Barrafina, London

I have very good friends. The kind of friends who buy you a voucher for Barrafina and not a modest one either. Generous enough that my boyfriend and I could go all in and order exactly what we wanted, without that usual mental tally running in the background.

Nothing I say here is going to be new. Everyone already knows Barrafina is good. This is really just me documenting a genuinely brilliant meal, paid for by people I love a lot.

We started with the pan con tomate, which I will order anywhere, every time. This was easily the best I’ve had with deep red, properly ripe tomatoes, soaked into crisp bread with just the right amount of garlic. 

Then the tortilla. At this point in my life, I hadn’t really had a proper one before, just the slightly sad, overcooked supermarket versions. This was a revelation. Soft, just set and saucy in the middle. Completely different to what I thought tortilla was supposed to be.

We kept going. Big, sweet langoustines dressed simply in olive oil, a seafood rice that was rich without being heavy and chicken thighs with romesco that were probably my favourite thing we ordered (the Barrafina romesco is the ultimate.)

Nothing about the menu is trying to be clever. It’s just very good ingredients, cooked really well and served without fuss.

And because my boyfriend has a serious sweet tooth, we finished with dessert.

It’s one of those meals that reminds you why places like Barrafina are so loved. Not because they’re doing anything surprising, but because they get the basics completely right.