Barcelona Brookline

I took my best friend here for his birthday and we all had the most wonderful time. Amazing drink list. I had the white sangria with seasonal herbs and it was absolutely fantastic. Hummus is also perfect. We had such a good time that my friend and his girlfriend actually took their parents there for lunch the following day. I will definitely be back and have a feeling this is my new go to spot in Brookline!

Decent tapas with alfresco patio and nice bar, avoid the dining room. Better ambiance than Barcelona S. End.
Standouts:
Pulpo Gallego — pan-​fried pulpo, all the flavor without the char aftertaste of the classic a la plancha (which I also love). Much prefer this version to S. End’s, which was swimming in white wine.
Hangar steak — overpriced but still my favorite tapa here
Gambas al ajillo — tasty prawns
Broccolini — thoroughly roasted, generously coated in panko, a bit heavy on the olive oil though
Other:
Patatas bravas — classic, exactly what you expect
(-) Chorizo with figs — chorizo was WAY overcooked/​hard, figs were overwhelmingly sweet. Liked this dish at S. End much more.
Accepts reservations (HIGHLY RECOMMEND — avoid the 2-​hr. wait), but would prefer the patio/​bar on future visits. Dining room feels a bit sterile and crammed. The four-​top we were seated at was extremely crammed and impractical for tapas, much better suited for a party of two.
For comparison, my Barcelona S. End review here:

Attempted to eat here before and didn’t get a chance due to a crazy wait time… It was Sunday brunch though, so I get it. Glad I came back, this time at around 4pm when the menu was changing from brunch to dinner and there was no wait time and my wife and I were quickly seated. The food was excellent, probably some of the best tapas I’ve had in Boston. I would definitely come back to Barcelona.

I feel a bit like a parent who’s chosen one kid as a favorite and written it in bold letters on a Post-​It, but goddamnit, I JUST LOVE YOU SO MUCH MORE than the other Barcelona (South End). That other one will just have to go through years of therapy or terrible girlfriends, but ugh… Truth.
The décor itself is so much more open, unique, wood-​laden than its sister restaurant in the South End. I guess if I could describe them like people, this one’s the liberal fun sibling who invites you to house parties with a pool and an open-​air deck (which they do actually have), while the South End one is like the sibling who sends you an Evite for an indoor party where you have to show up in a cocktail dress and take off your shoes for fear of scuffing the floor. Maybe it’s my preference for a more friendly/​open vibe, but this Barcelona just vibed with me better:).
We had a pretty varied selection of tapas, listed a few we had in order of Gold-​star Olympic status to measly just-​made-​the podium Bronze medal:
+ Grilled hangar steak — Melt-​in-​your-​mouth steak with black truffle vinaigrette, aka the steak gates to food Heaven.
+ Spinach-​Chickpea Cazuela — Like carnival in yo’ mouth
+ Albondigas — Spiced meatballs in tomato sauce, amazeballs. No pun intended.
+ Chorizo sweet-​sour figs — YES, just YES.
+ Swordfish — Superb.
+ Mushrooms Herbed Goat Cheese — Tender, well-​seasoned mushrooms
+ Gambas al ajillo — Sauce was great, but shrimp itself was a bit disappointing and overcooked /​dry.
I left with a full tummy and a smile on my face, so 5-​stars solidly. Now Godspeed and eat with abandon;)

Love the concept and the vibe of the place, good date night idea!
Would definitely go here again when I visit the next time.

Came here for brunch, ample parking and no wait for a table. The food was great, best tapas I’ve had in the Boston area thus far actually. We had about 8 dishes between the two of us, very full but it was nice sampling between the brunch and regular menu. I thought the prices were fine in return for flavor, quality, and tapas portion size. Rather loud but that’s usually been the case with tapas restaurants we’ve been to. We will come back to try dinner some time.
Would have been 5 stars if not for some inconsistencies (medium rare steak dish came out late and well done, water glass smelled kind of weird) as well as the service — we didn’t get bread at the beginning, waited a while to order /​order more, and not much attention to refills and clean plates (random wait staff passing by who I flagged down were more helpful /​had more contact with our table than the original waitress from the beginning).

We really enjoyed our tapas here, probably on par with Tasca just a couple miles away. Our waiters were very friendly-​though not super professional. When your waiter drops 2 f-​bombs before you order drinks it can be a bit off putting! So maybe not somewhere to bring your parents. However, the staff is all very helpful and willing to work around food allergies.
My friends and I enjoyed the sangria pitchers and especially the dessert! I wasn’t planning on eating all my dessert, but once I started I couldn’t stop!

