Barcelona Wine Bar in Delray
Barcelona Wine Bar is the first full‑service restaurant to open at Sundy Village, the seven‑acre mixed‑use development at Atlantic and Swinton Avenues that blends restored historic homes with new construction and is designed to bring dining, offices and daytime energy to downtown Delray Beach.
The project has been years in the making, and its restaurant openings are rolling out gradually rather than all at once. Van Leeuwen Ice Cream was the first to open in November.
Barcelona’s debut feels deliberate. The restaurant group behind the chain of 25 outposts had been scouting Delray Beach for years, drawn to Atlantic Avenue’s density of restaurants and the kind of street‑level buzz that mirrors Spanish tapas culture.
Barcelona quietly opened Jan. 17, skipping grand‑opening theatrics in favor of a soft launch that let the room find its rhythm.
The design leans heavily into Spain, specifically Lustau's sherry bodegas of Jerez. Inside, repeating arches, warm whites, natural woods and clay tones give the room a sun‑washed feel. A divider wall made from repurposed ceramic flues echoes the stacked barrels found in traditional bodegas.
Look closer and the details get more interesting. Vintage amphorae from the 1800s sit alongside Turkish jars once carried by donkeys for shipping. A terracotta octopus pot pulled from the Mediterranean seabed adds a note of authentic, slightly eccentric history. At the entrance, an antique wooden filing cabinet with exposed sides and a vintage workbench serve as the host stand.
Art and photography throughout the space are mostly by the restaurant’s charming creative director Drew McConnell, including images shot in Lanzarote in the Canary Islands and mixed‑media works incorporating concrete, pigment and found photography. The effect is transportive without feeling staged.
