19 November 30 - December 6, 2023 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com New Times | Contents | Letters | news | night+Day | CuLture | Cafe | MusiC | BRUNCH, LUNCH, DINNER & HAPPY HOUR 3201 RICKENBACKER CAUSEWAY KEY BISCAYNE, FL | 305.361.3818 WWW.THERUSTYPELICAN.COM BE SOCIAL WITH US! FIND US ON “BEST WATERFRONT DINING IN MIAMI ” miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | CONTENTS | LETTERS | RIPTIDE | METRO | NIGHT+DAY | STAGE | ART | FILM | CAFE | MUSIC | ▼ MIAMI BARCELONA TAPAS BAR OPENS IN WYNWOOD Barcelona Wine Bar, a popular Spanish tapas and wine bar with a chic European vibe, is now open in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood. Barcelona Wine Bar is owned and oper- ated by chef Adam Halberg, a Miami native who began as the culinary director for the brand in 2008. The concept originated in Connecticut and has since expanded to loca- tions in Colorado, Georgia, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. Unlike most restaurants touting small plates and shareable servings, Barcelona firmly embraces tapas-style dining with a sprawling menu that combines more than 40 dishes. The menu touches on Spanish and Mediterranean fare, with rotating and seasonal offerings that hint at influences from North Africa, South America, and Southern France. The restaurant is located off NW 25th Street near a massive, orange-hued exterior mural. For its latest endeavor, the Barcelona team collaborated with international multi- media artist and Miami resident Patrick Church, who was commissioned to execute a mural in homage to his “Dearest Boy” series along the building’s exterior façade. Inside, the space is designed to re-create the look and feel of an evening in Spain, from the deep communal u-shaped bar centering the dining space to robust street-side patio ta- bles for drinking, dining, and people-watch- ing late into the evening. With an energetic vibe and communal spirit, expect Barcelona to deliver a vibrant bar scene with a wine list that sports more than 400 bottles, available both by the bottle and glass, all with an emphasis on organic and family-run producers that cover Mediterra- nean, Spanish, and Latin American labels. A cocktail list highlights Spanish gin and tonics to tequila and whiskey-forward drinks — as well as housemade sangrias, imported and local beers, and Mediterranean-inspired non-alcoholic beverages — round out the bev- erage menu. When it comes to food, no two Barcelona menus are the same. At the new Miami res- taurant, expect local market finds and the in- spiration of the Wynwood restaurant’s executive chef, Javier Narvaez. Narvaez’s decade-long career in Miami al- lows the chef to showcase his prowess at pro- viding an ever-changing, ingredient-driven menu. With deep roots in Ecuador and Puerto Rico from his family’s kitchen, his cu- linary journey has led him from New York City before taking the lead as the long-time executive chef for Miami’s Pisco e Nazca. While favorites like the jamón and Man- chego croquetas, potato tortilla, patatas bra- vas, gambas al ajillo, and boquerones — as well as a selection of paellas — remain main- stays, repeat visitors can experience new dishes every few weeks. For the opening, they include an aji amarillo red snapper crudo, a spaghetti squash arancini with truffle honey, or chorizo served with sweet and sour figs in a balsamic reduction. Barcelona Wine Bar. 310 NW 25th St., Miami; 305-824-2999; barcelonawinebar.com. Sunday through Wednesday 4 p.m. to midnight, and Thursday through Saturday 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. NI- COLE DANNA ▼ AVENTURA LIVE-FIRE COOKING ARRIVES IN AVENTURA WITH AMALFI LLAMA “In my nearly two decades in the business, this — for sure — is the most energy I have put into anything,” Eduardo Gomez, the CEO of Eureka! Restaurant Group and Grupo Carolo Hospitality, tells New Times. He’s referring to his latest venture: the Amalfi Llama, a wood-fire-inspired coastal Italian restaurant set to open next month in Aventura. Since opening his first restaurant in Mex- ico City in 2007, Gomez and his groups have nearly 60 restaurants to their name across both the U.S. and Mexico, including Mexico City-based La Popular and the American scratch kitchen Eureka. The very first Amalfi Llama is slated to open in December at 19505 Biscayne Boulevard at Esplanade at Aventura in a space that promises | TASTE TEST | ▼ Café Barcelona Wine Bar photo The paella mariscos at Barcelona Wine Bar
