Came here as a group of six after hearing lots of good reviews about the food. They did not disappoint! I had the pork belly bao bun (as pictured), which was tender and full of flavour. My partner had the smoked mackerel pate which was really delicious! Very fishy but not overpowering. For my main course I had a dirty beef burger with sweet potato fries (pictured) which, again, was very tasty. Unfortunately what ruined the meal was the quality of the service. Throughout most of the meal the service was very average, with nobody checking part way through to see if we needed anymore drinks or if the food was okay. After our main dishes were cleared we waited half an hour for a dessert menu, which only came after we ended up asking for it. We then waited another 20 minutes for no one to take our dessert order. In the end we asked for the bill as we decided to get dessert elsewhere. Again, another 20 minutes or so after receiving the bill and we had to actively ask someone for the card machine. Service charge was automatically added so we asked for it to be removed. When the manager asked us what the problem was we explained that the service had been very lacking. His response was "I noticed you had been sitting there but some of our staff are in training so I wanted to see what they would do". This was not an acceptable excuse, as the customer should be top priority and the new staff could have been given a prompt from said manager. We remained polite and paid for our meal. This was a real shame as the food was delicious and the presentation impressive, however the quality of the service really let them down.

It's a wonderful looking restaurant with a lot of room. Although there's a lot of seating, you seem to have a lot of room to yourselves. The staff are kind and welcoming they all welcome you warmly as they pass. Once you've experienced all of this, then the food come the pièce de résistance! It's all cooked to perfection with flavours to wow you and it looks the part too 👌🏽 I'll be back very very soon!

Vegan heaven with an amazing selection of vegan dishes to choose from. Short summary Atmosphere - welcoming and chilled Staff and management - super helpful and extremely polite Kid friendly - yes, the kids portions are massive Menu and range selection - good all round selection of foods for vegans and meat eaters too Recommend to friends and family - yes Cleanliness - yes Note - place is really nice but a bit out of place in the chosen location and could do so much better in another location.

Delicious and beautifully presented food. Everything was so tasty and yummy and the service was impeccable. Add that to the cosy and lovely ambience - a winning night out with friends. Definitely recommend

Overall a good atmosphere. Very friendly bartender/mixologist. The menu is nicely curated and the food was absolutely delicious. The only slight negative was the relatively slow service.

Forgot to take photos of the starters but enjoyed the mackerel pate and my husband had a delicious pork bao. I had vegan cumin butternut main which was lovely and husband had a lamb jalfrezi burger which he found a little salty and dry but still very nice. The waiter was so lovely to our young baby, bringing her something to play with. Nice mojito too. Very glad this place is in Hemel. Definitely worth a visit. Gorgeous presentation.

Everything from the food to the service was fantastic. I highly recommend and I will definitely be returning!

Love it here. We want to go back asap. Plenty of choices of the menu but if you want to indulge yourself in some traditional Romanian food, this is a great place. The restaurant is wide and spacious, they have a grand piano in it and atmosphere is amazing. Their avocado and lime icecream is stellar. Staff extremely nice and caring. Toilets clean and wheel chair accessible. Just amazing.❤️😊

The food presentation was amazing, it all looked so lovely. However I don’t think it’s a very good value for money and I think the price is a bit high. Overall the food was good but I personally was not the biggest fan.

Simply amazing meal. I went for the rump of lamb and it was just melt in your mouth delicious! Vegetables were incredibly tasty! And service, of course, was fantastic! Even had the chef come out and clear our table, gave us a chance to thank him in person! A must visit if you're local :)

Excellent food and attentive staff, had a fantastic meal and time.

Barraca has an extensive choice of foods and dishes. They also have a separate Romanian menu with a lot of choice as well. We ordered the duck breast, pork belly, Romanian soup, mussels, fries and Romanian cheese donuts. I would recommend the duck breast, which was cooked well. Romanian soup was quite salty though the portion size was more than adequate. The Romanian cheese donuts were quite unique with a combination of sweet and sour tastes. Waitress was friendly however it would've been useful to be informed of what dishes were not available on the day as a lot of the dishes were sold out.

