Review Bar Tapa - Sydney

Omg! This place has some of the most amazing tapas outside of Spain Smart casual atmosphere great food amazing service This place is a must. We loved it here. It was our first time but won’t be our last. We sat outside and just people watched sipping a nice glass of wine and enjoying the food as it came. Food is fresh an incredible. Do yourself a favour and just go!

If you want the experience of a good tapas bar, this is the one. This bar would be a very good one if it were in Spain. Here in Sydney, the best I tired so far. It's not the typical restaurant with an endless low quality menu, they have a modest menu which is more than enough, but you know everything they serve is top quality and excellent flavours. The service is excellent, always smiling and fast. The price is very reasonable, I would say cheap for the quality you get.

Lovely little restaurant with great music! There is a nice selection of food to choose from. The tapas we ordered were very enjoyable, though the pimientos rellenos were a little bland. The paella could do with more meat and seafood, but was quite tasty to eat. It would be nicer if the chicken pieces used in the paella were boneless. Overall an enjoyable meal and a place that I wouldn't mind returning to for more!

Not bad tapas restaurant which can cater for couples, small-larger groups & walk ins. Service could be a bit more attentive & found it hard to find anyone at some points even though the place wasn’t very busy. We had to ask a few times for when our order of bar tapa’s version of bruschetta (as described by one of the waitresses) well after our other dishes were finished. It also had a tad bit too much salt on it which was a shame because it was rather tasty had it not been for the salt over powering it. The other dishes were good & had great flavours but having to wait for our last dish & the lack of service is why I haven’t given it a higher score.

Loved the place , really good service and variety of drinks. I really liked the ambience as well, lots of Spanish songs. For food we just got the patatas bravas and olives . Both were a really good compliment for our drinks and would definitely order again. For drinks we tried a variety. Tinto de verano was good but I felt it was missing a bit of the taste of wine. Next time I’ll try the sangria. The kalimotxo is what you would expect from coke and wine, still I think it was missing a bit more wine. The masclet I found really interesting and would try again. Finally I ordered the rebujito which I loved but just keep in mind it’s sweet. Overall had a great night and looking forward to come back and try some more cocktails and food.

Great little spot. The mushroom croquettes, sardines and chicken skewers are to die for. Very intermit and warm atmosphere.

There’s something very satisfying about finishing work, heading into a bar, and them being thoughtful enough to deliver you a little snack with your first, take-the-edge-off drink. Perhaps to curb the effects of an increasingly drunken workforce, delivering something tasty with your drink became a practice that still exists in places like Granada, Spain today. I suspect I wanted to like Bar Tapa because of my enthusiasm for this Spanish style of eating and drinking, more than I actually liked their food. The venue has taken over the Stanley Street space briefly occupied by Lazy Suzie (which then became Lucky Suzie after a tussle over a trademark). The exposed brick walls are now home to wall-to-wall Spanish memorabilia, which we take in over Sangria ($40/jug) that’s light and accessible. Our accompanying pincho (Spanish for thorn or spike) is a toothpick-speared slice of Spanish omelette on bread - bland but it does the job to ease those hunger pangs. With good bitterness from Pampelle L'apero Aperitif (ruby red grapefruit liqueur), blended with gin and sweet red vermouth (verut tinto), the Terroni ($14) would also make a good pre-dinner tipple. You'll like it if you are partial to a Negroni. Me, I’m mostly a martini drinker, and as such I enjoyed the Martini De La Casa ($14). It packed a surprising blast of heat from the brine being used for more than just olives, as the banderilla (named for a bullfighter's decorated dart) of pickles should have given away. While the drinks were good, our tapas were a bit less exciting. Buñuelos de Bacalao ($9) here are made with fresh cod rather than the pungent, salted dried cod you might be used to, which made them eat like mildly flavoured crisp, potato balls. Morcilla Encebollada ($9) was a bit better in the flavour department, with mild rounds of blood sausage served under a spoonful of slow-cooked onions and a dusting of parsley. A dish this simple lives or dies on the quality of your morcilla. I wished the Champiñones a la Plancha ($9) came as button mushrooms, with their caps containing a big burst of garlicky oil. Instead they were served as parsely-dominated slices that cooled too quickly on the plate, leaving me with precious little to mop up. This may have been fortuitous, because crusty bread was in short supply - the dish only came with two morsels of pimento piquillo paste-topped bread. We foolishly ordered Pan Con Tomate ($4) to eat with our embutidos (meats) and quesos (cheese) but only because it was the only menu option that we noticed that fitted the bill. Would have loved to have been steered towards crusty bread, because the tomato and olive oil rubbed sourdough only worked against Anchoas ($6) – a little plate of four anchovies and pitted green olives. Twelve-month old Manchego ($12) and Jamon Serrano ($12) would both have been better against plainer bread. Service was pleasant, though I probably would have drunk another round of cocktails if it had been more attentive. I found it slow to catch their attention, particularly as the loud, echoing space began to fill with noisy groups.

