Barsa Taberna

Didnt eat here — came for drinks. Specifically, pitchers of Sangria. I think one of the cool things about Barsa Taberna is the variety of Sangria available — Red, White, Champagne, Rose. The issue is that these $ 40 pitchers that fill about four glasses are not that exquisite in flavour. A lot of tonic water is used, and concentrated juice with some fresh fruits. Maybe i ask for too much, but a place boasting of Sangria selections really need to do this the right way — soak their fruits in the wine and use fresh fruit juice.
Overall it’s okay for a nice night out and for date nights.

We had dinner here on a Friday night. Opted for the tasting menu ($ 60). This I think included 4 items and one of their two house paellas. Lots of smart flavours (seafood ceviche with a cilantro base! Lamb ribs with white chocolate!!!) that bounced from bright and acidic to smooth and savoury. Friendly and informed service. Also brought a bday dessert for my boo. I’m not usually a small plate fan but this was an excellent meal. Really glad we are neighbours!

After a couple of hours shopping at St Lawrence market, this lunch really hit the spot! I often find Sangria too sweet, so it was really nice to find multiple options; the dry red worked very well.
My wife had the beef empanadas with Pico de Gallo and salad. The salad and Pico were very fresh and nice, with a lovely dressing on the salad. The empanadas were very well filled with wonderfully seasoned beef, very tasty. My bison burger (freshly ground) was incredibly good with the avocado and pork belly. The Patatas Bravas were really good, and the house pickled veg! Service was good. Over all, a really nice meal.

Came here with two colleagues for lunch. Great atmosphere and service. We came here before for an office holiday party which we recall the food being delicious which is why we decided to come for lunch. Unfortunately, not all the food this time was as good. We got a few dishes to share. We started with the tuna croquettes and grilled octopus as starters. The croquettes were delicious but the octopus was only okay. We also got the paella with chicken which was a bit bland and the sea bass sandwich which came with patatas bravas (fried potatoes with a spicy garlic tomato sauce) was pretty tasty. Overall, I still enjoyed it and I’ll probably come back for the croquettes!

Came for lunch and everything was excellent the squid ink pasta with seafood was perfect and the grilled octopus was exceptional. The wait staff was very courteous and really attentive. This was our first time and will definitely be coming back

Went there on the Easter Sunday. I have to say this is a neat place! It’s tucked away opposite of the St. Lawrence Market, and when you walk in you’ll immediately be immersed in a different place. It used to be the cellar of the LCBO upstairs, so the décor is very cool. We ordered the seafood paella, roasted pork shoulders with an assortment of beans, plus it was 5 dollar mimosa day, so i got one. The service was great and food was refreshing. Everything combined together made this place great for conversations! I would go back again!

Lovely hole in the wall Spanish resto with a great selection of tapas and Spanish fare. My gf and I ordered the patatas bravas with beef cheek, seafood paella, foie gras on Crustini, seabream ceviche, and a half dozen oyster mignonettes. Next time I return, I’ll be sure to order a pitcher of sangria as the ladies at the next table highly recommended it. I’ll definitely be back in the summer!

Look out, Raymond’s! Barsa has a bill of fare that’s comparable, if not superior, to yours! My love & I ate at Barsa on Valentine’s Day and were majorly impressed! There was a special menu (see pics) and our servers made us feel special, too!
We started with a pitcher of the Sangria Cava, a light, white fruity affair, while we perused the menu. First course was a selection of appetizer samples, which included a tuna & fois gras taster, a garlic oyster, a ham croquette, butternut squash gazpacho, and a surprisingly-​spiced devilled egg. Next course was a grouper ceviche — yum! — followed by a mushroom broth poured over dried herbs, with a manchego churro. Delightful!
We paused for a refreshing glass of white Cava wine before having squid-​ink linguini with chunks of squid and small clams tossed with vermouth, fennel & crispy sweet potato strings. Fabulous! Then the main course — what?! — of the most tender cuts of venison (tasting non-​games!) I’ve ever experienced, combined with roasted beets, radish slices, hazelnuts, a parsnip gravy, and a mild chocolate sauce on the side. Magnificent!
We ended our meal with Illy Americans and a Spanish cheese plate — not opting for a white chocolate cheesecake, which seemed unnecessarily sweet after so fine a meal. I can’t wait for patio season to come, when I’ll gladly return to Barsa, my Spain away from Spain!

