First Bites of Barceloneta

Barceoneta, the third installment of the Pubbelly empire, opened a few weeks ago. I feasted at a friends and fam dinner the night before they opened and experienced some very good things. The atmosphere is great, although I found myself thinking the music was too loud. Which then depressed me because that means I'm getting old. (Side note: one day I'll write a blog post on the best spots in the city to actually have a conversation and where the music is great but unobtrusive.). But back to the food.

Dinner starts off with complimentary “pica pica,” house made marinated olives. Then it was on to plates of pan con tomate (tomato-rubbed baguette slices - fresh and tangy). The brandada de bacalao, a salted codfish spread, was a bit rich but the mini-loaf of bread imported from Spain was good for absorbing the salty fishy goodness. Plates of roasted padron peppers tossed with sea salt followed along with piquillo peppers are stuffed with garrotxa cheese. The “butifarra” is homemade pork sausage spiked with brandy and cream. Best dish of the night: the “coca” flatbread (below), a rich melange of foie gras, grilled eggplant and chives.

Didn't have high hopes for dessert - I see the PB crew as excelling more at savory dishes but the Torrejas were lovely and light - fluffy egg-soaked slices of bread pan-fried to a crisp. The chocolate souffle wasn't bad either. Overall, a fun new spot to go for drinks and delicious tapas.

1400 20th St
Miami Beach, FL 33139
(305) 538-9299