Barrafina

London's top tapas

Food

Service

Atmosphere

The secret to not having to queue at Barrafina is to get there just before six. Having decided on previous occasions that the queue was too long it was good to finally be able to walk right in to a seat at the bar. Barrafina is a tiny place with a no bookings policy and it is fabulously popular, hence the issue with queuing. The decor is light and sleek with lots of white marble and mirrors. All the seating is positioned around what serves as a bar and open kitchen. The bonus of this is all the theatre of watching your meals prepared and also spotting dishes which look good and adding them to your list of orders.

I was meeting a friend at Barrafina so we ordered drinks and pulled up a seat at the bar.  We started with croquettes. When you cut them open cheese spilled out of them in delicious contrast to the crispy bread crumbed exteriors. Next we tried the coco which was a type of thin flat bread sprinkled with spinach and raisins and served as somewhat of an antidote to the cheesy croquettes.

It is difficult to resist chorizo at a tapas bar, particularly when it is being grilled within a metres proximity of you, as is the case at Barrafina. The serving size was generous and not for the faint hearted or diet conscious, but it was very satisfying. To be honest, I could have ordered tapas all night, as each plate which was being prepared in the open kitchen looked so delicious. However that would have been gluttonous and would not have left enough room for alcohol, which was really the primary purpose of our catch ups. So we restrained ourselves and ordered off the "specials" which essentially comprised the seafood options.

We opted for the mackerel, this unloved oily fish was served grilled atop fried potatoes and garnished with crispy pancetta. A perfect finale to our Barrafina experience. It was time to relinquish our spot at the bar to one of the hungry souls who had come a little after six and so was stuck in the queue. Clearly a beginners error.