The décor and vibe is rustic and casual. Woodsy interior with black and white photographs along the walls. Chalk board menus above the bar area. The restaurant is pretty large with three sectioned areas plus a serviced outside patio and another patio for drinking/​waiting for a table.
My sister and I wanted to sit outside since it was a beautiful day. There was a 30 minute wait. However there was a high-​table right next to the floor to ceiling window in the bar section. So we opted to be seated there with no wait.
Service — The waiter seemed unengaged and then towards the end of our meal he went on break and another waitress finished our service. We did not receive bread. It seems like and from reading reviews there is usually complimentary bread. I love carbs — gimme bread! Even if I’m not a carbovore, receiving the full service would be nice. The sangria came out really slowly.
Anyway the food. It was overall pretty good. It didn’t wow me as much as I wanted. I expected a bit more since this place has amazing ratings. Between the two of us we ordered:
Bread — we did not receive any.
Calamari — smelled great when it was served. I was expected the usual fried crispy battery instead it did have a light layer of batter and was seared well. Squeeze a bit of lemon and it was great.
Swordfish — smaller portion than expected but it was tasty. My sister said it tasted like chicken. The swordfish has a more «meaty» texture than say, haddock. The green herb sauce reminded us of the green onion and ginger sauce that you find paired with Chicken in Asian cuisines.
Mussels — delish! Had a bit of a kick to it. The mussels were really soft and juicy. The tomato sauce had great flavor.
Steak — only 5 pieces. We wanted more! It was alright. nothing amazing. Tasted like a simple steal that can be easily prepared at home.
Brioche French toast — we wanted something sweet. This came it first. The brioche toast was soft and gooey. Warm and sweet. Loved this.
Sangria — a pitcher for the two of us — a bit too much but it was nice to relax and sip on a sunny afternoon. We ordered the red with seasonal syrup. We’ve had much better. It was very sweet and eventually all of the ice diluted the flavor.

So we waited two hours to be seated and I would say it’s sort of worth it. Let me explain…
They don’t accept reservations so my friend and I arrived an hour earlier than everyone. We were told it would be about an hour to an hour and a half. One of the hostesses came around with grilled cheese sandwiches which was crispy on the outside and hot and gooey cheese on the inside, this was much needed after waiting for about an hour. We were finally seated. The food was really yummy. My favorite are the lamb lollipops. The flavors of the tapas are all different and distinct and aren’t drowning in salt. The pitcher of sangria was ok, buying a glass of the sangria flora is better. It’s quite refreshing. The service is great and so that’s why I would wait and come back. Also the bread is hot from the oven. I think it’s too loud but if you want to shout about your bad work day or reveal some raunchy story then you don’t have to worry about other people overhearing you because your dinner companions can barely hear you.

Solid 4!
I rate this place Highly on several things:
1. Authentic spanish tapas menu. Offering several things you honestly don’t see outside of Spain, like the Truffled «Bikini»
2. Great vibrant atmosphere and beautiful venue/​décor.
3. Friendly and engaging wait staff
Mostly all the dishes were quite tasty. Only negative: Although the creativity is there, the execution was lacking on Staples like patatas Bravas and Gambas al Ajillo, and unfortunately those are the measuring sticks that I measure all tapas by (my 2 favorite dishes).
I am aware that I am being a little tough but I hold Barcelona Brookline to a higher standard seeing that it is probably in the top 3 most popular tapas bars in and around Boston.
Barcelona is definitely worth a visit if you are looking for a nice evening in the Brookline area

