Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Barrafina Bites!
I've noticed how much I've been eating out, purely from my dwindling bank balance rather than my waist size (I elect never to own a weighing scale, except an electronic one for baking, and so remain blissfully unaware of the harsh realities of what daily three course european dinners can do to you).
I blame Tesco. I really do. Why can't they (or ANYONE) open a DECENT store near me, instead of that travesty of a Tesco Metro that they have (admittedly) two minutes from my flat? It doesn't even have mushrooms (not when I need them anyway)! Thus due to lack of inspiring ingredients, I find myself unwilling to cook anything besides microwave food, which though an extremely alluring option at work after weeks of the only slightly varying canteen menu, simply can't compete with the likes of all these Time Out Critic's Choices restaurants. Of course there's also the simpler explanation of just not having time to cook, particularly when out on the way to the theatre after work (but I needed some excuse to rant about my local Tesco).
And so it was, last Tuesday night, that prior to a wonderful night at Comedy Camp at the the Arts Theatre Club on Frith Street I found myself queuing for a table at Barrafina at 6 pm. My companion NH was convinced that no one could possibly want to eat that early and that we would get a table, so when we did eventually get there after a leisurely wander from Fleet Street, there were about 12 people in front of us. At 6 pm. This led to our usual conversation topic of how we can't understand (we know of course but understanding is something altogether) where all these people are from? Don't they have to work? Who's supporting this economy?! All the time blatantly ignoring the fact that we've scooted off work early (it's all relative) to be ready to eat at 6.
Anyway, I digress. NH was genuinely shocked, but I suppose he saw it as some sort of sign that it must be good. Though if not for the fact that it was another 2 hours to our show starting, I think he would have protested, and I would have found myself at the Nando's down the road. (no slur on Nando's I love it and just had it last night)
The restaurant only has around 25 seats around a bar, not unlike a sushi counter, so doing the maths, 25 seats, 12 ahead of us, we had a bit of waiting. Thankfully, the waiters do a great job of coming around to take your drinks orders and having some wine helps to keep you from staring too psychotically at diners' backs willing them to leave.
Nonetheless, I found the experience of drinking while waiting rather odd in this particular circumstance. I had always thought tapas were meant to be sort of like bar snacks one had with wine before (admittedly a very late) dinner. Except here the wine was clearly playing the supporting role.
Surprisingly the line does move quite quickly, I have a theory it's because you wait so long you're so hungry, you order really quickly, scoff your food down and therefore you're stuffed really quickly and then you have to leave to have a bit of a walk to digest it all. Either that or my staring at those people menacingly worked.
We took our seats right in front of the tortilla making zone. Fascinating. They make these really cute omelettes that look like large babybel cheeses in little brass omelette pans and then pop them out, pat them to check they're just the right squidginess before serving them! You have to see it to believe it.
Anyway, menu's are on the placemats so off we went, ordering the Jamon and Spinach Tortilla, Grilled Chorizo with Watercress, and one of the specials of the day, the featured Langoustines with Salsa - we thought we'd take it slow since we were still waiting for another friend. And yummmmmm... I'm not sure if it's because we had whetted our appetites gawking at other people's food for 30 mins but the langoustines were very fresh and lightly grilled, so that even the slightly uncooked bits tasted lovely. NH loved the chorizo (though I think he loves chorizo anywhere) and the tortilla hit a spot (moist and tasty and of course with the whole presentation it was hard not to love).
Inspired, we then ordered the Grilled Quail with Al-i-Oli, Chips with Brava Sauce and Pimientos de Padron. Think these were less impressive (again maybe because we weren't so hungry by now), though the quail was juicy and tender. The dishes arrived fairly quickly, so that when our friend arrived, we were already finishing...
All in all, a good meal, but far from cheap. Again everything being relative, this place is (from rusty memory) cheaper than its sister restaurant Fino. And you don't have to book, but then of course the downside is the wait. Another thing is that this doesn't seem to me to be authentic tapas (I'm not Spanish so I can't say authoritatively) but instead tapas for foodies - make no mistake, no one there thinks they're just accompaying bar nibbles - made with whatever's fresh and available (and accordingly adjusted prices for affluent Londoners). The people behind the counters are clearly trained professionals, rather than the bar's wife/mother/sister cooking from recipes handed down from generation to generation.
Nonetheless I really did enjoy myself. Food and wine were good and though the bar seating arrangement means that it's it's best a place for dinners for two and the perpetually long queues means it's not really a good place to really drink and graze (this is my own conscience at work - the staff were very sweet, and never once did they suggest we should eat quicker!). Definitely worth a go if you have time.
Food, wine and service for two around £55.
__________________________
Barrafina
54 Frith Street
London W1D 4SL
T 020 7813 8016
__________________________ ¶ 5:55 AM
I've noticed how much I've been eating out, purely from my dwindling bank balance rather than my waist size (I elect never to own a weighing scale, except an electronic one for baking, and so remain blissfully unaware of the harsh realities of what daily three course european dinners can do to you).
