Sam & Eddie Hart

Founders

Sam & Eddie Hart were born into the hospitality business. Their father, Tim Hart and Mallorcan raised mother Stefa Hart, own and operate the renowned Michelin starred Hambleton Hall in Rutland. Before opening their first restaurant, Fino, Eddie spent time living and working in Madrid and travelling around Spain. During this time his brother Sam was living in Mexico City running his own successful nightclub.

On Sam’s way back to London he met up with Eddie in Spain and it was not long before they both arrived back in London in search of a site to create something inspired by Cal Pep in Barcelona. They ended up with a much larger site that would become Fino. However, a few years later, in 2007 they opened Barrafina on Soho’s Frith Street, the perfect size for their concept. They opened the second Barrafina on Adelaide Street in July 2014 and the third on Covent Garden’s Drury Lane.

Sam now operates the restaurants with younger brother James and business partner Crispin Somerville, whilst Eddie lives in Palma and has opened restaurant El Camino over there. Sam, James and Crispin opened the fourth Barrafina at Coal Drops Yard in October 2018.

Antonio Gonzalez Milla & Francisco Jose Torrico

Executive Chefs

Antonio Gonzalez Milla, Executive Chef of the central Barrafina locations, Dean Street, Adelaide Street and Drury Lane. At 8 years old, he would ask to visit his father’s uncle’s restaurant and learn how to do small tasks like podding broad beans. In his secondary school holidays, he would help out at his father’s four restaurants, and after leaving school, he went to work at his uncle’s taberna, starting out as a waiter and 17 years later, leaving as head chef. Antonio has worked at Barrafina since 2016, and many regulars will recognise him from being the Head Chef at Barrafina Adelaide Street.

Francisco AKA ‘Paco,’ was born in Ciudad Real, Castilla-La Mancha and raised in Madrid. After school, he went to culinary college, completing ‘stages’ (chef work placements) at Madrid’s restaurants in his summer breaks, before working for nine years at the luxury hotel Santo Mauro, where he became sous chef to Carlos Posadas. Paco joined Barrafina in 2015 and has worked as Head Chef at the Adelaide Street, Drury Lane and Coal Drops Yard locations. He has cooked sold-out Barrafina pop-ups in Ibiza with Beat Hotel, and at the first Barrafina Invita guest chef event with Chef Xavier Pellicer. Paco is the Executive Chef of Barrafina and Parrillan Coal Drops Yard and Barrafina, Parrillan and Bar Daskal, Borough Yards.