaccia, Giardiniera, and Eggplant Caponata? Also, a dish called "Chicken Thigh a la Plancha", but elsewhere "Gambas al Ajillo" and "Albondigas". So presumably people know the Spanish words for shrimp and meatballs, but chicken would be a stretch..

We ordered the olives with Giardiniera (the only option) and a cheese to start, and asked that to be followed by octopus and mushrooms, then a shared paella for our main dish. Our server said he'd bring the starters in that order, and that he'd also get the paella started because "it takes 30 minutes at least".

Before too long, the olives and cheese arrived. The cheese was a hefty slice of a good Idiabazal, with an bizarrely small piece of membrillo (quince paste) next to it. I've seen larger gumdrops.

The other odd thing was the absence of baguette (which would be typical), or crackers, or anything else to eat with it. We flagged down our server to ask about accompaniments, and he suggested the focaccia, which we agreed to. Then he said that there also was the option of toasted lavash, at no charge. This does not seem to appear anywhere on the menu, but we were glad to hear of it, and asked for a basket of that instead.

We ordered some more wine choices, and after a short wait a basket of focaccia arrived. We explained that we ordered the lavash, so it was taken away, and a few minutes later we got the lavash (very good).

Then suddenly the paella was unceremoniously dumped upon the table. The mushrooms and octopus still hadn't come.

The paella was...OK. The seafood was cooked very nicely, which is half the game. But the rice was extremely heavy on the tomato paste, and the paprika. It didn't seem to have a seafood broth, I suspect they use the same base for all of their different paellas. I'd give it about a 6 out of 10, just because the squid and shellfish were expertly done. But I won't be ordering it again.

Our wine glasses were accumulating, our water carafe was running low, and nobody was coming by with the rest of our food. Our flatware & small plates were also now covered in the heavy paella sauce. We finally managed to stop our waiter on his way to another table, he took away our plates, flatware and the olive pit bowl (though not the empty glasses or the remaining olives), and said he'd check on the food. Before long, the mushrooms and octopus arrived, at the same time.

But we had nothing to eat them with. For a good 5 minutes, we looked around for a staffperson who could connect us with utensils and eating surfaces. Finally we got those in hand. The octopus was nice, cooked almost perfectly, and the mushrooms were OK, though it was simply a bowl of small button mushrooms, sauteed in oil, nothing special.

We weren't being asked if we wanted more wine, or if we needed water. The place was not half full, but it seemed to have exceeded their capacity on a Friday night.

We finally managed to get the check, and they had charged us for the focaccia. Sigh. After another wait, we got it removed.

We may come again, mostly because it's a rare late-night option. but will sit at the bar. And we'll...

I’ve gone to Barcelona a handful of times, including for the college graduation celebration of a close friend. The service then was fantastic; the waitress even supplied a vase for the graduation bouquet. The food is fantastic, and it’s one of the restaurants I’m proud to have within a quick walk from my home. The wine selection is delicious. However, ever since that party, I am sad to say that I have had poor experiences at Barcelona. I’ve found that coming in around a little over an hour from close (simply for wine) provides an almost aggrieved temperament from the bartenders. After the Pitt-Louisville game today, I again returned with my friend who had celebrated her graduation there, now in from out of town and excited to return SPECIFICALLY to Barcelona. From the moment we sat down (at a quarter-filled bar), the bartender had a cold, poor attitude with us, prompting me to text my friend “Why does she hate us?” She gave us a flask of water and glasses, which is the norm for Barcelona, but I’d prefer not to pour my own drink at a bar. Handing out empty glasses doesn’t seem to match the classy atmosphere.

We input our food orders (separate checks). My friend ordered the Mahón. It came back with a small oblong dot of blue-grey mold. That was replaced - the manager later told us it was normal for the cheese. As a Spaniard, my friend ate Mahón before she could walk - it wasn’t normal. The bartender never apologized or followed up until after the manager had spoken with us, even though she served us the new plate directly before our managerial chat. Following, she offered us no apology but instead a free tapas or dessert, which we gladly took.

