A Night's Trip to Barcelona

Last night, I traveled to Barcelona and my taste buds had quite a trip.
And although I wish I could say that trip was in fact to Spain's beautiful city, it was actually only a short drive from home...no passport required for this food and drink adventure!

Just outside of Boston, in the town of Brookline, sits the Barcelona Wine Bar. Simply put- it's a tapas restaurant and bar. But it's too wonderful of a spot to define it so boringly.

Situated right in the downtown area of Brookline, it's warmly-lit, wooden exterior draws you in...

and doesn't disappoint once you find yourself in the laid-back yet buzzing, rustic yet swanky interior.
We were warned that it gets super busy around the 7 o'clock time frame - which it certainly does! Seriously. Packed.

Luckily, we spotted two seats at the bar and claimed them before any one else could.

We spotted the sangria from across the way and decided to start with that.

Perfectly sweet. Definitely potent!

A couple of sangrias in, we decided that food would probably be a good idea. The only problem... we wanted to order the ENTIRE menu. Everything sounded so so good.

Restraining ourselves from having one hundred of everything, we chose a sampling of dishes. That's the best part about tapas - smaller dishes = more things to try!

After placing our order, our waiter brought over some nice crusty bread and olive oil for us to nosh on.

And our charcuterie board of meat and cheeses arrived shortly after.

We sampled the spicy chorizo, aged mahon cheese, as well as the dried manchego. All of which were very tasty and paired very well with the crusty bread. Then again, what doesn't pair well with good bread?

The rest of our plates came out as they were ready --and we happily ate and drank our way through all of them. Here's a peak at what we got:

Scallops - accompanied with a sweet potato mash, granny smith apples, brussel sprouts, and peppers. The perfect blend of sweet and spicy!

Spinach-Chickpea Cazuela: chickpeas, spinach, cumin, and roasted garlic. This was served warm and was delicious! I would never think to heat up the chickpea mash (hummus really) and sauteed spinach but it really worked. I will definitely be recreating this at home.

Grilled Hanger Steak with black truffle vinaigrette. Perfectly cooked, this melted in my mouth.

Patatas Bravas: Potatoes with salsa brava and garlic aioli. Most AMAZING thing ever. The potatoes were crispy, the salsa added a nice hot kick, and the aioli calmed the spice down perfectly. I could easily have made a meal off of these alone.

Caramelized Brussels Sprouts. I love brussel sprouts and these did not disappoint!

Originally, when we ordered, we figured we could always order more off the menu if we still were hungry or wanted to try other things. And as much as I wanted to try some of the dishes I saw being brought to our neighbors' tables, my stomach was close to a tapas-stuffed overload.

However... we were tempted with the drool-worthy dessert menu and figured our stomachs could fit a tad bit more.

Feast your eyes on this baby.
Crepas Salguero: Crepes filled with dulce de leche, drizzled with chocolate sauce, and topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Admit it... you would have made room in your stomach too.

Authentic, delicious food and drinks. A great space with a nice vibe. You really can't go wrong. Unless you don't make room for that dessert... then you're wrong. *wiggles eyebrows*

If you're ever in the Brookline-area, you should check it out. Your taste-buds and tummy will thank you. 

xo Belle