My Husband’s 60th Birthday

Ordered the Octopus and although it was tender and tasty we received two small tentacles. Not worth the $30 price. Maybe if it was $10-15. The seafood paella smelt smoky - turns out the rice on the bottom was burnt. Mussels were dry and tiny. Shrimps were tasty as were the clams. But there was no fish or scallops or chicken or sausages which are typically included in paella. Again not worth the $50 price tag. My date and I shared both dishes. Left hungry. Best part of the evening was the Spanish wine and the ambiance is very nice. Service was good and it’s a busy popular place. But perhaps their tapas would have been a better choice.

Absolutely beautiful and unusual place to eat and enjoy the ambiance. Our server was super .... good at her job and very nice into the bargain. Made good choices..... The tasting menu was good and varied, however I was a bit surprised it did not contain any red meat at all. Everything was interesting and beautifully prepared and presented. I enjoyed the time, the company, the location and the food. Sangria was ok, not superb and we had a leisurely dinner with friends with lots of laughs and good food. Enjoyable and would recommend.

Food was outstanding and our waiter, Ali, was amazing at helping us negotiate the menu.

The noise level in the back room was not energetic but LOUD - so they quickly moved us to the front of the house where we enjoyed that energetic atmosphere and could actually hear each other!

Amazing experience. We went for my husbands birthday. The staff was so nice and attentive. The drinks were so good we had Sangria it was delicious. The food was amazing. I can’t say enough good things about it. Can’t wait to go back again! Thanks

Excellent service! We had a great family dinner and enjoyed the food.

My wife and I went to this restaurant on Feb 15th with a reservation at 5:00 p.m. for a late valentines celebration. We entered the establishment and immediately our first impression was what a nice comfy atmosphere, lights dimmed, nice music, cozy decoration, not crowded, in fact we could only see one table occupied. The hostess greeted us and walked us straight to the side of the occupied table, I wondered at the moment why would she sit us so close to the only customers in the restaurant? Later on it got really uncomfortable since we could here everything the couple next to us was saying and we actually had to wait for them to finish talking so we could talk because it basically felt like a table for Four, eventually they started to have small talk with us because they were Right there! and all the other tables were empty so...really awkward.
Our waitress which we realized later on it was the only one in the restaurant and new didn’t take our order right, asked for a Stella from her recommendation and then came back saying they don’t carry Stella but Estreya! Okay that’s not a big deal I can live with that, we asked for a manchego starter which was good, as our main we asked for a lomo with chimichurri and here is where the real tragedy happens, when the main comes she brought us a complete blue steak without asking what term we wanted our meat, this is a $40 steak which comes with no sides just the steak and the sauce, I told her to please tell the chef to cook it a little bit more because we don’t eat blue meat, she took it back easily, the issue was that it returned like an hour after completely cold, we couldn’t send it back again and decided just not to eat it, we finished our drinks asked for the bill and on top of that they ask for 18% tip minimum, mind you is only two persons dining not a group, anyways post valentines celebration was ruined for the choice of restaurant. Personally I’m never coming back and not recommending to anyone.

We went on Valentine's night. It was a fixed menu which was nice to try different dishes like garlic soup which we really liked. The kale salad was very good with very tasty ingredients. We really enjoyed the seafood paella. And good choices of desserts. They gave us a salty item after the soup to cleanse our pallet. It was very salty. Overall the staff were very friendly and helpful. And we will go back. Especially in the summer when they have a lovely outdoor patio. The atmosphere is very different and comfortable.

Ardina was an amazing server! So attentive and thoughtful, quick and efficient service. Thank y ok for everything she was wonderful and made our experience so enjoyable!

Very impressed with the cuisine and whole dining experience.

We had three dishes. The first was a tartar which was quite good, but not enough toasted bread with it. The second course octopus was very good but served far too cold. The final dish was a beef paella which was awful. I'm not sure how they call it paella as it was very wet had ground mixed throughout and included a number of unusual ingredients. At least it was served hot.

