Barcelona Restaurant Recommendations

[Saborosa]

Hi Conor

You should have a great time in barcelona especially during San Joan. But the holidays may mean some restaurants are closed and others are busy so do book. A few places I'd recommend for not so expensive fine eating are:

Shojiro, C/ Ros de Olano 11, (00 34) 93 415 6548: a set-menu place (about 30-40 euros) that mixes Japanese and Med cuisine - fusion cuisine is increasingly common in BCN with often disastrous results, but this place is increasingly becoming known as one of the best places for Japanese food in its own right! It's in Gracia which is just to the north of the centre of town, but not that far (a few minutes on the metro) and a fun and interesting barrio that's worth a visit.

Laurak, (La Granada del Penedés, 14-16, (00 34) 93 218 71 65, www.laurak.net) in the Eixample is also a little out of the centre but worth a trip for an excellent Basque menu degustacion for 47.50 euros per head + tax. I remember melting trotter and caramelised octopus salad and crisp suckling pig with pistachios. The only downer is the decor's a little stark and can be echoingly empty midweek evenings.

My favourite restaurant in BCN at the moment though is Anima (C/ dels Angels, (00 34) 93 342 4912), in the Raval, the once-dodgy, now funky (and slightly dodgy) area to the right of the Ramblas (as you face the sea). Its cool design (camouflage curtains, toilets in jungle-like darkness, large mirror over open kitchen) may make you fear it's form over function, but no, this is low-key creative cuisine at its most relaxed and delicious. Beautiful cuts of meat and fish are dressed in delicate intriguing combinations of spices and sauces. My favourite dish recently has been Anima's pudding of chocolate and spice icecream with manchego wedges in mandarin jus. Divine! And at fantastic prices - starters below 10 euros, mains about 10-20 euros. Very short, modest but well chosen wine list. The Loxarels are brilliant drinkable every day wines - they make my favourite cava.

You can check out my website for more. Plug alert! (If you book a tour with us you get a free restaurant recommendation and booking service). Sorry! But it's a potentially helpful plug!?

Disfruta!

Kirsten

www.saboroso.com

Edited April 22, 2004 by Bux (log)

[vserna]

Plug alert!

I'd say - spam alert.

[Conor]

Kirsten,

I'll forgive the plug, thanks for some great info, and I had a look at the site, it looks very interesting. Who knows we might take you up on a tour while we're there, it look fun.

Conor

[Pumpkin Lover]

I second Shojiro. Say hi to Toshi when you get there!

[nerdgirl]

Here is an article that mentions Alkimia, Colibri, Comerc 24, Hisop and Sauc...

Also mentions Arola - which is now open in the Hotel Arts... Anyone been there yet?

http://foodandwine.netscape.com/invoke.cfm...43DFAE796DA74D8

[lesz]

We are going to Barcelona in september and I have read with interest the commentaries on the barcelona dining scene. My problem is my wife. i am a real foodie and always enjoy new tastes and wines but my wife has food allergies-garlic and tomato[we just got back from provence and that was a real challenge]. So my question is this I think that possibilities would be Abac, Drolma, Ca'l'Isidre and Colibri but will my wife find anything to eat . She prefers fillet mignon, rack of lamb, chicken breast, veal if tender and not a strange piece and she will eat some fish-salmon, st pierre, monkfish,maybe cod and halibut. as long as it is not too strangely prepared. Any thoughts and suggestions would be appreciated.

[pedro]

I'm not familiar with Colibri, but if you let know in advance l'Abac, Ca l'Isidre and Drolma of your wife's allergies, they should be able to prepare excellent meals accommodating your requirements.

Please do make sure that they understand you to avoid undesired surprises. Perhaps the best thing to do would be to send them a fax stating clearly what food she can't eat, preferably in Spanish (garlic translates as ajo (all in Catalonian) and tomato as tomate (tomaquet in Catalonian)). Let me know if you need further assistance.