Man what a great experience I had the other night here, the food and service was impeccable, the meal was served with perfect timing starting with the 2 tapas dishes. The fried peppers arrived first, once they were done, boom there were the patatas bravas, and man both were spot on!!! Absolutely delicious. our servers teamed up to serve us and we felt really well taken care of. The hostess/​waitress was incredibly friendly and helpful.
I’m not a wine person at all, I rarely if ever drink it, as I’ve just never been a fan of grape juice of any kind, but holy wow was that Sangria ever good! I could have drank the entire jug! it was just super delicious!
The main course was the seafood Paella and wow again! it was absolutely excellent, the seafood was super fresh, and cooked to perfection, the whole pan of paella was absolute bliss, if I wasn’t so full from the tapas and the fruit stuffed Sangria, I would have eaten the whole thing. The Paella was so good i absolutely took what was left to go.
To be honest I’m confused with some of the tepid reviews here, but reading them, one quickly realizes that they must not be familiar with Spanish food and especially Tapas, and they are obviously not familiar for paying more than $ 15 for dinner either. I mean one girl who complained called what she believed to be a mousse, «Moose» lol, so it’s hard to take the word of someone that can’t even spell or accurately describe what they were eating as gospel.
I guess i liked this place so much I’ve taken some of the negative reviews a little personally, and hence the previous and coming statements, but man I’m just not seeing in any way whatsoever why anyone would complain about this place…
Being in the service industry myself, I fully understand that you can never satisfy everyone, and that many people are just naturally negative, and they just simply love to complain as well. Like what’s with the girl slamming the décor? she must have had a crappy day, because in my opinion, the décor is absolutely charming! I loved the grotto vibe, it’s very modern Spanish, and suits the place and it’s food perfectly.
Anyway, to conclude, I found the food very good, the service was excellent, I would definitely return! this was worth the money, and FYI, Travel zoo currently (Jan. 2016) has an awesome meal for 2 coupon if you are interested in giving this place a try.

The interior looks very quaint like a traditional tapas bar in Barcelona. Food selection is great has a variety of combination. The chorizo platter with chicharon is very delicious. The Savory Churro filled with manchego cheese filling is unexpected and was not even on the menu but we had it for menu tasting and a must try. Paella is well presented, mouth watering and authentic as you can get. Server is also friendly and Service is fast considering that it’s a weekend. It’s like going to Barcelona without leaving Toronto.

Ambiance, very cool.
Food, the place has so much potential but the food is subpar. The 2 star is for the location, wine and ambiance.

Went for dinner with another couple before heading to a Second City show on a Saturday night. Because of the early show we had to also take in an early dinner, which meant the restaurant was rather empty, but also meant we didn’t have to worry about bothering anyone.
The food was absolutely delicious! I myself had never had tapas before and didn’t really know what to expect, but thankfully the other couple we were with knew what they were doing and ordered all sorts of delicious choices. The prices were reasonable, perhaps a bit more than I’d usually pay, but probably what you’d expect for downtown Toronto (and by the St. Lawrence market).
Definitely a place that’s well suited for couples, or groups of friends, we’ll definitely be back!

More on the expensive end for the food portions, but totally worth the price. The atmosphere at the restaurant is quite loud, but cozy and a nice place for a girls night out. They have AMAZING sangrias, the rosado and tinto are my favourites so far.
Food wise, the menu is pretty sparse but the charcuterie platter is really great. You really can’t go wrong with any of the meat platters. Would also highly recommend the Spanish noodles with mushrooms.

Sitting along the beautiful market street, me and 5 other colleagues came here for lunch on a Thursday around 1.00pm. There were about 4 – 5 other tables seated. The décor is beautiful, with brick walls, glass bottle murals and funky art.
I got the grilled octopus off the lunch menu ($ 15) it was a unfortunately a very small portion and definitely was not filling enough for a meal. The octopus was grilled nicely though and the potatoes were nice and charred and salty, I just wish it was bigger or it was mentioned on the menu…
My coworkers got the fish sandwich, and again unfortunately they said that it was only mediocre, the piece of fish was really too small and they got a lot of bread. Their potato wedges were good and hearty though and their homemade ketchup is delish.
The service was ok, nothing special, a bit slow, not super friendly but not horrible. I would however not return anytime soon or recommend going there with other options around the neighbourhood.

Thanks to the Unilocal app, my friend and I was able to enjoy a free glass of white sangria.
I must say… the sangria was so BOMB, this was the best drink I have had in a very long time. My friend from Vancouver was craving for some Spanish food and she had found this place close to her hotel.
We ended up ordering the Grilled Octopus and Paella to share. The grilled octopus was kind of small but it was extremely tasty. We didn’t notice how long we were waiting for the Paella because we were busy chatting away, but the chef wasn’t happy with how the Paella turned out, so he decided to cook another batch. He was generous enough to give us complementary Albacore & Jamon Corquetas.
The place was decorated really nicely and since it was a beautiful day outside, we sat in the patio. The servers at the restaurant were polite and checked up on us regularly.
My friend and I would definitely come back to try the Rose Sangria and other items on the menu.