Best ‘toastie’ of my life - excellent ham & cheese croquettes - everything was great - including the service - terrific bar tender who managed to tend bar - take orders and serve the food - all with a smile. We will be back 👍🏻

Came here for a date that I quickly realised I needed to get out of. After a while, to speed things up, I went to pay and rather than just charging my card the waiter came back to the table and made a show of the fact I was paying even though my date already had left their card with the bar much earlier. I felt embarrassed by this as I was thinking about how to get out of there without looking really rude. Just some feedback for the staff I guess. The food looked good and the atmosphere was nice. I particularly like that there was different Spanish music playing in the bathroom than in the bar/restaurant.

Some dishes were great e..g patatas bravas, the muscles<br/>But some were very dissapointing<br/>- hot apple cider was served in a paper cup only 1/2 full for some inexplicable reason that wasn't explained<br/>- bread i.e. the baguettes were from woolworths- I could see them opening it in the kitchen were still cold from the fridge- DO NOT ORDER!!<br/>- service was all over the place as some reviewers have said- took ages to get our order taken, meat and cheese platter was served without anyone explaining which meat and cheeses were in front of us<br/>- you could tell the kitchen was very disorganised, saw them burn a slice of baguette twice!

Classic authentic Spanish, with some of the best cocktails this city has to offer. The food is spectacular. Rarely have I had so much fun, great vibe.... and the food! This is my 5th visit and I cant wait for my 6th, 7th and 8th... I highly recommend Bar Tapa...

If you love Spain you'll definitely love this place! Real authentic tapas presented in an unpretentious way with an incredible selection of Spanish wine, beer and cider.  This is what I would love to eat every single day, and thankfully their long list of items allows me to do just that!  Ole! What a place!

Sometimes it is nice to see bars that take service seriously. You get a complimentary tapas with every drink and the sangria are the best value for money here.<br/>Estrella on tap and tapas with each drink won me over. Nice neighbourhood bar kinda feeling. Highly recommend it.

There’s something very satisfying about finishing work, heading into a bar, and them being thoughtful enough to deliver you a little snack with your first, take-the-edge-off drink. Perhaps to curb the effects of an increasingly drunken workforce, delivering something tasty with your drink became a practice that still exists in places like Granada, Spain today. I suspect I wanted to like Bar Tapa because of my enthusiasm for this Spanish style of eating and drinking, more than I actually liked their food. The venue has taken over the Stanley Street space briefly occupied by Lazy Suzie (which then became Lucky Suzie after a tussle over a trademark). The exposed brick walls are now home to wall-to-wall Spanish memorabilia, which we take in over Sangria ($40/jug) that’s light and accessible. Our accompanying pincho (Spanish for thorn or spike) is a toothpick-speared slice of...

Once again, I have to admit to being disappointed by Sydney’s Spanish food. The gist of Bar Tapa may be authentic, but the quality just isn’t quite there. My advice? Stick with the simpler, guilty pleasure type of dishes, and order up from the specialised collection of Spanish alcohol.

An authentic, distinct, mouthwatering experience. You could easily mistake walking into Bar Tapa with walking into a tapas bar in Barcelona. The decor, a refreshing take on the gentrification of many tapas bars within the region providing a colourful and welcoming experience. Each dish was packed with flavour, with traditional favourites such as the patatas bravas and gambas al ajillo, and new takes and presentations on classics like the octopus served on potato slices. The only negative was the potato slices could have been seasoned prior to layering, but this was more than made up with the amazing sangria on offer. A must try, given the shortage of good spanish tapas bars in Sydney.

Best staff hands down, so friendly and involved honestly gave us the best experience for a 11 person birthday dinner, do get the patatas bravas you won't regret it

Really fresh addition to the Stanley St food scene, went for dinner and all our tapas were quite tasty, service was friendly and the atmosphere is very cool in the evening!

With no menu available on their website I was curious to check them out to see what's on offer. The banderillas and pinchos menu looked great posted on the front window but unfortunately was only available for dinner. The Crema Catalana ($7) is usually also for the dinner menu but the kitchen were able to make one for my lunch time visit. Very nice toffee topping achieved and lovely flavour. Light enough to enjoy solo. Next time I'm keen to try their churros but that will have to be at dinner time as well. Friendly service and Spanish theme filled decor makes for an interesting welcoming restaurant and bar vibe. The menu seems best suited for sharing although the calamari bocadillo is calling my name on the next solo lunch visit.