Another night out!! Another colleague leaving!! Endless changes that happen in my workplace... Heheh. We have people coming and going in my workplace, it's endless and there's always a leaving party or a drinks party, so I always end up going to many... But you will probably not want to know about all of that! You want to know about the food I ate, right?! ^_^
I suggested to my colleague to look at restaurants in the East Dulwich area as there's a large range of restaurants in that area... it's a bit far from the workplace but it's better than going into Central London for a leaving meal... He suggested this place, Barcelona Tapas! Yay! I've been here before a few years ago for a Christmas party and I remember I had a lot of bread at that time and hadn't enjoyed all the food that was to come as people were arriving late and I ate a lot of bread... I'm actually quite happy he chose this place because it is a very nice Spanish restaurant for the locals around the Dulwich area and I wanted to retry everything. There are 3 other Barcelona Tapas Restaurants around London, so check out their website for more details...
Sorry for some fuzzy pictures, I think I need a new digital one ¬,¬ (going on a spending spree one day for a new digital camera)...
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| A very nice welcoming restaurant |
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| The outside |
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| Inside the restaurant... a few more families and people came later... It opens at 5pm on Monday - Thursday |
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| At the start of the menu |
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| Cutlery |
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| My sangria... very sweet drink |
We were a bit late, but the place was empty, I think it was too early for the locals to go out and eat, plus it was a Tuesday we went on and it opens at 5pm! It was only five of us there, but we enjoyed ourselves... And that included Mr Bear. I got him out of the office early as he's been staying late for months in another job... Poor guy :(
Anyway, we ordered the Set Menu 3 which is £28 per person. A bit expensive but I enjoyed every bit of food that came to our table!
First was the complimentary bread (I asked for another basket after the next dish came out)...
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| Complimentary bread |
The meats Tabla de Ibericos (Iberian cured meat) came out next... Everyone grabbed a bit of meat and ate it with their bread.
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| Tabla de Ibericos |
This next dish is a salty but they are not spicy peppers! Piementos Padron. These are fried, and they are utterly delicious.
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| Piementos Padron |
The Spanish sausage Chorizo Al Vino came out next. This is cooked in wine, and they are really tasty. We had two of these too.
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| Chorizo Al Vino |
Spanish omelette Tortilla Espanola is an omelette mixed with potatoes and onions. I had a very good chunk of this!
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| Tortilla Espanola |
Spanish Meatballs Albondigas a la Barcelonesa is a very tasty dish! Lots of sauce of it and very meaty.
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| Albondigas a la Barcelonesa |
Chunky potatoes in Spanish tomato sauce and mayo Patatas Bravas / All-I-Oli. These are just like chunky chips with a sauce on top... Nothing too special but tasty indeed.
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| Patatas Bravas |
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| All-I-Oli |
Fried prawns Gamabas Con Gabardina. These are definitely not like the Japanese versions as they use normal frying batter, but they are definitely good to eat!
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| Gamabas Con Gabardina |
Cheese and fruit preserve Los Cameros Semi Curado Mezcla. After eating this, I bought some Irish cheese just to replace my craving for it!!
Seafood and chicken paella, Paella Valenciana. This is what I was waiting for all evening! I love paella. This was slightly on the raw side, but I only had a small bit... The owner who was serving gave me a little... But that doesn't matter... I liked the prawns. I was telling Mr Bear and one other, that people would suck the brains after beheading them!! Hahahah, I think that's why he wanted to take a picture of the following (after this pic)...
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| Paella Valenciana |
Mr Bear said this looked scary, and it looked angry... Hahahah, he isn't a seafood person, and I can understand why. I don't even like fish eyes, it's like watching a human's eye, bleurgh...
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| An "angry"prawn |
I think we were missing the squid rings Calamares Fritos... I don't have a picture of it... Doesn't matter...
One of the guys that was with us inspiringly went to the loo and then lied to the guy who was leaving that he was ordering a cab and that he had to pay the cab fare at the front, hahahah... He actually paid the bill!! Woah. It was an expensive meal which included a lot of beers and my sangria... so unfortunately I don't know how much the total cost was... Likely over £100... The guy who was leaving (who is Greek) was upset because he wanted to pay... Europeans (except for the British) believe they should pay for the bill as they are grateful for our friendship at work... Heheheh... But it's the other way around in Britain, we pay for the drinks and the food! Typical for the British to be the opposites to the other Europeans, heheheh. ^_^
In the end my Greek colleague said we should order desserts!! Woah... I was already full... but this is what we had...
Lemon sorbet Sorbete de Limon... It was a bit too cold for the person...
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| Sorbete de Limon |
This is my Ice Cream brulee Helado de Crema Catalana. The top was very burnt, and I have learnt from many cooking programmes and TV shows that you should tap hard once to enjoy a brulee, and not smash the top many times... Hahahah... The ice cream was all melted inside as expected.
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| Helado de Crema Catalana |
This is Pa, Oli, Xocolata i Sal... A chocolate ganache with bread, olive oil and sea salt... Interesting!
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| Pa, Oli, Xocolata i Sal |
And finally Mr Bear had this Helado de Vainilla PX. Vanilla ice cream with a treacle of sherry! Wow!!
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| Helado de Vainilla PX |
Did I enjoy myself? Yes I did. Did I get to eat lots? Yep!! And would I go again? Yes, indeed!!! I enjoyed this more than La Tasca, as the portions were larger and very satisfying. ^_^
My geeky rating: 5/5
Good points:
- A restaurant in a very quiet area, you can even sit outside!
- Very friendly service
- Larger portions of tapas
- I enjoyed the food this time round
- Good for a Christmas party!!
- Good for a Christmas party!!
Bad points:
- Small toilet area (why am I talking about toilets?)... Because I can't think of anything really...
Address: 481 Lordship Lane, Dulwich, London SE22 8JY (Check the opening times before going!!)
Telephone: 0208 693 5111
Website: http://www.barcelona-tapas.com/
