Bardeni-caldeni - Barcelona

Excellent experience! Pay no mind to the pretentious California reviewer who thinks the gastro world revolves around them : We were recommended this place by ou... read more Excellent experience! Pay no mind to the pretentious California reviewer who thinks the gastro world revolves around them : We were recommended this place by our tour guide at Familia Sagrada (we both worked as chefs in our previous careers . Intentionally small, no reservations for lunch, we stopped by and got the last table for two. Meat-focused we started with foie, “jamon” de vaca which was incredible and cured in-house I think I read, after which we shared oxtail and a ribeye plate which was stellar. The service was attentive and friendly. We enjoyed it and agree with the many other great reviews.

Very poor service. Unexpectedly cancelled our reservation and were brusque and dismissive when we tried to correct the situation. Not impressed. read more Very poor service. Unexpectedly cancelled our reservation and were brusque and dismissive when we tried to correct the situation. Not impressed.

Last night was my third time at Bardeni in the past year. Unfortunately, they seem to have taken their success as a license to treat their clients like the catt... read more Last night was my third time at Bardeni in the past year. Unfortunately, they seem to have taken their success as a license to treat their clients like the cattle they so deliciously prepare. Pushed in the door, pushed out the door, everything in a hurry, constantly trying to upsell ... the good food is not worth the annoying, rude service. Stop being so pretentious guys, there are plenty of places in Barcelona to get a good meal with friendly, polite waiters.

Hidden gem of super high quality meat! Bardeni is a tiny (10 tables for 2) gem of a restaurant in an otherwise very turisty setting just blocks away from the Sa... read more Hidden gem of super high quality meat! Bardeni is a tiny (10 tables for 2) gem of a restaurant in an otherwise very turisty setting just blocks away from the Sagrada Familia. Reservations are online, in advance and HAVE to be reconfirmed the same Day, which makes it a rather cumbersome deal, however given the size of the restaurant is understandable. All the meat cuts are impeccable quality. We had the picanha “ham” cured in house, the tenderloin and the 60 day dry aged steak. All were truly excellently prepared which in spain is usually medium rare at the most however given the quality of the meat is the perfect preparation. Servings sizes are moderate but sufficient. Wine list is good and self explanatory. Mobile signal is limited and no wifi in the restaurant .

Perhaps if you enjoy raw or undercooked meet, or previously prepared food, or just saying you dined at a Michelin star restaurant, you might enjoy this place. I... read more Perhaps if you enjoy raw or undercooked meet, or previously prepared food, or just saying you dined at a Michelin star restaurant, you might enjoy this place. I notice most reviews are quite old, so perhaps this used to be much better. We ended up here after our concierge recommended it for lunch after and due to the proximity to our La Sagrada Familia tour as it was a short walk and the area was filled with mostly take out style and casual restaurants otherwise. We were seated by 1:40 and the restaurant was almost filled at the time. The menu is rather limited to mostly beef, much of it what I would describe as delicacy items for those that enjoy more exotic food, ie sweetbreads, oxtail canneloni, steak tartare. Coming from So Cal near the beach, we have plenty of fine dining and beef options, although do not really care for some of these more exotic options. But, we decided to try to the steak tartare, and play it safe by ordering tuna tataki which is common where we live. We also ordered bottled water, bread with olive oil, two steak sandwiches and two orders of meatballs for entrees (that were supposed to be in a romensca sauce described by waitress as being made with tomatoes and peppers). We never received our water nor the olive oil, but did receive butter which they actually charge you for, as well as the bread. Forgot to check if we were charged for the water and olive oil as that is extra as well. Anyhow, the steak tartare was okay if you are into steak tartare. The tuna tataki was seared rare as described, but it was served entirely cold even on outside like it had been pre-made. In fact, in the red center were several brown spots as if it has been exposed to air. It did not taste that fresh and the sauce was just okay. It was one of the worst tuna tataki dishes I have had. When ordering our mains, we had asked if the meatballs could be cooked a bit more since they are cooked medium rare, and one person in our party asked if the sauce on their sandwich could be on the side, before ordering. We were told by the waitress a flat no with no explanation. We had no idea our steak sandwiches would be prepared rare (although she did mention the medium rare on the meatballs) as there was no mention by waitress or on menu even though we did inquire about it. The meatballs were indeed medium rare as we were told, but the entire meatballs were on the cold side, like they had been prepared about an hour before. Maybe this was because we did not get the food until about 2:40 after the kitchen closed at 2:30. But when we asked to warm up the food, we were told no, again no explanation. Our steak sandwiches also came rare and thus unedible for us and when we also asked to cook them more, we were also told no, also no explanation. When we told the waitress we could not eat them in this rare condition, but she said there was nothing she could do. She did not offer to take it off the bill, nor offer us anything else. She simply walked away. The meat of the meatballs were moist and would have been good had they been freshly prepared and warm. I am unclear what sauce they were actually in as it looked like clear beef broth and had little taste. It certainly was not a tomato and pepper sauce though. We all shared some of the cold meatballs because the rest of our food was not edible at all. The steak was also very fatty as it was very visually noticeable. It was said to be from Kansas. While that might be special to someone in another country, that is not a big deal from someone coming from S Cal. I have to question the people who said this is best meat or beef they have had anywhere, and where else they have dined before. We paid for the food we did not eat, and it was the only bad meal and negative experience we had of our week long trip. I do not usually leave many reviews, good or bad, but I felt I should forewarn others to hopefully prevent them from having a similar unfortunate experience.