Barvale- San Francisco, CA

In the mood for tapas? Look no further than Barvale, San Francisco’s local tapas bar. With options like patatas bravas and paella, the restaurant is a popular destination for local foodies.

With no reservation, we arrived at the restaurant at 5:30, when it opened. We were seated on high bar stools and given a flurry of recommendations, such as the fideua, or squid ink noodles, and the pulpo, a Spanish take on octopus.

The restaurant’s tapas options are limited but traditional, each prepared on small plates and beautifully garnished. We ordered both the pulpo and fideua based on the recommendation, as well as my favorite, the patatas bravas.

The pulpo arrived first, served on a bed of fingerling potatoes and olives. The octopus was rich in flavor and topped with paprika, made delicious by the way it was cooked and the quality of the octopus, not by the garnish. While I’m not particularly fond of olives, the fingerling potatoes were a nice touch to the dish.

It is a well-known fact that potatoes are everyone’s carb of choice. It’s certainly mine, and these patatas bravas filled my desire for both spicy food and potatoes. The brava sauce underneath added that little bit of spice and the crispy potatoes topped my whole meal off.

The fideua proved to be the most instagram worthy of all the dishes, garnished with delicious peppers and paprika sauce. The squid ink noodles did did turn my mouth black, but it was well worth it.

While not quite as delicious as my unbeatable meal at Kitchen Story, Barvale was an excellent choice for Spanish tapas. Their traditional yet simple dishes were well-done, and I’d definitely go again.

🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

My days in SF are numbered, but I’m taking advantage of every moment! I’ll see you next time,

Anya