Barcelona Tapas Bar Y Restaurante SE22, Forest Hill (Rail)

Excellent setting, mediocre food, very overpriced, incredibly rude staff.

Most of the positive reviews of this place look highly suspicious... I think the company has been writing them themselves.

The venue is very beautiful, they've obviously put a lot of effort into the decor and it sets the scene perfectly for tapas. Such a shame then that they treat their customers with such contempt. From the moment we walked in we were made to feel like we were inconveniencing the staff with our presence. The waiters did not know the answers to simple questions about the menu, and had a tantrum any time you asked them anything. I could sort of understand if it was a busy Saturday night, but our visit was on a Tuesday and there was hardly any other customers. My wife and I tried to raise a complaint with the manager about one particular incident, but he waved his hand in my face to signal me to stop talking as he made a 'pshh pshh pshh' sound... unbelievably rude.
After our visit, we raised the issue with their head office who, after several weeks of emails back and forth eventually offered to refund my tip!! I'm not sure if they were just taking the mickey out of me, but I told them not to bother.
Surely the main reason people dine out is for a pleasant experience, not simply to fill their bellies. The food here was just about satisfactory (with the exception of the cooked meat platter which was dry.), but very expensive, even compared with other london tapas restaurants (the menu prices look reasonable, but the portions are tiny.). Basically, you could buy all the stuff they sell for a FRACTION of the cost from your local Lidl, and save yourself the degradation of dealing with their staff.
Avoid this restaurant at all cost!!!