Tapas Bar Near Me in Soho: Barrafina Dean Street Counter Guide

Anyone typing tapas bar near me while standing somewhere between Oxford Street and Shaftesbury Avenue should know about Barrafina at 26-27 Dean Street in Soho. It is the direct successor to the Frith Street counter that brothers Sam and Eddie Hart opened in January 2007; the original moved here, into the ground floor of Quo Vadis, on 17 November 2016. It is now the only Barrafina in London that still refuses bookings. You walk in, give your name, and wait with a drink until two or three stools open up along the marble.

The Hart brothers grew up partly in Mallorca, where their grandparents built a house in the village of Estellencs in 1951, and Sam later lived in Barcelona. There he fell for Cal Pep, the old tapas bar near the Born with its tiny L-shaped counter. That room became the blueprint. Before Barrafina the brothers ran Fino, a Spanish restaurant they opened in 2003, which taught them how London diners eat small plates.

The first Barrafina opened on Frith Street in 2007 and became, in the group's own words, the first no-reservations restaurant to be awarded a Michelin star. When the Frith Street landlord redeveloped the building, the restaurant moved one street west and reopened on Dean Street on 17 November 2016, with 29 seats and the same walk-in rule. The group has since added Adelaide Street, Drury Lane, Coal Drops Yard and Borough Yards, but every one of those takes reservations, so Dean Street remains the purist's version.

The format is simple. Cooks stand directly in front of you, working the plancha and fryers, and much of the day's fish sits on a bed of ice behind the bar, so you can point at what looks good. A blackboard lists specials created by the head chef from whatever arrived that morning. Cutlery, sherry glasses and bread move fast, and the whole room is built to make you order a little more than you planned.

Start with something para picar while you decide. The white anchovy tostada is £4.5, Marcona almonds are £4, and pan con tomate is £9. The ham croquetas come as a pair for £8.5, crisp outside and almost liquid inside. If you want one plate that explains the kitchen, order the chipirones at £17, baby squid fried hard and fast so they stay tender, served with a wedge of lemon.

The tortilla is the dish regulars talk about. The classic version costs £13.5 and arrives deliberately loose in the middle, so the egg runs when you cut it. There is also a chorizo tortilla and a prawn and piquillo pepper tortilla, each at £15. Share one between two people early in the meal, because once the room fills the kitchen can take longer to fire another batch.

For something bigger, gambas rojas are £24.5, the deep-red prawns grilled whole and meant to be eaten with your fingers, heads included. Octopus a feira is £21 and arroz de carabineros, a rice cooked with large scarlet prawns, is £30. Meat eaters can go for abanico ibérico at £26 or chicken thigh with romesco at £20. Patatas rosti with salsa brava, £11.5, is a good side to soak up sauces.

Finish at the counter with tarta de queso for £9 or crema catalana for £8. The frozen lemon or orange, £5.5, is the lighter choice after a run of fried plates. Desserts come out quickly, which matters here because the next group in the queue is usually watching your stools.

The drinks list leans hard on Spain. Manzanilla La Gitana and Fino Pando both start at £9 a glass, and there is an amontillado, a palo cortado and two olorosos for anyone who wants to go deeper into Jerez. Cava from Llopart runs by the glass and bottle, and the white list covers Txakoli, Godello, Albariño and Rueda, so the seafood has plenty of partners.

Reds range from easy Garnacha and Bobal to Rioja Gran Reserva and Ribera del Duero bottles that cost serious money. If you prefer to bring your own wine, Barrafina charges corkage of £42 per standard bottle, a figure the group says matches the cheapest bottle on its list. Most people simply drink sherry with the fried plates and switch to a glass of Rioja when the meat arrives.

Dean Street does not take bookings at all, and groups are capped at four people. When you arrive, staff add your name to a waitlist and you can stand at the drinks bar with a glass and a few nibbles. There is also a covered, heated terrace at the front, seated first come first served, which helps on cold evenings when the queue spills toward the street.

Lunch service runs from noon to 3pm every day. Dinner starts at 5pm and ends at 10pm on Sunday and Monday and at 11pm from Tuesday to Saturday. The easiest seats come right at opening, either at noon or at 5pm, and solo diners or pairs move far faster than a four. Arrive as a group of five and you will be politely turned away.

There are no traditional dining tables at this branch, only counter stools, and the listed building means full wheelchair access is not possible. Prams and buggies cannot be accommodated at the counter. Small, well-behaved dogs are allowed on a leash but must stay on the floor. If any of those rules make Dean Street awkward, the Coal Drops Yard and Borough Yards branches have bookable tables.

The closest Underground station is Tottenham Court Road on the Central, Northern and Elizabeth lines, with Leicester Square and Oxford Circus also a short walk. From Tottenham Court Road, head down Oxford Street, turn into Soho Square, and drop south on Dean Street. That route takes about five minutes and passes the old garden square where office workers eat lunch on the grass.

After dinner, walk one block east to Frith Street, where the first Barrafina once stood, and take an espresso at Bar Italia, the Soho cafe that has been pouring coffee there since 1949. Continue south toward Old Compton Street and Shaftesbury Avenue if you have theatre tickets, since the Palace and the Gielgud are an easy stroll from the counter.

Address: 26-27 Dean Street, London W1D 3LL. Hours: Sunday and Monday 12pm to 3pm and 5pm to 10pm; Tuesday to Saturday 12pm to 3pm and 5pm to 11pm. Booking: none, walk-in only, maximum four per group. Enquiries go by email to info@barrafina.co.uk rather than phone. Corkage is £42 per bottle, children can only be seated at the bookable branches with tables, and the specials blackboard changes daily, so ask the cook in front of you what came in that morning.