While we were waiting on new cheese, I took a light sip of my friend’s wine. The bartender came down from the other end of the bar to - rather than politely asking for my ID - semi-berate me for drinking out of my friend’s glass, saying she couldn’t have that happen if I wasn’t ID’d. Well, I wasn’t ID’d when you took my credit card for the food tab, while I was sitting at the bar! I know you have to card under-25s, but my clear over-22 age should have perhaps spared me a lecture.

After all of my friends tapas came out, the ones I ordered - chicken thighs and BREAD - had still not arrived. At this point the original bartender has stopped talking to or even looking at us. The other bartender and managers are the only ones checking in. I’d told the other bartender a few times that we were okay, but eventually I told the manager that I’d never gotten the food I ordered, and at that point, I was full from my friends food (which was finished) and didn’t wish to continue with my order. He comped the food regardless. He even correctly identified my specific allergy, suggesting the food was in the system. Both dishes arrived almost instantaneously. The food, per usual, was fantastic.

When it came time for the check, my food was fully comped. My friend had suggested ordering a wine earlier, but I didn’t want to order a drink from a bartender who seemed to dislike us openly. (Though she walked back and forth in front of us, she never spoke to us after offering the dessert, even when we had no water). My friend discovered, upon review of her bill, that the bartender had incorrectly billed her for the MOST EXPENSIVE glass of red wine (which she neither ordered nor drank). After a correction from the manager, we were on our way. I will be returning solely for the fantastic food and atmosphere, though perhaps not for much longer. I’d be very hesitant before taking a guest there again. Despite the comps, our excitement and overall day was marred by a series of issues we hadn’t expected to face, which left us wondering why we had been disfavored in the...

Came here 07/04/25 and on 07/06/25 during Anthrocon 2025 (Furry Con). Where to start...

First impressions, rustic, nice vibe, chill atmosphere and music. This place stole my heart for comfort food to the finest of forms.

Our waitress, Bella, on the 4th of July was an absolute super star of a waitress on that day, super positive attitude and it made us want to come back for more.

I'm bad with math, I asked how much the Cheese and Charcuterie would be, Bella whipped out her phone and tried to calculate, I said to hell with it, give me one of everything on the Cheese and Charcuterie Menu. After finding out that I was pretty much the first person to do this made me laugh. Because I ended up doing the same damn thing on Sunday, except we also ordered even more food on top of round two. I don't think the Chefs in the back anticipated the same person to come back in and do it once more lol, or at least from what our waitress on Sunday said, I can't remember her name, but she was the trainer for the waitstaff.

Let me say this, if you are a cheese and meat connoisseur like myself and you are looking for cheese, cured meats and all the above fixins to a proper Charcuterie Board, Barcelona is the place to go. Do what I did, don't think twice about it and order the whole damn menu for cheese and charcuterie. You will not regret it. I sure as hell didn't! 200$+ each time was well spent in my book. Not once, but twice in one weekend. Sunday we had tried the Tapas to go with the charcuterie since we went through a nightmare that day. We decided to go back and treat ourselves.

The olives and other pickled vegetables are a very nice touch. Do be careful though, they are pitted olives, but they are amazing in their flavor!

The bread that is made in house, made me want to cry it was so delicious and it pairs so nicely with the cheeses and meats it's unreal.

For Tapas, we got Eggplant Caponata (I hate eggplant and this dish was amazing), Spinach and Chickpea Cazuela, Patatas Bravas, Albondigas, I think it was the Chorizo with sweet and sour figs (I could be wrong about this one, it was one of the Chorizo dishes).

All of the Tapas were amazing in flavor, each one bursting with it's own unique flavor. I cannot wait to come back here Next year and for my Bday.

The chocolate cake, albeit small, don't let it fool you. It packs a punch with chocolatey flavor and if you are a chocolate lover, this is the cake for you!

But the major highlight for me, one of the cheeses, brie, was like one of my absolute favorites and after having a disappointing bday dinner somewhere else the night before, Our waitress Bella, brought out a slice of it with a candle and it made me feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside.

The Flavors, the service, the atmosphere, the music, the booze selection, this entire restaurant deserves a 10/5. The Vibe is nothing but pure bliss of relaxation.

I will definitely be back next year and I hope that Barcelona is around for years to come because they here deserve nothing but the best. Thank you for the amazing Cheese & Charcuterie...