Pasadena: Bar Celona

Wow can't believe this is my first post about a restaurant in Pasadena.

Bar Celona is a modern Spanish tapas bar located in Old Town. The trend lately for me has been gravitating towards restaurants serving smaller dishes or plates so a tapas bar fits perfectly. Not to mention, the concept of "modern tapas" intrigued me as a few of us came on a Saturday night to check the place out.

Bar Celona

46 E Colorado Blvd

Pasadena, CA 91105

www.barcelonapasadena.com

Bar Celona's logo.

Started off with a sampler plate of cured meats, cheeses, dried fruits, and nuts. Came with buttered baguettes. Everything's better with butter :D

Don't remember what everything was but it was fun mix and matching different things together while drinking our wine. The best thing is definitely the Iberico ham in the middle next to the salami. Think of it as... a level above prosciutto! The onion mix on top of the cured meats was awesome although it probably masked some of the flavors of the meat itself. Not a huge of fan of the blue cheese...

2007 Rivola Rioja. Not too spicy. Not bad at all.

Fried potatoes with smoked paprika allioli - tasted like a dynamite roll from sushi restaurants from the sauce :P

Spanish flatbread with basil & mint, manchego, figs. Needs more mint! It was good though.

Crispy pork belly, brussels sprouts, fried egg, salbixtada. I have NO IDEA what salbixtada is but this was definitely my favorite. I'm a sucker for pork belly. Was the pork belly crispy enough? No not really but I love how this block of pork belly sits on top of a bed of brussels sprouts that's been softened. I love it when your break the yolk in half and it just runs down the pork belly. It was a beautiful sight.

Meatballs in tomato saffron sauce. Loved the sauce more than the meatballs.

Veggie paella. Ok ok we were dumb and got the veggie paella but we figured we had so much protein already let's go for something healthier! Should've went for other paella and maybe that would've been better cause it was pretty bland.

For a place that was calling itself "modern" I didn't really see exactly what new spin they gave to some of these dishes. Maybe we just ordered wrong. Even so, it's a great place for a date or for a more intimate dining experience because the place itself promotes that sort of atmosphere.