TAPAS /​/​SHARE STYLE
They recommend 2 – 3 per person, and I thought 2 was more than enough. We had four people total and all left STUFFED. Barcelona definitely exceeded my expectations. If you’ve been to Toro, similar style, but much much bigger and different options.
Barcelona changes their menu every day, but they do have a few that stay the same!
First off, their bread is DELICIOUS. Nice crunch on the outside, soft and warm on the inside. Great with oil and balsamic!
Highlights of our dinner:
*Paella: so much seafood, and the serving for 1 was more than enough for the 4 of us (if you get multiple tapas). We almost couldn’t finish it! It comes with one big prawn, but lots of clams, mussels, squid.
*Papas brevas: flash fried potatoes with a yummy sauce. I think they’d be better a little crispier, but it was a good dish overall
*Pork belly: one of the specials the night we went. Cooked very nicely with a crunchy skin and moist meat. The tomatillo sauce it came with was a perfect pairing
*Sweet figs and chorizo sausage: veryy sweet figs, a little toooo sweet for me. But my friends really enjoyed the SAUCE and dipped the bread in it. along with almost everything else we had
*Calamari: One of my faves! But that’s because I’m a huge fan of calamari. Really good with lemon squeezed over it. Comes with a spicy mayo type of sauce, which went great with the calamari
*Steak: tender, moist, well seasoned! I believe this was the flank steak. It came with an amazing truffle sauce drizzled over the sliced pieces of steak. MMMM trufffffle
Overall, FLAVOR PACKED dinner! I’d love to come back but gotta give my wallet a break. We spent about $ 25 each on food? And a little extra for sangria
Well worth it, and so glad I was able to try this place finally! I’m gonna come back for BRUNCH next time.

The Brookline location is better than the South End location! I’ve been to the south end location several times and I’ve been disappointed because the food hasn’t been consistent. We came on a Tuesday and it was PACKED. We went next door for a drink while we waited (45 min estimate). The host called exactly 45 minutes later and we went back in.
We ordered the pork belly (same as south end) and it was perfect. Don’t let them take the green sauce away: P, it’s so good with the bread. We also tried the swordfish a la plancha which was excellent. For a little tapas dish it was a decent portion so both of us got a few bites. We split the lamb entrée which was a TON of lamb for two people. It came with sweet potatoes and asparagus. The meat was cooked perfectly!
On a separate visit we ordered the meatballs and shrimp. I wouldn’t get the meatballs again but they were decent size. Garlic shrimp were blah. Overcooked and quite average for a tapas place. They do some dishes realllly well so I’m sticking to those.

Our server, Jordan, was a fun one! She was very cheery and just an uplifting person. We ordered so many wonderful things.
Mariscos Paella
2 Potato Tortilla
2 Drunken Goat Cheese
Ribeye
Grilled Hanger Steak
Spicy Beef Empanada
Crispy Calamari
Jamon and Chicken Croquettes
Grilled Brocollini
Fried Brussel Sprouts
Patatas Bravas
With a pitcher of white sangria & 2 pitchers of red sangria.
We finished our extremely delicious dinner with a flan, churro, & an Apple Empanada.
The Drunken Goat Cheese was so delicious we had to order one to go.
All together we had a great time with our family & friends. My favorite restaurant in Boston is Abe & Louie’s, and although the they are not in the same league… I cannot decide which is my favorite! Like, it’s that dang good! Mmmmmm-​Kay.

Easily one of my favorite restaurants!!! I was so excited to hear that Barcelona was coming to Brookline a few years ago and they have not disappointed. The service is excellent. There’s often a wait since it’s such a popular restaurant, but once when waiting for a table the bar was also very crowded, and they came around to the entryway where people were waiting with a tray of small complementary cocktails… now that’s service! Even when they’re really crowded it always still feels like your server takes the time to explain the menu to you and offer recommendations.
I’m such a big fan of tapas and it’s so fun to try new things. I believe the menu has changed since it opened… although I could be wrong.
The food is so delicious. For the tapas, my favorites are truffled bikini and migas, although you really can’t go wrong with anything. The absolute best entrée is the chicken pimientos… this is the dish that keeps me coming back. Beware though, it is very spicy and meant to be shared if you’re also ordering tapas. For deserts, you must get the crepas. They are UNREAL and just melt-​in-​your mouth delicious… I really haven’t had anything like these before.
The cocktails tasty and unique.
Although on the surface it may seem pricy, the menu is actually quite reasonable considering the quality and service. In my opinion, this is the best restaurant in Brookline and I would recommend it to anyone. I always push this restaurant on friends and family for special occasions!

Came here after running 20 miles for the Boston Marathon Training and it was so great to have some blood mary’s and delicious food! The manager was also training for the Marathon so hooked it up with dessert, too.
The good:
+ so easy to get a reservation
+there are like 3 different vibes to this place: white table cloth, regular seats, and then bar seats. Really fun atmosphere but not too loud and live music on Sundays.
+ food is so good. we did the omlet with chickpeas, the smoked salmon salad, the cheese plate and the dessert crepes and all were great.
+INCREDIBLY FAST service… if you are in a rush this is your go-​to place.
+ Great bloody mary’s and you can make your own, too!
Will for sure be back, I preferred this location a lot more to the place in the South End. Better vibe, better menu, and really great service and not as loud or packed.