[Bux]

... as long as it is not too strangely prepared. Any thoughts and suggestions would be appreciated.

My first thought is that this is a difficult concept to get across cultures. What is not strange to your wife may be food that is consdered strange to a foreign chef. I once had an alergist suggest I avoid foreign foods. That was a relief, I thought he was going to suggest a restricted diet. What is strange is subjective and what is foreign is only relative to what you already know.

I have nothing but sympathy for your wife in regard to allergies, but to shut oneself off from "strangely" prepared foods is to limit one's contact with strange places and restrict oneself to the familiar. It's a bit of a road block to enjoying travel. Nevertheless, it should not come as a surprise if a Spanish chef doesn't understand that snails, tripe or sweetbreads may be strange food to someone.

Cod, by the way is a fish I've found to be exquisite in Spain. I've had it most simply prepared in Ca L'Isidre.

[vserna]

Nevertheless, it should not come as a surprise if a Spanish chef doesn't understand that snails, tripe or sweetbreads may be strange food to someone.

Actually, they do understand, Bux. Everyone in the restaurant business in Spain is quite aware that some clients abhor stuff that's out of the 'international cuisine' mainstream. And leading the squeamish - the Americans, yes. 'Chicken, veal, Dover sole and maybe a steak' are the limits of many traveling Americans' tastes.

[Bux]

Nevertheless, it should not come as a surprise if a Spanish chef doesn't understand that snails, tripe or sweetbreads may be strange food to someone.

Actually, they do understand, Bux. Everyone in the restaurant business in Spain is quite aware that some clients abhor stuff that's out of the 'international cuisine' mainstream. And leading the squeamish - the Americans, yes. 'Chicken, veal, Dover sole and maybe a steak' are the limits of many traveling Americans' tastes.

So, Paco was really being nasty when he suggested we start with grilled snails.

I suppose the majority of chefs, especially in areas that serve a great number of tourists are well aware than many tourists, especially, but not just Americans, are picky eaters. I'm always offended when the waiter asks if I know what it is I'm ordering when I order offal. At the same time, I'm always disappointed when he doesn't.

Here in New York City, intrepid diners my age have grown up hearing waiters in Chinatown respond to their orders by saying "you won't like that." I wonder how my food likes and dislikes would have been different if the first waiter to hear me order an andouillette told me what it was exactly that I was ordering. I really had no idea, I only knew it was a local sausage. I suspect I would not have ordered it had I known it was tripe. Fortunately, in northern Burgundy, no one suspected it was a strange food at the time.

[stardust]

After reading many of the posts here and stocking restaurant names in my memory for when I return to Barcelona one day with more money, I would like your suggestions to help me out.

I'm a food-loving student, almost ending a year of student exchange in Barcelona. My parents are coming to pick me and my stuff up by car next week, and for my birthday and to thank them for giving me this opportunity, I'd like to invite them to a nice restaurant. Of course, my budget is limited, and calling El Bulli one week in advance is out of the question as well, I would appreciate suggestions for nice restaurants, preferably in the doing-magic-with-ingredients El Bulli-style, or at least original. I'm willing to spend at most about 80€ a person for a very nice meal. I'm sure not all of you go every day of your stay in Barcelona to El Bulli, so where do you go those other days?

I'd appreciate comments on price, standard, inventiveness and chances to get a reservation one week in advance on following restaurants I've considered, as well as any others you might have in mind:

- Jean Luc Figueras

- Alkemia

- Moo

- Gaig

- Abac

- Commerc 24

- Drolma

- Cinc Sentits

Thanks a lot!

[vserna]

You'll get much better input than mine, I'm sure, but let me add one place which is seldom mentioned on eGullet but offers fine modern food (the young cook is Xavier Franco) and shouldn't set you back more than 60-70 euros: Saüc. Some of their dishes: octopus salad with saffron potatoes and a sofrito marmalade; confit of suckling pig with scallions and potatoes; sautéed duck's liver with a dark beer soup and date-studded gingerbread; crackling and tender chin of pig with calamari and sautéed artichokes, served with the roasted pig's juices.