The whole experience was below average. I feel the drinks are significantly overpriced, the service was so incredibly slow. When we sat, there were three other tables seated. It took a good 20 minutes for two drinks to arrive. We ordered our starter and main at the same time, took at least 25 mins for a baked Camembert, and then a further 40 minutes for two mains AFTER the starter arrived. The food, while well presented was average at best. It took a significant amount of force for me to cut my duck breast, the pork crackling for the other main was tasteless and resembled a large quaver, and some of the veg was burnt. I don’t typically mind paying a service charge if I receive a reasonable service and am well attended, however this was not one of those times (also a service charge for two people?). When we asked to remove the automatically applied service charge, explaining why, we were challenged and the hostess was visibly offended. Whilst the staff weren’t bad or rude, the atmosphere just wasn’t particularly welcoming. I’m afraid we won’t be returning as we had high hopes.

2020 review for Vegan Spartan Restaurant: Very tasty food and medium size portions. Decorations are lovely, staff is friendly and on Mondays you get 50% off on desserts. Rather expensive compared to other local restaurants but it's worth every penny. Definitely will return.

Delicious and succulent burgers, great sauces, and carefully selected ingredients. The Amazing Pork Ribs are sensational, as well as the "The First" Impala burger, and the smoked pulled pork BBQ is extraordinarily tasty and tender. The menu is varied, with treats for all tastes: creamy soups, pasta, pizza, salads, and desserts. They have many tasty dishes for vegans, as well as beef, pork, and chicken options, and the desserts are delicious. When we arrived, it was full, but we were served promptly and with kindness. Good prices, tasty products, polite and quick staff👏👏 We will definitely return to this restaurant when we pass through Hemel!

That’s the best food in Hemel Hempstead which I ever tried and the best customer service! The cocktails are amazing and nice presented! Thank you very much Barraca Restaurant’s team!

First time and will definitely be back. Friendly service, well presented, exceptional food in a modern environment.

Great food, service and decor. So surprised to have such a nice restaurant in Hemel Hempstead. Thanks to Ali for accommodating my off menu needs!

Delicious food, beautifully presented in a lovely atmosphere. It was just a weekday evening, but this place was really quiet. It deserves more customers! One suggestion for the owner - I wanted to leave an extra tip for the service & chef, but, when I asked, even tips above the 10% set service charge don’t go to the staff. Would be great if it was possible to give extra to the staff :)

The place really clean and the food amazing, big portions and the prices really good. So happy. Just mention that everything I order was vegan.

Very lovely meal. Friendly staff. Very well presented and tasted beautiful. Lovely cocktails and very reasonably priced. Have been a few times now. Highly recommend.

Great food at good prices. Very impressed.

Very good food and good atmosphere. When I was there, the owner was also present and was serving customers, which is a fairly rare thing to see. He made sure everything was good and the food and drink suggestions he had were spot on. All in all, would definitely recommend.

Insane, we went for a beer and ended up eating a lot! I could not believe how delicious everything was. You can see and taste the passion of Claudio and the team on every single detail. It is by far one of the best food experiences of my life, can’t wait to go back and try more things from the menu. I would recommend this place to everyone. Fantastic service, top table food and good prices, just try it. Thank you.

Been here over the weekend and really loved the food and ambience. Surprised to see so many vegan options. The soup and baked wedges were good and totally loved the vegan fruit plate. Although i live far might visit again sometime.

Highly recommend had a really good meal here food was of excellent quality along with presentation too. The manager Ali was very welcoming and takes great pride in what he does. Keep up the good work.

Barraca is the most amazing restaurant I have ever had the pleasure to visit. The food is simply exquisite. Sensible sized portions, made with superb high quality ingredients, served by fantastic waiters in a lovely relaxed atmosphere. We ate here with three generations of our family, one with a dairy intolerance, two teenage boys, and one just plain fussy, and not only did everyone find something delicious on the menu to choose, but we all agreed both mains and desserts were spectacular. Thank you so much for a truly wonderful evening.

Do yourself a favor and visit this lovely restaurant. The service is unmatched. The food is absolutely amazing. Highly recommend!