Barcelona Tavern

I always wanted to go in here, but I just got the opportunity this past week. The service was pretty good considering that it was Stampede week. Being a Messi fan, I had no doubt that I should try the Messi burger, and true to the name, it was one of the best burgers that I ever had. Had a great seat outside, but they were very prompt in getting me a seat at the bar just before it started pouring. Try it!

The beef and shrimp paella was delicious. The bacalao tapas was interesting - seems like deep fried ball fish covered in sauce.

For drinks, Kahlua seemed overpowering on my espresso martini. Moscow mule was decent - quite a small drink though.

Had a date night here and it was so fun. Delicious food and drinks and the staff is super friendly.

Cool establishment! The atmosphere is very good. Food and cocktails are very tasty. I will come back to this place for sure! I recommend

When I moved back to a downtown Calgary job, I was thrilled to see that Barcelona had succeeded in surviving the pandemic and staying relevant, and it's no surprise why- Consistently good creative food and service on one of the busiest corners in the core.

A lesser effort would have failed but Jeff and team know how to draw diners in during the lunch time - keep it fun, delicious and quick - and they've done it for a long time now.

Glad to be back and thanks for being there Barcelona

Not the best experience you gave us,
That drunk man asking for 3$ for mandatory coat check-in saying it’s to keep everyone safe so people don’t hide weapon in their coats, but also let you pass through the same crowd with your coat when you leave.

Charged us $7 in tips on a order of 2 Beer and a not so great Pizza.

I wonder if the management knows about this rip off.

Went here for lunch and two people in our group ordered the lettuce wrap, however was given the chicken sandwich instead. When we pointed this out, the waitress proceeded to gaslight us saying that's what we ordered in the first place despite everyone else in the group confirming this wasn't the case. They couldn't even eat the chicken sandwich due to their gluten allergies. They never ended up getting the correct order before lunch was over and left hungry.

I get mistakes with orders happens and lunchtime is busy, but gaslighting our group saying this is what we ordered and not correcting it is unacceptable.

Can't say too much about the food because we didn't get to eat it. Very disappointed.

Not much I can say about this place other than it's a 12 out of 10. Okay, I might say a bit more than that.

If you are looking for an alternative to the standard cookie-cutter places like National, Joey's, Cactus Club or Earls, then this is the spot for you.

I do enjoy the former places but they are all the same. High prices, the exact same menus, same décor in high profile locations.

Barcelona Tavern surprised me with two things:
1) The menu. They offer unique bar food other than your trendy/standard burger, poke bowl, and gyoza (you know, the typical Joey's stuff). They have a ROCKSTAR fried chicken burger. The best dry ribs I have eaten. Solid steak sandwich and a classic beef burger that blew my clothes nearly off.
2) The quality of food. I was blown away by the quality of the food. It's a bar so yes, it's bar food but it's fancy bar food. One of my favourite bars from back in the day was Hudson's in Oliver (YEG) because it was a pub, bar, club and good restaurant. Not many places can pull this off and maintain it but Barcelona has done just that.

I found a place where I can go with clients, my partner, my family and get quality food, and good vibes at one of the best locations in all of Calgary.

We came for a work lunch, reservations was easy, able to accommodate 15 people with a big table. Service was great, always ready to help our table.

Food itself was amazing too, definitely get the pork ribs for appetizer, chicken wings were also really good. The cauliflower was flavourful, wish it was cut up beforehand. As for the mains, the seafood paella was amazing, I wish it did have more paella though.

It has a definite market that having lived in Europe the last 30yrs eludes me. Staff were lovely though.

The waitress was lovely, the food delicious & it was very welcoming. Great place to have dinner.

Went there with colleagues for lunch and the restaurant was so noisy we couldn't hear each other. Virtual menu is not mobile friendly. I ordered the Greek village salad. The presentation was great. The halloumi was thin and hard (should be soft and tender) and the blackened chicken was the same - very thin overcooked pieces. The flavours of the salad seemed to work against each other.an odd combination of fermented, sweet, and savoury. My co-workers seemed to be enjoying their food so perhaps I just picked the dud on the menu. I'm quite familiar with Mediterranean food and this just missed the mark. The table service was great. Servers were fantastic and very attentive although a bit quick to remove the drinks but it didn't matter much because there are free refills on the iced tea. When I called later to make an inquiry about the menu, the person who answered was very rude and hung up without saying goodbye.

