Barca Pier & Wine Bar Opens This Week In Alexandria

ALEXANDRIA, VA — Alexandria Restaurant Partners will open its latest concept, Barca Pier & Wine Bar, on Wednesday at Robinson Landing. The March 31 opening follows the debut of neighboring restaurant Ada's on the River in January.

At Barca, you couldn't dine closer to the waterfront if you tried. Located at 2 Pioneer Mill Way in Alexandria, Barca Pier has 210 seats of open-air dining on what used to be a shipping pier made from industrial freight containers. The 65-seat Barca Wine Bar offers an intimate dining experience at a marble bar. The concept draws inspiration from ARP partners' travels to Spain, especially the coastal Catalonia region along the Mediterranean Sea.

Not only does the opening offer a unique new dining experience, but it also creates hundreds of jobs as the restaurant industry navigates challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"With the opening of Ada’s on the River and now Barca Pier & Wine Bar we have had the unique opportunity to create hundreds of new jobs in a time when opportunities are scarce," said ARP managing partner Dave Nicholas in a statement. "Barca signifies another great beginning – it’s a fresh season filled with new opportunities for our company, our teams and our guests."

The menu designed by Barca Executive Chef Bryant Haren and ARP Corporate Chef and Partner Brandon Whitestone is inspired by the tapas bars of Barcelona and other parts of the Mediterranean. The menus of Barca Pier and the Wine Bar are similar, while the Wine Bar has additional Spanish charcuterie and cheeses sold by the ounce and the Pier has additional handheld foods.

"When creating the menu, we wanted to emphasize super simple, clean flavors," said Whitestone. "Many of the ingredients are sourced from Spain, with a focus on quality and simplicity."

The tapas menu has small plates ranging from $8 to $18 and includes several gluten-free, vegan and vegetarian options. Some examples of the tapas are the Sautéed Calamari with chorizo, guindilla verde peppers, red onions, salsa verde; and Boquerones with mild white anchovies drizzled with olive oil, garlic and fresh herbs. Vegan and vegetarian options include Smoked Tomatoes with olive oil, coarse salt, basil; and Papas Bravas with crispy potatoes, mojo rojo, and lemon-garlic aioli.

The Pier and Wine Bar both feature Platos de Queso y Embutidos, or charcuterie and cheeses from Spain and Greece priced between $19 and $27. One of the offerings is the Jamón Iberico de Bellota, or ham from the Iberian peninsula’s black pigs. Freshly-sliced embutidos, queso and jamón will be available by the ounce at the Wine Bar.

The Pier menu also includes four Montaditos (miniature sandwiches) priced from $8 to $15. Some of the options are the Confit Tuna with yellowfin tuna confit, piquillo peppers, shaved red onion, parsley and lemon-guindilla pepper aioli; the Vegetable with chickpea hummus, piquillo peppers, shaved red onions, cucumbers, Garrotxa cheese, arbequina oil and arugula.

A weekend brunch menu will also be offered with items from the all-day menu, brunch dishes and weekend drinks.

Barca's wine menu features vintage wines from the old and new world with a focus on offerings from the Catalonia and other Mediterranean regions. Wines are available by the bottle from $36 to $260 and by the glass from $9 to $17. A selection of beers from $6 to $8, ciders and craft cocktails complete the drink menu. Among the drink highlights are the Stone Fruit Sangria with rosé, cherry, peach, and orange blossom water; Palomar with Citadelle gin, honey-ginger syrup, grapefruit juice; and Splasher & The Rye with Pendleton 1910 rye whisky, Amaro Averna, and Punt e mes vermouth, in an oak barrel smoked glass.

Barca Pier will be open Sunday to Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to midnight. Barca Wine Bar is open Monday through Thursday from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m., Friday from 4 p.m. to midnight, Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to midnight and Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Weekend brunch is served until 4 p.m.

Other ARP restaurants include Ada’s on the River, Mia’s Italian Kitchen, Vola’s Dockside Grill, Theismann’s Restaurant and Bar, The Majestic, and Riverside Taco Company in Alexandria; Palette 22 in Arlington; and Mia's Italian Kitchen and Café Tu Tu Tango in Orlando, Florida.

For more information, visit www.barcaalx.com.