Was at Barsa on the patio this weekend. Nice patio.
Service, on the other hand, was quite piss poor. After waiting for a hostess to arrive, we decided to seat ourselves. After that, we had two different waitresses walk by 4 – 5 times each, none stopping to offer us a menu, welcome us or get us some water. Finally we flagged one down.
When the small menu did arrive, we were told that because it was 3:30pm, we could only order off the tapas list (7 items) as brunch was over and the lunch/​dinner items weren’t available until 4:30pm. Kind of disappointing to have half of the small menu not even available.
I ordered a jamon and tuna croquette ($ 3), a serving of olives ($ 4) and an order of patatas bravas ($ 7). Croquette was delicious, slightly larger than a golfball sized. Potatoes were delicious too. The olives, which I normally love, were very, very salty. So salty in fact that I couldn’t finish them, which was a shame because the portion size was great. Not sure why they were so salty, but as a salt lover, when I say they were too salty, I mean VERY salty!
My other friends didn’t have as good luck with the menu, each ordering a $ 7 green salad which looked like a few pieces of lettuce in the bowl.
When the bill came, we were surprised to see they had charged us $ 6 for water, which was seemingly tap water brought in a jug (definitely wasn’t sparkling or even still) and they had overcharged us with an item we hadn’t ordered. They did fix the bill for us after we complained about both the extra item and the water, but the waitress was a bit b1tchy about it.

3 words: Get the Sangria!
The 2 of us arrived around 530 pm on a beautiful Wednesday in June. We had made a reservation about an hour before but we didn’t really need one at that point as it was fairly open. However, it did get busy soon after that (on the patio at least).
Our server, Tabitha was very friendly, patient and helpful. We were served waters very quickly (awesome on a hot day!) but we knew we wanted to try their sangria! We toyed between the Cava (Mas Fi Cava, Torres brandy, raspberry syrup, brandy mango, fresh raspberry and blueberry) and the Rojo (Merlot vino, Torres brandy, peach liqueur, strawberry syrup, red wine oranges, brandy strawberries) but we opted for a small pitcher of the Cava ($ 25). A delightful experience indeed! And lots of fruit in the glass to save for dessert (Tabitha brought us spoons at the end of our meal to enjoy the mango, blueberry and raspberry that remained in our glass). The small pitcher is $ 25 (total 3 glasses) and the large is $ 45 (5 glasses).
The menu is tapas style. Small portions but perfect for sharing. Cold, hot, fried, and large plates.
We ordered:
Cold:
— olives ($ 4)
— pan con tomate: vine ripe tomatoes, black garlic, avocado mousse, thief sourdough, barsa chips ($ 11)
— brassicas salad: broccoli purée, cabbage slaw, white kimchi, 62 degree egg, ben’s mustard, majorero ($ 11)
— market ceviche: today they had sea bream and the market price was $ 13.
Hot:
— seared halibut: brown butter grits, braised nuts, peas, chimichurri ($ 16)
We also wanted to split their hamburgersa from the large plate menu but they ran out of buns so we decided against it.
The food was delicious! Ceviche, salad and halibut were the highlights for me but it was all great.
My partner in crime ordered the Margarita Azul ($ 13) which was made with Hora Azul tequila, grand marnier, agave syrup, fresh lime and mint. Very refreshing and she was generous enough to share with me! I was very impressed when the glass of wine ordered (that we did not enjoy at all) was quickly taken away at no charge and we were brought another (sauv blanc) that was much better.
A friend joined us later and ordered the pisco sour ($ 12) which was made with pisco brandy, fresh lime, agave syrup and a blackberry. I saw another review that said this drink was too sweet but we found it delicious! You can ask them to put less agave if you prefer less sweet. We did that with the margarita.
All in all, a wonderful evening. I will definitely be back!

This is a 4 star review mainly based on their drinks, since all I had to eat here was their banderillas and patatas bravas. The food while delicious did come in pretty small portions, the rest of their tapas menu does seem to very interesting if on the slightly pricey side which is not surprising given the location. But not ridiculous enough to not want to come back here.
I came in here looking for a spot to grab a quick drink and with their happy hour being advertised outside, it seemed like the perfect reason to step in here. It was I believe something like $ 5 or $ 6 glasses of their house wine which was actually pretty good, they do also have a Unilocal check in offer for a free glass of sangria which totally sealed the deal because their sangria was very delicious. I belive we had the Sangria Rojo, the Cava sounds delicious too, so that would likely be my next go to drink.
The service here was good, we came in basically as they opened so my party of 3 were the only ones being served, our waitress seemed a little rush I think since she might have just gotten there, we spoke a bit to the manager (maybe owner?) and he was very friendly and ensured that we were well taken care of.
I don’t dine out in this area often, but Barsa would be my go to spot at least on Market Street.