Service was OK but not great. Expensive and poor. Don't go.

Had an early dinner pre-show. Server was excellent and very helpful. Enjoyed the food very much, especially the manchego churros and Brussels sprouts (daily special). Lovely experience overall.

Fantastic sangria, food very tasty, good service. Love their gazpacho, tasted very unusual paella.
Will come back. Miss the brunch!

We have walked by Barsa for several years until we decided to drop in on Friday. It was not overly busy.
Our waiter, Ali (he's there Friday and Saturday) is delightful. He is friendly, looked after us well, and is knowledgeable of the menu.
The Tapas plates were all excellent.
I have only rated Scaremouche as a 5 in Toronto and hence could not rate Barsa as a 5. But the 4 I gave Barsa is the same rating I gave for Canoe and George.
Barsa is more fun.

Over priced New Years Eve menu for few choices. White Sangria was syrupy and tasted more like peach juice. 18% Tip added to bill without prior knowledge for a small group of four. Disappointed due to reading prior reviews.

Terrible service. Servers were clearly not interested in the clients. I gave a tip only because people have to survive but awful. This is my third time and previous times were excellent

Food was overpriced. On the salty side and average. Was expecting better quality and taste for the price - especially the paella.
On the plus side, Service and Ambiance was very good.

Amazing food and service, nice decor and atmosphere, portion size was larger than expected for Tapas but we managed and thoroughly enjoyed.

Great meal and service. Just wish there were quieter spaces.

Everything fine but we asked twice to be relocated to rear room and were declined twice.rear tables were empty for rest of night while we were there.we are regulars and first time we have not been accommodated.

I came in on a Thursday night ... Benjamin was playing his guitar - he’s incredible ! I love the Mediterranean Spanish feel . A great old coach house turned into a fabulous And delicious tapas restaurant. In addition to all this greatness , we love our camarera ... Vanessa !! She rocks !! She’s very professional , warm and engaging. Great personality ( Gemini) . I will definitely ask for her section again and again . Thank you all for being a great team .

~ Jorge

I love this restaurant ... amazing tapas and excellent service. We did the tasting menu this time and the food just kept coming - fresh and creative dishes. Great atmosphere in a historic building with modern touches and great music!

The tapas style food at Barsa was well prepared and well presented. The flavours, though well balanced and inviting, were not as rich and full as had been expected. The size of the portions was commensurate with the pricing, a good balance permitting the guest to choose more options for the same overall price. The menu selection was adequate though a few more options would be welcome. The selection of wines by the glass was somewhat limited. The ambiance was very pleasant; the set up of the dining area being spread over three rooms is a good arrangement and provides an improved level of intimacy. The raw undressed stone work of the walls were a contrast with the vibrant colours of the floor and furniture Rustic warmth complemented with visual vibrancy. As the evening developed, and the rooms and tables became occupied, the speed of the service noticeably reduced. One extra hand would have made a big difference: with a tapas based presentation, timing between courses becomes critical. The owners would do well to keep larger groups off to the side where louder patrons would be less noticable. One reason to choose Barsa Taberna is its small rooms and mostly quiet though animated setting, so a few loud voices can damage what might be an intimate evening. The guests were all ages though mostly young professionals. Having more restaurants like Barsa Taberna would be a welcome addition to Toronto down-town scene.

The octopus and cocktails were great. Love the atmosphere!

Only 3 tables were occupied, including us, and it was rather on the noisy side. Not bad, but certainly not a quiet dinner. I can see it being loud if it had been a busy night.
Food was fantastic with a little bit of flair to change things up from traditional Spanish cooking. Staff were attentive but not overbearing, and very helpful. All in all a great experience and I would definitely return

Great ambience, food and service. It is one of the few places that serve authentic Spanish food with great quality and inventive presentation. Service was great too. It is pricey though.

