The Girl Next Shore: Barrafina (Drury Lane): where the third branch is a charm

I really, really, reeeeeeaaaaally love tapas. I think that's been established on the blog. There's a lot of good (and bad) tapas places around London but my favourite reeeeeeaaaaally has to be Barrafina.

With its Frith Street branch gaining a Michelin star last year, it's become the tapas joint of choice for most Londoners (and tourists). I actually prefer the Adelaide Street branch, with its menu exclusives (suckling pig, arroz de marisco, etc) and downstairs private dining area but when I stepped into their newest addition on Drury Lane, I was rather smitten.

It's a stone's throw away from work, which is a plus, because a bunch of us can easily go there early enough to beat the queues. The facade is relatively nondescript, too so you can easily miss it (and it doesn't attract attention from passers-by... yet.

I've been dying to try the crab bun (£8) for yonks (I'm blaming @annixontong) and it is insanely delicious. The crab meat is rich in a super comforting flavour that reminds me of buttery bisque, with a full load of it embraced in a soft but firm brioche bun. This is the holy mother of sliders and you MUST order it when you go. Seriously. YOU MUST GET THIS.

The cuttlefish empanada (£7) wasn't quite what I expected because I thought most empanadas looked like Cornish pasties. Nonetheless, the pastry was good and the amount of filling was rather generous. It's a decent dish with subtle flavours but not nearly mindblowing.

If Adelaide Street has beautiful arroz de marisco, Drury Lane has arroz negro (£14.8). Beautifully served in a copper pan, there's plenty to share between 2 to 4. The risotto is cooked to perfection with a decent amount of squid ink and is light to the taste. There's plenty of creamy aioli for you to temper the garlicky taste to your liking, too.

There's no suckling pig in Drury Lane, but they do have pork belly with mojo verde (£12.6) so all's well in the world. The meat itself is tender and the unassuming skin on top makes up for a cracking crackling! If you're a roast pork fan, this is the way to go.

The leeks vinaigrette (£5.8) was a nice surprise. I didn't think you can change the flavour profile of leeks that much as it's pungent, but the salsa it came with brought a more punchy taste and it was delicately delicious.

Off the specials, a lovely piece of simply grilled prawn costed £14 alone. It was sweet, juicy and perfectly cooked but admittedly that's rather steep pricing for a lone shellfish, non?

Can I just say this lady was a legend?! She's probably my favourite server at the mo as she was attentive and kept me well entertained while waiting for food. To be fair all of them were really nice so bravo on the service!

I really dig Barrafina Drury Lane. It's an awesome space (they have a private dining area, too!) with fantastic service and a fab menu (probably my favourite of the three branches, for THAT crab bun alone). Just like any other Barrafina, they don't do gimmicks at all, letting the food shine quite rightly so.

Barrafina Drury Lane
43 Drury Ln, London WC2B
Ave spend pp: £50