A great place for sharing plates! Great staff! Always like to sit at the bar. We ate here two years ago and it's still good. Plus, the Monday night we went they had a great 4 piece jazz quartet that made the night even better.When we're back in Charleston we'll definitely go back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Doug Gildenberg
Fantastic food and drinks! Only downside was it was very
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 5
Gregory Steele
We’re visiting Charleston for the first time and are BIG foodies. Had an air bnb right here on line street just 2 blocks away. Spent our final evening with Barsa Tapas, blow away with our service at the bar from harry. Personable, professional, down to earth. Everything you want out of your staff. Food was up to par but could have used one more touch, across the board. Overall extremely happy and will come back. Harry made our entire experience.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Dylan T.
Looking from the outside you wouldn't guess what you're getting into. Went for dinner and sat inside, while they did seem to have a nice patio as well. It was dimly lit and had a jazz band playing. We had some of the house cocktails and they were very good. For tapas we tried the Patatas Bravas and Pan Con Tomate with jamón. Both were very good. The jamón was my favorite piece of the meal. We also ordered paella at the start due to the long cook time. We both really enjoyed it. Server was very nice and had good recommendations. Would go again
Descartes
Had the Croquettes and Empanadas both were delicious. Ate at the bar and the bartender was very pleasant and attentive. Suggestion to management: remove the 3% non-cash adjustment from the check. It is in poor taste and wasn't applied anyway. Great spot for Tapas!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Nudrat Nawar
The place was aesthetically pleasing. It is a great place to hang out with friends and family, and the server was exceptionally nice. However, the food portion and the food taste was not up to par.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 3
Eden Wallace
Honest review of our experience:Pros: There is free parking located directly under the bridge beside the restaurant. The waitstaff was very friendly and we received excellent service from Emma. She was very kind, attentive, and gave us a great service experience. I appreciated how quick everything was prepared. The brussel sprouts were my favorite and we both really enjoyed our drinks. My partner got the riesling from Germany and I got the rose cava. We also loved the chocolate torte cake and were thanked by multiple employees when leaving. Finally, they have a great happy hour deal from 4-7 and fair priced drinks.Cons: This was our first time dining here and our belated Valentine’s Day dinner. We made reservations in advance just in case, even though it wasn’t crowded at 6pm on a Wednesday. While initially our seating arrangement was okay since the restaurant was empty, the tables are very close together. This group came in awhile after we were seated and declined the bartop that the host had offered them. There was a good option two tables away from us, as well as maybe three other options in the restaurant that they could have sat at, but instead were sat practically on top of us. It immediately felt awkward for my partner and I and ruined the vibe. This was also probably a bigger issue than normal because the man kept getting up multiple times and placing his rear end in front of our table. In the future, I think the host could be more mindful of spacing groups out if there are other options. Additionally, I felt like the champignons, patatas bravas, and paella was underwhelming and overpriced for how they tasted. Finally, they turned the music on halfway through our dinner and it was overly loud to the point that I couldn't hear my partner.Overall, while we had an okay experience, we would choose Malagón in the future.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chocolate Torte
Kenny S.
If you're looking for a night of delicious food and drinks this is 100% the place to go. Let's start with the very good. The food. We had a group of six and we basically ordered almost everything on the menu. From the dates, calamari, ribs, paella... all of it was amazing. I highly recommend going with a group so you have the opportunity to try and share as much as you can. There was nothing we ordered that disappointed (and the dates were probably at the top of my favorites for the evening) The just good... the service. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great. We did feel like it took a bit of effort to get the attention of our server when we needed her, but again... it wasn't bad... it just wasn't amazing. The not so good... overall the place feels kinda dumpy and dirty. There were storage crates tucked into a corner in plain sight... the bathroom felt a bit gross and had a couch in it which felt pretty awkward for a small bathroom. I can't really see anyone needing to sit on it, and in a small bathroom like that it'd probably be pretty unsanitary to sit on. Overall, I'd definitely go back again... and maybe the messiness was just a temporary thing on a bad night. That was the only thing keeping it from a full 5 stars for me
Laura H.