I’m a fan! This place lives up to all the hype. My friends and I came for dinner on a Friday night. Since it was our first time, we didn’t expect the place to be so busy and we were definitely not expecting the wait to be over an hour long (exactly 1 hour and 10 mins). However, the amazing service made up for it. As we waited for the food, we were served complementary bread fresh off the oven with olive oil on the side. We asked for seconds because it was so good!
Meat & Cheese (charcuterie platter):
We got the Palacios Picante (spicy dry chorizo), Jamon Serrano (thinly sliced dry cured spanish ham), tres leches (soft cow’s milk cheese). All of them were really good and a great appetizer to share!
Tapas:
1.Grilled Ribeye Steak with Horseradish Gremolata — The steak was thinly slice cooked rare. It was very juicy and tender.
2. Spiced Beef Empanadas (2) — The beef was full of flavor and very garlicky.
3. Brussel sprouts — Well seasoned but did taste a little burnt.
4. Braised short ribs — Amazing! Very tender and the creamy sauce made it more flavorful.
5. Seared Duck Breast — The duck was very good but the spiced chocolate sauce didn’t do it for me. It didn’t complement the dish and seemed a bit off.
Dessert:
Churros with spiced chocolate sauce — Highlight of the night! This was probably the best part of the whole meal. The churros were warm, so delicate, crunchy and fluffly, it literally melted in my mouth.

So, I’m giving 4 stars because the bougie bar is really beautiful. I would stick to the bar when you come here, for sure. Big white granite curvy bar, and good/​accessible wine list.
Since I’m writing a Unilocal review, is it even worth the time to say I’m sort of a food snob? (duh, no, Unilocal is annoying and we know it) The food here is … ok? I mean, I haven’t had anything worth raving about. But at the end of a long day, a glass of wine and a snack here is four stars nice, because the atmosphere overall is really great. The lamb is probably the best of the tapas that I’ve tried. I also liked some of their meat/​cheese boards — the jamon serrano was good and the bartender recommended a really delicious cheese to with it that I forget the name of because it was cheese so obviously I ate it in 10 seconds flat. Also, the bartenders are always nice and friendly.

Brunch tapas, need I say more?
I love this concept as it allowed us to try different items on the menu, and made the meal feel less heavy (as many brunches are). We really liked how we could try multiple things on the menu.
I would probably skip the pork hash, as I found the bell peppers and other vegetables in it too soggy. The pancakes were delicious, as were the empanadas.
I preferred this location over the one in South End, as it was less crowded and the service more attentive. We got in for a late lunch around 1:30pm and did not wait at all. Parking is also very easy.

Holy moly… This place was absolutely marvelous. We went on a Sunday night (around 5pm) and we warmly greeted by the servers in the restaurant. The ambience was beautiful, and the menu was extensive! We didn’t know what to get but wow, MAJOR THANKS to our WONDERFUL SERVER ALLY, we were able to choose from our options.
1) cheese board with meat and manchego cheese and goat cheese
2) mushroom and goat cheese. Omg.
3) chorizo– my friends favorite
4) patatas bravas– my favorite
5) yellowfin tuna– SUPER FRESH
6) fried Brussels sprouts — omg so good
7) steak– the sauce on top was the best part!
8) DESSERT CHURROS WITH NUTELLA!
And the sangria was prolly the best sangria I ever had. Get the classic red one with the pineapples :)
The other waiters and the manager even came by to say hello, and were all super kind and funny.
Definitely coming back here. They give you a free tapas coin at the end so make sure to keep it for next time! :)

Came here on a Saturday morning to get brunch with the wife. I really enjoyed our dining experience here and I highly recommend everyone to check this place out when you get a chance! Upon entering, we were greeted right away and was given the option to sit inside or outside. We chose to sit outside since the weather was beautiful. We ordered the french toast and egg with chorizo tapas. They were both very delicious and I loved that we were able to try a variety of food. We finished off the brunch with seafood pallea and it was so freaking delicious. Just as a warning, it is a lot of food so make sure to ask them to cook for one person portion, not two!
Overall, this is a great place to visit for brunch and I am definitely coming back here again to try out their other tapas!