I blame Tesco. I really do. Why can't they (or ANYONE) open a DECENT store near me, instead of that travesty of a Tesco Metro that they have (admittedly) two minutes from my flat? It doesn't even have mushrooms (not when I need them anyway)! Thus due to lack of inspiring ingredients, I find myself unwilling to cook anything besides microwave food, which though an extremely alluring option at work after weeks of the only slightly varying canteen menu, simply can't compete with the likes of all these Time Out Critic's Choices restaurants. Of course there's also the simpler explanation of just not having time to cook, particularly when out on the way to the theatre after work (but I needed some excuse to rant about my local Tesco).
And so it was, last Tuesday night, that prior to a wonderful night at Comedy Camp at the the Arts Theatre Club on Frith Street I found myself queuing for a table at Barrafina at 6 pm. My companion NH was convinced that no one could possibly want to eat that early and that we would get a table, so when we did eventually get there after a leisurely wander from Fleet Street, there were about 12 people in front of us. At 6 pm. This led to our usual conversation topic of how we can't understand (we know of course but understanding is something altogether) where all these people are from? Don't they have to work? Who's supporting this economy?! All the time blatantly ignoring the fact that we've scooted off work early (it's all relative) to be ready to eat at 6.
Anyway, I digress. NH was genuinely shocked, but I suppose he saw it as some sort of sign that it must be good. Though if not for the fact that it was another 2 hours to our show starting, I think he would have protested, and I would have found myself at the Nando's down the road. (no slur on Nando's I love it and just had it last night)
The restaurant only has around 25 seats around a bar, not unlike a sushi counter, so doing the maths, 25 seats, 12 ahead of us, we had a bit of waiting. Thankfully, the waiters do a great job of coming around to take your drinks orders and having some wine helps to keep you from staring too psychotically at diners' backs willing them to leave.
Nonetheless, I found the experience of drinking while waiting rather odd in this particular circumstance. I had always thought tapas were meant to be sort of like bar snacks one had with wine before (admittedly a very late) dinner. Except here the wine was clearly playing the supporting role.
Surprisingly the line does move quite quickly, I have a theory it's because you wait so long you're so hungry, you order really quickly, scoff your food down and therefore you're stuffed really quickly and then you have to leave to have a bit of a walk to digest it all. Either that or my staring at those people menacingly worked.
We took our seats right in front of the tortilla making zone. Fascinating. They make these really cute omelettes that look like large babybel cheeses in little brass omelette pans and then pop them out, pat them to check they're just the right squidginess before serving them! You have to see it to believe it.
Anyway, menu's are on the placemats so off we went, ordering the Jamon and Spinach Tortilla, Grilled Chorizo with Watercress, and one of the specials of the day, the featured Langoustines with Salsa - we thought we'd take it slow since we were still waiting for another friend. And yummmmmm... I'm not sure if it's because we had whetted our appetites gawking at other people's food for 30 mins but the langoustines were very fresh and lightly grilled, so that even the slightly uncooked bits tasted lovely. NH loved the chorizo (though I think he loves chorizo anywhere) and the tortilla hit a spot (moist and tasty and of course with the whole presentation it was hard not to love).
Inspired, we then ordered the Grilled Quail with Al-i-Oli, Chips with Brava Sauce and Pimientos de Padron. Think these were less impressive (again maybe because we weren't so hungry by now), though the quail was juicy and tender. The dishes arrived fairly quickly, so that when our friend arrived, we were already finishing...
All in all, a good meal, but far from cheap. Again everything being relative, this place is (from rusty memory) cheaper than its sister restaurant Fino. And you don't have to book, but then of course the downside is the wait. Another thing is that this doesn't seem to me to be authentic tapas (I'm not Spanish so I can't say authoritatively) but instead tapas for foodies - make no mistake, no one there thinks they're just accompaying bar nibbles - made with whatever's fresh and available (and accordingly adjusted prices for affluent Londoners). The people behind the counters are clearly trained professionals, rather than the bar's wife/mother/sister cooking from recipes handed down from generation to generation.
Nonetheless I really did enjoy myself. Food and wine were good and though the bar seating arrangement means that it's it's best a place for dinners for two and the perpetually long queues means it's not really a good place to really drink and graze (this is my own conscience at work - the staff were very sweet, and never once did they suggest we should eat quicker!). Definitely worth a go if you have time.
Food, wine and service for two around £55.
__________________________
Barrafina
54 Frith Street
London W1D 4SL
T 020 7813 8016
__________________________ ¶ 5:55 AM
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Hi there
Have just found your blog and it is yest another example of all the great food blogs that are out there! I just don't have time to read all the blogs I have saved at this stage! I started off blogging myself and have just set up www.ifoods.tv which is a place for foodies, bloggers and chefs to hand out and share their recipes, photos and food videos. Would love to see you there sharing some of your great photos! Keep up the great work on the blog, have bookmarked it so will be a regular reader!
Have just found your blog and it is yest another example of all the great food blogs that are out there! I just don't have time to read all the blogs I have saved at this stage! I started off blogging myself and have just set up www.ifoods.tv which is a place for foodies, bloggers and chefs to hand out and share their recipes, photos and food videos. Would love to see you there sharing some of your great photos! Keep up the great work on the blog, have bookmarked it so will be a regular reader!
Tthanks private chef! I have to say I'm pretty lazy when it comes to posting but your comment is real encouragement and I will try and continue to post.
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