A massive new wine bar and restaurant has opened in Montrose. Barcelona Wine Bar is now open daily for dinner, happy hour, and late-night dining.
Courtesy of Barcelona Wine Bar
Barcelona Wine Bar serves more than two dozen tapas.
Located at 1731 Westheimer Rd., Barcelona occupies 5,000-square-feet in the former Hollyfield Laundry building. Taking design inspiration from Barcelona’s Las Ramblas pedestrian area, the 200-plus seat restaurant features a U-shaped bar.
“We fell in love with the Hollyfield Laundry building and jumped at the chance to be on Westheimer,” general manager Corey Scranton tells CultureMap. “We became obsessed with the history that’s survived through the stone facade carvings and the original vaulted ceilings — so much so that we designed the entire restaurant to melt around what’s been here for nearly 100 years.”
To bring Barcelona to Houston, the Connecticut-based establishment recruited chef Thomas Laczynski to lead its kitchen. Best known to Houstonians as the former executive chef of Ouzo Bay and Loch Bar, Laczynski oversees a menu of more than two dozen different tapas, a range of cheese and charcuterie, and four different paellas available in half, full, and double portions. As with his previous post, the chef plans to source locally when possible, including from supplies such as Hope Farms.
“Something you’ll also see throughout my menu are dishes that take Spanish preparations or concepts and center them around local ingredients,” Laczynski added. “The Iberico Pluma we have on the menu right now is a great example. It’s a traditional Spanish cut, but we’re sourcing locally from Acornseekers Farm right here in Texas. As is our Gulf red snapper, sourced from Blue Horizon.”
The wide-ranging menu gets paired with over 400 wines by-the-bottle — more than 40 of which are available by-the-glass. Spanish wines are obviously well-represented on the list, as are France, California, and South America. Wine lovers will also find an extensive selection of sherry and port. Cocktails include Spanish-inspired GinTonics as well as sangria, non-alcoholic sips, and beer.
“The great thing about a tapas restaurant with such a diverse beverage program is that each experience can be whatever the day’s set out for someone,” Scranton said. “With so many things to choose from, you may join us on Tuesday for after-work drinks and fall in love with the scallops, and then come in Thursday with your family for a big meal and have an entirely new experience”
