Barrafina Drury Lane Reviews Summary

Category: Tapas restaurant London

Address: 43 Drury Ln, London, WC2B 5AJ, United Kingdom

Rating: 4.5
based on 170 reviews.

Food Quality

Pros:

  • "Simply the best. If you want the best Spanish tapas in London there are two places, there is Jose and there is Barrafina."
  • "Even better than some of the tapas in Spain."
  • "The food is top notch and I wish I would've been hungrier and ordered more than 3 things."
  • "Amazingly tasty tapas with a huge focus on fish and shellfish."
  • "The black rice with squid is absolutely exquisite."
  • "Every tapas was better than the last, evidently using fresh ingredients and excellent chef skills."
  • "The best food I've had in London."

Cons:

  • "The majority of the food was good however we ordered a tortilla which came out cold and undercooked."
  • "Be ready for really small portions when it comes to fish."
  • "The prawns in tortilla were undercooked."
  • "Most dishes were oversalted, greasy, and the meat was consistently overcooked."
  • "The food wasn't as good as everything else, my fish was basically olive oil and paprika, kind of lame and not creative in my humble opinion."
  • "The sopresata croquettes were a bit salty."
  • "Pimientos de Padron arrived - they were limp and unfresh."

Service

Pros:

  • "Staff were friendly and knowledgeable."
  • "The service was great and attentive when we went, easy to order, specials of the day explained to us and water topped up."
  • "The service was also very friendly for such a crowded, busy restaurant."
  • "The service is quick, friendly, and helpful."
  • "Such a lovely experience. The staff were so attentive and kind and the food was amazing."
  • "Service was attentive but not too pushy which is usually a tricky balance."
  • "The staff attentive, friendly and very efficient during an extremely busy lunch service."

Cons:

  • "The waiter passed a couple of paper napkins and shrugged his shoulders saying 'sorry it was an accident'."
  • "Forgot an entree we asked for and when we asked for another round of wine glasses completely ignored the order."
  • "Rude staff, terrible service."
  • "our waiter was very nice albeit forgetful and preoccupied with chatting the guest next to us and texting on her phone."
  • "we were told to move because we were in the wrong seats, in a quite rude way."
  • "The service at this restaurant is so terrible that I think it is actually damaging the brand."
  • "The experience was tainted by rude staff on entry."

Ambience

Pros:

  • "The ambience and layout were just right for lunch."
  • "A favourite & great place to eat. Fantastic food prepared before your eyes."
  • "The environment was great with the music and the way of sitting."
  • "The atmosphere here is very cool."
  • "Lovely authentic bustling atmosphere."
  • "Great atmosphere and a nice corner of Spain found in London."
  • "Really nice atmosphere, tucked away in a not so busy area."

Cons:

  • "Very soon after we arrived the restaurant was filled with people waiting for a seat standing right behind us jostling us and adding to the heat and overbearing atmosphere."
  • "Overall the atmosphere is a little cold compared to what I expected."
  • "Felt rushed a cold atmosphere."
  • "The setting was not what we expected."
  • "got seated in the underground room with no windows."
  • "The host wasn't very friendly and actually made me and my girlfriend uncomfortable...he kind of rush us with the drinks and didn't recommend any when we asked for one."
  • "Overall a very very unpleasant dining experience."

Value

Pros:

  • "This is not a cheap place, but the food and service are worth it."
  • "Pricey but worth it."
  • "The service is great and while it does set you back around 70 quid a person if you generously order, it is all worth the wait and the money."
  • "A little pricy, but worth it for the flavoursome Spanish food!"
  • "One of the best Spanish tapas in London. A bit pricy, but worth it."
  • "Great food and can enjoy tapas style eating with lovely champagne to go with the dishes."
  • "The food was great and worth the wait."

Cons:

  • "Price might put me off retuning as think Caminos does similar fare at a more reasonable price."
  • "It's a hell of a lot of work for what amounts to a few mouthfuls of food."
  • "I'm afraid it's not as good and very expensive."
  • "The sharing platters options are 3 meat and 2 fish and range between 50-120 pounds."
  • "However, we were so disappointed by 1. the fact that we paid over £150 for 5 small tapas and a mid-range bottle of wine 2. despite the expensive bill, we were not able to even order dessert because the next reservation was due to arrive."
  • "The food is decent, it's just so damn expensive."
  • "The bill, for 6 dishes of tapas and a mediocre 500ml carafe of not cold enough wine was a touch over £100."

Thanks! Your review is awaiting moderation.