BARcelona Tapas Restaurant, the popular Clayton gathering place that closed in September 2021 to make way for a mixed-use development, will live again in a smaller, more intimate space, according to owner Frank Schmitz.
The new location, in the former Mayana Mexican Kitchen at 7810 Forsyth, will feature the same colors and food as its predecessor. The restaurant is slated to open by mid-August, just in time for the Saint Louis Art Fair.
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The restaurant will be open seven days a week from 11 a.m.–11 p.m., with the bar staying open later. Here’s what to know before you go.
The Menu
The restaurant will offer a “similar but slightly reduced” version of BARcelona’s former hot and cold tapas menu, including such favorites as Queso de Cabra (goat cheese and tomato sauce with garlic bread), Ensalada de Espinaca (spinach salad with raisins, pine nuts, and goat cheese crumbles), croquetas, crispy artichokes, grilled salmon, garlic shrimp, and paella, as well as beef tenderloin with blue cheese, spinach, and a Rioja reduction.
A new offering, spit-roasted chicken, will be an easy sale, thanks to aroma and allure of an eye-level rotisserie, a new addition “that will be popular all day long,” Schmitz predicts.
Another item that Schmitz is excited about is the pan de cristal, the Spanish “glass bread,” which will be used for BARcelona’s sandwiches. “It’s light and airy, with a thin and incredibly crispy crust, hence the name,” Schmitz says. “We’ll feature other authentic items, too, as part of the sandwich line up, like queso de Mahón and jamón serrano.”
Every Wednesday evening, Schmitz also plans to take his 3-foot paella pan outside and prepare paella on the sidewalk, alongside live music.
The Space
The 1,600-square-foot space seats 50 inside, including 15 at the tapas bar, where Mayana’s prior service counter is being elevated to bar height to create an open, interactive kitchen staffed by a bartender and a chef, “just like you see all over Spain,” Schmitz says. “People will order their food and drinks at the bar, just like they do there.”
In addition to the Spanish mosaic tables, guests can expect to see the lights, artifacts, posters, and tchotchkes from the prior location. “Since I planned on doing this again, I saved it all,” Schmitz says. BARcelona’s signature French doors will make a reappearance but the new location will have limited outside seating. Because the space is so small, the new iteration will not accept reservations.
Acoustik Element, BARcelona’s unofficial longtime Wednesday night house band, will again appear on Wednesdays from 6–9 p.m. In the past, flamenco guitarists would play on the sidewalk. “You drive by, see all the action, and you want to jump in and participate,” Schmitz says. “Our plan is to create a mini version of that on Forsyth.”
The Backstory
In 2002, Schmitz and Mike Johnson opened the whimsically named tapas bar. Two years later, they expanded the dining room, added French doors, and a few sidewalk tables. Two more expansions later, sidewalk tables crept up and down Central Avenue.
For years, BARcelona was the standard bearer for both street café and sidewalk dining in St. Louis. “Clayton established an ordinance that said if your neighbor gives you permission in writing, you can use their sidewalk per your agreement, and the tables can be left there,” Schmitz previously told SLM. “That’s how that long row of tables started and progressed. And during the pandemic, Clayton was fine with any and all outside dining. We got up to 80 seats, I think.”
When BARcelona closed, Schmitz vowed to stay in Clayton and investigated several options over time. “I’m determined to do one more BARcelona,” he said at the time. He flirted with doing a smaller concept, “like a BARcelon-etta—just to keep the brand alive,” which is how he ended up in the Mayana space. “Small is good,” he says. “Small is cool.
“I just want to get the doors open and let people see me again,” Schmitz adds. “I miss it—it’s been too long.”