A casual tapas eatery that met, but rarely exceeded expectation. The patatas bravas, (crispy, buttery little bites of potato with a pungent garlic aoli) and the ceviche (refreshing, if a bit watery) were ok--enjoyable but not memorable. The pulpo a la gallega was definitely the family favorite: the pimenton-spiced olive oil coated every tender crevice of the octopus with flavor, the the potatoes and celery were the perfect accompaniments. The paella, on the other hand, was dissappointing. The rice was a bit hard and the fish was overcooked and very bland. The portion was also small for the price. Service was quick and efficient. They had outdoor seating options as well, so it was very dog-friendly. Just be prepared that there is a 18-20% service surcharge in place of tip.
Andrew Y.
Absolutely amazing meal. Everything was incredible and reasonably priced. Small plates because it is a Tapas restaurant, but filling as well. Drink prices were on the right side. Great staff, loved the entire experience. Also free parking within a 3 minute walk of the restaurant.
Blown away by how good every dish is and the service is spectacular on top of that! With so many restaurants in this town, it's not easy to return to all, but this one is at the top of the list.
Janet F.
Very disappointing as there were lots of good reviews here...I honestly don't know why... Atmosphere: kinda sticky and grimy all around. Service: not great. Food: fair. So many places in Charleston...this one is a skip it.
Peter Moerman
The service was great. Our waitress was attentive, but not hovering. Always there when we needed her.Overall the food was good, but two major complaints: 1) The mushrooms my mom got were VERY strong in the garlic. I like garlic, but there was so much on them, that no vampire would come near the entire hotel later. 2) The paella was good, but it seemed like they used soy sauce and not saffron to flavor the rice. Saffron is a required ingredient when making any kind of paella, and the soy sauce made it salty, and frankly not paella for me. The dish was good, but i wouldn't call it paella because of that. Some of the pictures showed the traditional method with saffron, so I'm not sure if they ran out or simply thought we wouldn't notice the difference, but if they ran out it would've been nice to have been asked first.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Travis C.
Wow what an awesome bar. The staff is so friendly and the food was simply awesome. Can't say enough great things about Barsa.
Mohammad Rao
Big fan of their seafood paella - fresh / made to order and they don't skimp on the seafood. Service was great too. Combined with good happy hour deals and tapas and its a place we would love to go back to !
A great place for sharing plates! Great staff! Always like to sit at the bar. We ate here two years ago and it's still good. Plus, the Monday night we went they had a great 4 piece jazz quartet that made the night even better.When we're back in Charleston we'll definitely go back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Fantastic food and drinks! Only downside was it was very
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 5
We’re visiting Charleston for the first time and are BIG foodies. Had an air bnb right here on line street just 2 blocks away. Spent our final evening with Barsa Tapas, blow away with our service at the bar from harry. Personable, professional, down to earth. Everything you want out of your staff. Food was up to par but could have used one more touch, across the board. Overall extremely happy and will come back. Harry made our entire experience.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Looking from the outside you wouldn't guess what you're getting into. Went for dinner and sat inside, while they did seem to have a nice patio as well. It was dimly lit and had a jazz band playing. We had some of the house cocktails and they were very good. For tapas we tried the Patatas Bravas and Pan Con Tomate with jamón. Both were very good. The jamón was my favorite piece of the meal. We also ordered paella at the start due to the long cook time. We both really enjoyed it. Server was very nice and had good recommendations. Would go again
Had the Croquettes and Empanadas both were delicious. Ate at the bar and the bartender was very pleasant and attentive. Suggestion to management: remove the 3% non-cash adjustment from the check. It is in poor taste and wasn't applied anyway. Great spot for Tapas!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The place was aesthetically pleasing. It is a great place to hang out with friends and family, and the server was exceptionally nice. However, the food portion and the food taste was not up to par.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 3