Barsa Taberna is a fairly new restaurant in the St. Lawrence Market area that offers traditional Spanish-​style tapas with a modern influence of global flavours. Barsa aims to capture the essence of Barcelona by creating a social dining experience reflective of Spanish-​inspired food, design and culture.
The space was designed by John Tong and his work adapts the culture of Barcelona while still paying homage to Toronto. In fact the building itself is a 170 year old restored heritage building that has kept most of it’s identity of early Toronto. The original stonework and wooden beams are surrounded by Gaudi and Picasso inspired design, mosaic floors and a montage of hand-​cut wine bottles that make up the main wall.
I attended a launch party at Barsa a few months ago and the space was bustling with people, Flamenco guitarist performances, Spanish-​inspired design, endless sangria and delicious tapas all of which added to the aura of a Cantalonian vibe. After a few drinks you may even think you’re in a different city…
Of course I started the night off with a lot of sangria! Barsa has three main types of sangria, a Blanco (chardonnay, calvados apple liquor, green apples, grapes, macerated cantaloupes), Rojo (rarnese montepulciano, brandy peach liquor, red wine orange macerated strawberries) and Rosada (rose vino, brandy, pama liquor, raspberry syrup, cucumbers, blackberries macerated watermelon). The Rojo was my favourite of the three, but I can’t complain about any of them. All were flavourful, well-​balanced and full of house-​macerated fruits. If you’re not a huge sangria fan the long and impressive wine list will definitely entice you or perhaps a pint of the beer of Barcelona, Estrella Damm.
Now on to the food. The menu is divided into cold, hot and fried tapas. There are also larger plates for sharing and a pastry menu. There are many traditional Spanish tapas such as the pan con tomate ($ 7), or the patatas bravas ($ 7). There are also some tapas with a multicultural twist such as the grilled octopus with channa masala ($ 12) or the pok pok prawns with pineapple glaze ($ 11).
Some of the dishes at Barsa:
Chorizo Tasting — 4 types, house made, garnishes — $ 22
Idiazabal Cheese Bocadillo — sherry marmalade, green olive tapenade — $ 10
Grilled Octopus — channa masala, tamarind water, papadum — $ 12
Braised Beef Short Rib — piquillo, sugar snap peas, collards, orange — $ 13
Serrano Ham — fermin serrano, pickled green beans, pommery mustard — $ 9
Sangria Cake — coconut tres leche, compressed fruit mango sherbert — $ 9
Barsa Taberna is a great addition to the Market Street strip and is open for after work pinchos, dinner and weekend brunch!

This place was love at first sight, situated right beside the St Lawrence Market on a side street, Barsa partial underground tapas bar is something to try. For those who’ve been to Bar Isabel, Toritos, etc, Barsa is among a contendor in the city where Tapas bars are becoming more prevelant.
The interior is very contemporary, Artsy-​Picasso-​Gaudi inspired with mosaics, bricked wall, fancy lighting, bar stools and bottled décor. Its no wonder why people love this place.
Their drink menu is extensive and they have a great selection of tapas categorized; hot, cold, chef’s choice, etc. They also have an option for those looking to order entrée, and desserts. For food, firstly with my buddy and I being UnilocalERS! checking in gets you a free white or red sangria during October! After Sangria we ordered a bottle of Tempranillo which complimented our foods which followed.
–Serrano Ham (thinly sliced) served with pickled green beans and honey mustard 4.5÷5
–Grilled ocotpus, lightly grilled and served on a bed of chana masala, and papadum ⁵⁄₅!!!
—Patatas Bravas not too crunchy, served with a light marinara sauce ⁴⁄₅
—-cheese dessert platter; drunken manchego cheese, blue cheese, brie-​like cheese, sweet almonds, raspberry jelly jam and oregano garlic toasted sticks. 4.5÷5
The presentation and service was excellente! plus It was especially nice to have the servers explain the dish that’s being served to us… it just adds an extra UMPH! to the service! Josh the manager came by to also thank us UnilocalERs for coming out to try Barsa!
I would come back here to try a few other dishes, however keep in mind I found the prices to be slightly higher in comparison to Archive, and Toritos