Great food, very noisy table beside us that had alot of wine :)
Also waiter was friendly enough but the guy (Ali) didnt crack a smile all night, very stiff

Food was delicious, but our server was extremely condescending and put a damper on my birthday dinner. From the very beginning we expressed interest in the tasting menu but have never had a tasting menu before, so we asked her to explain it. She was very misleading and vague, and did not explain the tasting menu accurately, despite us asking a bunch of questions. We were led to believe that each person would get one of each course, and she literally said that she would tailor the meal to our requests and sub out options for those who have dietary restrictions. We had one friend who doesn’t eat pork and another who doesn’t eat shellfish, yet there were 2 pork dishes and a shellfish paella - that doesn’t sound very tailored to me! We didn’t realize that by “sub out” she really meant that my friends with dietary restrictions would just have to eat more of the other food in the other courses!

After waiting over an hour from when we were seated, the first course came. Then the small cheese plate. We were a party of 9 and were only given 8 half slices of toasted bread to accompany the cheese. I asked if we could get one more half slice so that everyone at the table had one, and our server looked visibly annoyed and gave a very dismissive explanation about how we’re “not paying for the bread” and how they can only cut it into slices of 4... my only question is if we are collectively paying almost $900 as a table, how is one extra slice of bread an issue? The servers attitude and rude explanation was extremely unwarranted since we had asked extensively about the tasting menu ahead of time and never did she mention that we would have to be rationing our meal between the 9 of us...

After this encounter, our server did not return. Her replacement was a blonde server and she was lovely. The meal overall was delicious but the whole experience was soured by our initial interaction with our waitress. We felt that the automatic 18% tip was was undeserved. Would not return.

Great atmosphere, friendly and knowledgeable staff, and delicious food. Yes, it's pricey, but you don't leave feeling that you overpaid; the food and drink quality matches the price. Highly recommend!

Food was good. Nothing blew us away. Service was a bit slow, and it seemed like everyone was going through the motions, but there was no passion, no it factor. Had a good meal, but would not return or recommend. To nit pick, Small issues we had were watching the bartender eating while making our martini’s, then pretend to be busy when he noticed we had saw him. Waiter took our Margherita pitcher with still 3/4 of a drink left in it. No place to hang coats. Debit machine starting @ 20% tip option and going up. Waiters name on the receipt was ‘parrrttttayyyyy!’ Again, good was good. Not spectacular. Just seemed like no one in there had any sort of investment. Just a place to work.

As good as it gets. Great menu with a Middle Eastern fusion. Very well executed. Great staff in a stunning building. Well done!

Food was delicious, live music was really nice - but service was really bad.
Our reservation was for 8pm and the kitchen “closed” at 8:15 and last call for drinks 9:30

Early meal. We were well received at this hour and seated graciously. Very attentive service. Tapas choices were varied and well thought out. Would go back in a flash. Well priced. Drinks were a bit underpowered but tasted good; margeritas well balanced. Clevery ambiance in a nifty bodega. Well done.

Was decent overall but pretty expensive for what you get

Noisy to the point where we couldn't have a normal conversation. We asked for a wine list that never came. We had to ask twice. Food was very good.

We have been there several times. The food is flavorful, the atmosphere is warm, the service is excellent. Can get noisy!

Food and atmosphere were both outstanding. We really appreciated our server giving us her honest opinion on food choices. We particularly loved the ceviche.

Cool little tapas joint built into the base of a heritage building. Cozy, almost cave-like atmosphere. Wide variety of tasty tapas (garlic shrimp is my favourite dish), and there are daily drink specials. Nice patio, too.

Would recommend for the food, our experience with the service wasn't good. Inattentive and distracted staff, had to wait long to order second round of plates, and lots of audible private conversations between servers and bartenders took away from the experience. The food was great, but service was poor.

Dinner is their forte, not brunch. Very weak brunch menu.