The Early Word on Jesus Nunez's Barraca

Chef Jesus Nunez, the man who helmed the kitchen at Gastroarte on the Upper West Side until its recent closure, has moved downtown and teamed up with the people behind Macondo and Reyuela to open Barraca in the West Village. Specializing in tapas, paella, and sangria, Barraca, according to many reviewers, is better in theory than execution. People seem to be split down the middle, some thrilled with the food, hailing it as a great alternative to an actual trip to Spain, while others find it disappointing. Here's what early diners are saying about Barraca:

The Good News: One Chowhounder is mostly pleased with the operation: "We started with 2 tapas, the octopus and the piquillo peppers stuffed with oxtail stew, but there was a mistake and we ended up with the pulled lamb sandwich rather than the piquillo peppers. By the time we realized that, we had devoured most of the lamb sandwich and it was delicious. Octopus was a bit chewy but quite tasty. The paellas are the stars here. We had the Paella Negra (squid ink infused rice, artichoke, monkfish, squid, and shrimp) and Paella De Tierra (chicken, rabbit, pork belly and pork ribs, string beans and fava beans). Both were generous portions and perfectly executed." [Chowhound]

The Mixed Bag News: An Eater commenter files an early review: "Went there Sat. Service was poor (so maybe give them some tme to sort things out). Food was good although very salty." [Eater Comments]

The Spaniard-Approved News: Though Yelp reviews are not unanimously positive, one reviewer who hails from Spain raves about Barraca: "I have found in N.Y. a restaurant in which I sit down like in Spain. I have to say I am from Spain and i love the food, i try the Mollete de Cordero, Jarrete de ternera, and sagria de valencia and my friend had sangria de compostela. Dessert chocolate con nata , was everything perfect." [Yelp]

The Salty News: More than one Foursquare user thinks the cooks are heavy-handed with the salt: "Meh. Salty salty salty.....sangrias are so, so...best one being the La Mancha. Disappointing." [Foursquare]

The Too Trendy News: Another Yelp reviewer is far less enthusiastic, offering his criticism and an unfortunate prognosis: "Hmm. Disappointed. Was so looking forward to Barraca opening for months. We needed a tapas and sangria place in the West Village. But it was way too salty. Salty. Salty. The sangria was bad. Except the La Mancha which was traditional. That's the key word: traditional. Please add some dishes that aren't overly experimental or trendy. Get over it. Add some normal food. I give you 6 months if you don't fix something. Please!!" [Yelp]

The Sexy News: On Menupages, one reviewer finds the restaurant very seductive: "Delicious sangrias and tapas, great attentive service, and sexy atmosphere. Just needed flamenco dancers to complete the scene – hot!!!" [Menupages]

The Tasty News: This Yelper is thrilled with the food and service: "Waow, as a big fan of Espana - I welcome this little piece of New York that takes me back to happy times in Spain. I love love the food - simple, tasty that makes you go hmmm hmmm hmmm. I love the warm decor and the beautiful smiles and great energy of the staff. Good job folks!!! I will be back and will bring/ recommend to my friends." [Yelp]

The Wonderful News: Another Foursquare user has a this to offer: "Wonderful! Wonderful drinks, food, ad atmosphere. Been waiting months for this place to open and was impressed. Nice work team!" [Foursquare]
— Aaron Baer-Harsha
· All Coverage of Barraca [~ENY~]