Barcelona Wine Bar

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

Where Spain Meets Minneapolis

Barcelona Wine Bar on North Washington Avenue carries a story that begins in 1995, when partners Sasa Mahr-Batuz — drawing on years of living in Spain and Portugal — and Andy Pforzheimer — with two decades cooking at acclaimed restaurants in France, California, and New York — opened a tiny 38-seat wine bar with a single ambition: to recreate the feel of an evening in Barcelona. No compromises, no templates. Sophisticated décor that evoked Milan, SoHo, or Rio de Janeiro. Simple, flavor-filled dishes built around olive oil, lemon, and smoky paprika. A wine list weighted toward the lesser-known regions of Spain and Portugal.

That original vision has only deepened over the years.

The Food

The Spanish cuisine here is described plainly and accurately as "clean and rustic" — tapas shaped by Mediterranean, Spanish, and South American influences, prepared with the finest seasonal picks from local markets alongside unusual specialties from Spain and the Mediterranean. The philosophy echoes the food stalls of Barcelona's Boqueria Market or Valencia's Central Market: bold flavors, ingredients that speak for themselves, nothing overwrought. Every location features its own Executive Chef who writes the menu, keeping the food genuinely chef-driven rather than formulaic.

A Wine Program Worth the Trophy

The wine list is the other reason Barcelona Wine Bar draws serious attention. As one of the largest Spanish wine programs in the United States, it runs to approximately 500 selections spanning more than 100 regions, with 50% of bottles from Spain and a further 15% from South America. Over 40 wines are available by the glass — offered in both 3oz and 6oz pours, with the flexibility to build any flight combination. Half the bottle list sits under $50, a point the team considers among its proudest achievements.

Behind the program are VP of Food & Beverage Innovations Gretchen Thomas — a certified Spanish Wine Educator who ranked in the top 15 in the world through the Wine Academy of Spain — and Beverage Director Emily Nevin-Giannini, a Certified Sherry Wine Specialist who travels extensively to source from small producers committed to quality craft. Their shared ethos favors biodynamic winemaking, women winemakers, and small producers over brands and trends.

That dedication earned Barcelona Wine Bar its first Wine Spectator Award of Excellence in 2007, upgraded to the Best of Award of Excellence by 2012 — a distinction the Minneapolis location continues to hold through 2025. The program has also been recognized as North America's Best Organic Wine List by the World of Fine Wine, and carries that publication's Three-Star ranking year after year.

The Atmosphere

From the beginning, Barcelona set out to transplant the casual energy of a Spanish tapas bar — not a formal dining room, not a tourist approximation — into its restaurants. The conviction that casual dining does not have to be a mediocre experience runs through everything here, from the depth of the wine cellar (upwards of 4,000 bottles in temperature-controlled storage) to the care taken with a single plate of tapas.