I visited a Mediterranean restaurant in Calgary, Canada with a friend after work. The ambiance was cozy, and the staff were incredibly welcoming and friendly. The menu offered a wide variety of dishes, and I thoroughly enjoyed the flavors of the Mediterranean. They had a great selection of craft beers, which was a delightful choice for beer enthusiasts like me. The dishes we ordered consisted of fresh seafood and had a perfect balance of seasonings that left me impressed with the burst of flavors in my mouth. Along with the enjoyable conversation with my friend, it was a relaxing way to unwind after a busy day. The experience of Mediterranean cuisine in Calgary was truly wonderful.

Came in with my wife for a little date night. We don't get out much so we really try to make the most out of it.

When we came in we spoke with the manager Dominick, he gave us incredible food recommendations. He really made the night special for us both and we will definitely be coming back for more date nights!

Nice place, good food. I had the steak and shrimp paella and it was delicious! A bit greasy but yummy nonetheless. Sat on the patio for lunch. Is nicely slightly shaded at lunchtime. I’m like that you can make reservations at this restaurant.

In general, the atmosphere is cool and the service is at a good level, but there are not enough ingredients and sauce in the burger, and the potatoes are very salty, it is impossible to eat them. The caesar salad had no sauce, and it spoiled the impression of the salad. Cocktails were good

My girlfriend and I arrived at Barcelona Tavern on Saturday March 25th at 8: 45pm after the Dr. Dre orchestra show down at the Palace.

Upon arrival at Barcelona, we were seated in the 2 seater section in between the front and back of the restaurant. I had asked to be moved to a different location in the main restaurant to a table that looked available but was told we couldn’t sit there because there was a Latin show later in the night.

We ordered a pitcher of Red Sangria to share as our beverage and the drink was good. My girlfriend ordered the chicken and parpadelle dish, while I ordered the Messi burger and fries, food was mediocre at best.

During our dining experience while eating our meals we were approached my a man and women promoting the Latin show in the restaurant and was asked if we wanted to partake in Latin night and that it was a $20 cover charge each. I was a little taken back as I would assume that since we were in the restaurant prior to Latin night having dinner that we would be exempt. I feel like it’s pretty unprofessional to ask customers while dining, I declined and was told that we would need to move to the back of the restaurant if we didn’t pay the cover, needless to say it felt like we were on a beach in Mexico getting accosted by the locals selling trinkets on the beach. Reluctantly, we paid the $40 and received a green flappy wristband.

After dinner, we decided to leave our seats and go stand by the bar for a final drink before heading home for the night. We ordered a strawberry margarita and a corona from the female bartender and I was paying upfront for the drinks. I was provided the debit machine with the totals already input on the machine for $22.50, I thought that was strange that there was no tip option, not to mention the cost for the two drinks. I asked for a copy of the receipt to which I received my debit receipt, I then asked for the itemized receipt and after a bunch of fumbling around it was handed over to me, only to find out that the bartender added her own $3.60 tip to my bill before having me pay.

The entire experience left a really bad taste in my mouth for being accosted to hand over money while eating dinner and then being taken for a ride by the bartender for her own thieving benefit.

I used to frequent this place during the lunch hour and had nothing but great things to say, but after last night I’ll never go back.

The food, service and atmosphere were all great at Barcelona. However, I felt that the pricing was fairly high and I would have liked to see a lunch menu with more affordable options. I had the Alberta Greens salad with steak. I could have chosen a less expensive protein but it was only a few dollars more than prawns so I went for it. Overall, my meal was SO DELICIOUS but as I mentioned earlier, I wish it had been more affordable. I won't be back again for lunch unless there is a lunch menu. A shame since I work next door and I would love to have lunch here more often with co-workers.