Honest review of our experience:Pros: There is free parking located directly under the bridge beside the restaurant. The waitstaff was very friendly and we received excellent service from Emma. She was very kind, attentive, and gave us a great service experience. I appreciated how quick everything was prepared. The brussel sprouts were my favorite and we both really enjoyed our drinks. My partner got the riesling from Germany and I got the rose cava. We also loved the chocolate torte cake and were thanked by multiple employees when leaving. Finally, they have a great happy hour deal from 4-7 and fair priced drinks.Cons: This was our first time dining here and our belated Valentine’s Day dinner. We made reservations in advance just in case, even though it wasn’t crowded at 6pm on a Wednesday. While initially our seating arrangement was okay since the restaurant was empty, the tables are very close together. This group came in awhile after we were seated and declined the bartop that the host had offered them. There was a good option two tables away from us, as well as maybe three other options in the restaurant that they could have sat at, but instead were sat practically on top of us. It immediately felt awkward for my partner and I and ruined the vibe. This was also probably a bigger issue than normal because the man kept getting up multiple times and placing his rear end in front of our table. In the future, I think the host could be more mindful of spacing groups out if there are other options. Additionally, I felt like the champignons, patatas bravas, and paella was underwhelming and overpriced for how they tasted. Finally, they turned the music on halfway through our dinner and it was overly loud to the point that I couldn't hear my partner.Overall, while we had an okay experience, we would choose Malagón in the future.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chocolate Torte
If you're looking for a night of delicious food and drinks this is 100% the place to go. Let's start with the very good. The food. We had a group of six and we basically ordered almost everything on the menu. From the dates, calamari, ribs, paella... all of it was amazing. I highly recommend going with a group so you have the opportunity to try and share as much as you can. There was nothing we ordered that disappointed (and the dates were probably at the top of my favorites for the evening) The just good... the service. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great. We did feel like it took a bit of effort to get the attention of our server when we needed her, but again... it wasn't bad... it just wasn't amazing. The not so good... overall the place feels kinda dumpy and dirty. There were storage crates tucked into a corner in plain sight... the bathroom felt a bit gross and had a couch in it which felt pretty awkward for a small bathroom. I can't really see anyone needing to sit on it, and in a small bathroom like that it'd probably be pretty unsanitary to sit on. Overall, I'd definitely go back again... and maybe the messiness was just a temporary thing on a bad night. That was the only thing keeping it from a full 5 stars for me
A casual tapas eatery that met, but rarely exceeded expectation. The patatas bravas, (crispy, buttery little bites of potato with a pungent garlic aoli) and the ceviche (refreshing, if a bit watery) were ok--enjoyable but not memorable. The pulpo a la gallega was definitely the family favorite: the pimenton-spiced olive oil coated every tender crevice of the octopus with flavor, the the potatoes and celery were the perfect accompaniments. The paella, on the other hand, was dissappointing. The rice was a bit hard and the fish was overcooked and very bland. The portion was also small for the price. Service was quick and efficient. They had outdoor seating options as well, so it was very dog-friendly. Just be prepared that there is a 18-20% service surcharge in place of tip.
Absolutely amazing meal. Everything was incredible and reasonably priced. Small plates because it is a Tapas restaurant, but filling as well. Drink prices were on the right side. Great staff, loved the entire experience. Also free parking within a 3 minute walk of the restaurant.
Restaurantji Recommends
Blown away by how good every dish is and the service is spectacular on top of that! With so many restaurants in this town, it's not easy to return to all, but this one is at the top of the list.
Very disappointing as there were lots of good reviews here...I honestly don't know why... Atmosphere: kinda sticky and grimy all around. Service: not great. Food: fair. So many places in Charleston...this one is a skip it.
The service was great. Our waitress was attentive, but not hovering. Always there when we needed her.Overall the food was good, but two major complaints: 1) The mushrooms my mom got were VERY strong in the garlic. I like garlic, but there was so much on them, that no vampire would come near the entire hotel later. 2) The paella was good, but it seemed like they used soy sauce and not saffron to flavor the rice. Saffron is a required ingredient when making any kind of paella, and the soy sauce made it salty, and frankly not paella for me. The dish was good, but i wouldn't call it paella because of that. Some of the pictures showed the traditional method with saffron, so I'm not sure if they ran out or simply thought we wouldn't notice the difference, but if they ran out it would've been nice to have been asked first.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Wow what an awesome bar. The staff is so friendly and the food was simply awesome. Can't say enough great things about Barsa.
Big fan of their seafood paella - fresh / made to order and they don't skimp on the seafood. Service was great too. Combined with good happy hour deals and tapas and its a place we would love to go back to !
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5