Last Saturday I joined Laura and her visiting cousin, Julia, for a tapas dinner at Barrica on Goodge Street, a place neither of us had visited before. We got there for 9pm and the place was positively buzzing. A good sign.

With bread and olives on the table after only a few minutes we decided on quite a wide spread of tapas. First up was some nice cured ham; Jamon Cebo, which was delicious.

I can never resist pimientos de padron, either in the supermarket or in restaurants, so we had a plate. I like the bitterness and the salt and to have them in between other plates.

Patatas bravas with aioli is another classis and these were very nice. Delightfully crisp on the outside, flavourful bravas sauce and strong garlic flavour in the aioli.

These little bechamel croquettes with lightly smoked cheese and summer truffle were absolutely wonderful and one of my favourites.

The morcilla was also delicious with plenty of umami flavour and depth. I’m not fond of black pudding and similar but love both the flavour and texture of morcilla.

This little neat duck breast toast was really scrumptious with a sweet little layer of onions (?) underneath the duck.

The clams with fennel and artichokes were bursting with flavour and very juice and nice. Also a nice contrast to the meats.

Laura and Julia also shared this lovely piece of salmon with lettuce and beans which I passed on. I am quite tired of salmon in general (after having grown up in Sweden) and prefer it cured or smoked rather than cooked. And I was also to full. But it still looks great and the girls enjoyed it.

I really liked this place. It feels authentic in proper and the food is great. The atmosphere is lovely too and the only thing I wasn’t fond of was the uncomfortable stools, so book a table with proper chairs if you can.

Other than that I loved it. And you’ll love the prices too. Seriously good value for money.

Barrica Tapas Bar, 62 Goodge Street, London W1T 4NE, 020 7436 9448