[pedro]

When I go to Barcelona, is very difficult to me to avoid going to Gaig. But Gaig is not in El Bulli's track, even though he combines traditional dishes with more avant garde approaches.

El Racò d'en Freixa could also fit with what you're looking for. Very good cheese selection, also. I haven't been there for some years, so hopefully others could give us an update on it.

Your main problem, as I see it, it's to narrow down your options to one restaurant and make a decission .

[Matthew Grant]

I can vouch for Comerc 24 and it would be well within your price budget:

Comerc 24

Edited July 3, 2004 by Matthew Grant (log)

[JesusBarquin]

I dined three months ago at Restaurant OT and enjoyed it.

But I would not discard driving less than one hour to Girona and eating at El Celler de Can Roca (lots of references in eGullet and in Google).

[paulbrussel]

(Well, I am not sure whether Drolma is amongst inventive cuisine.)

Decent prices? I dont' know, it seems very personal; but I paid last year for one person the following at Jean Luc Figueras (110), Alkimia (85), Gaig (125), Abac (125), Comerç 24 (90), all in € and including at least one bottle of wine plus a glass of cava.

You don't mention Hisop (110), which was one of the most interesting meals I had.

Best buy, in my view, is Cata 1.81 (30) for about 5 dishes.

Edit: let me add that I always took the menu with the most dishes.

Edited July 5, 2004 by paulbrussel (log)

[Matthew Grant]

The Tapas Festival menu at Comerc 24 is €48 per person. Cata 181 is fun and good value but the food is not in the same league and is in my opinioin not a special place to visit, more of a casual place to go (i.e. you might end up sharing a table with somebody)

[jayhawk0328]

I wanted to thank everyone for the recomendation to visit Abac in Barcelona during my honeymoon. My wife and I had a fantastic dinner there on July 3rd. The food was inventive, full of suprises and the service was the best I have ever witnessed. We decided to take advantage of the tasting menu at Abac, which featured mussels, prawns, tuna, squid and roast suckling pig. While the deserts were small, they added to the dinner a nice suprise of chocolates and gnoches. Overall, it was a little pricey, but well worth the experience.

[nerdgirl]

I can certainly vouch for Cinc Sentits! I have eaten there twice now and everyone that I have taken (including myself) has raved about the food. BCNChef and his family have created a great restaurant. You can feel their enthusiasm about sharing the concept of the food with their patrons so religously that it seems everyone gets excited about the next course. And did I mention that the price is fantastic? We had the 6 course meal for 5 people with several bottles of wine and cava and our entire bill came to 255€ / 51€ a piece. We were stunned (and completely full and a bit drunk)!

As for Moo, I wish I could say the same. I was sorely disappointed by my meal there. Not only was it overpriced, but completely unimpressive. I have to look through my notes, but I do remember that to their credit, the first 2 courses were decent. Things quickly went downhill after that. The hotel bar is the nicest thing about Moo/Omm, but sadly it seems like more of a hip place to go and lacking in substance. Has anyone else found this or am I being overly critical?

Ot - well, you can read my long blatherings about it. http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=35919

Commerc24 is another classic.

Also did you think about taking them to Espai Sucre for the dessert meal?

Good luck!

[nerdgirl]

Also, did you think of going to try Espai-COCH? this is the restaurant that is located inside of Can Fabes. You can have the scaled down tasting menu for 50€. I have eaten there and it was fantastic as well. You get to sit in a room that has a long table that looks into the kitchen of Can Fabes so you can see all the excitement going on...

http://www.canfabes.com/ecoch-gb.htm

[pedro]

Good to read you, Stephanie!

I'm not totally sure if Can Fabes would fit with what stardust is looking for:

I would appreciate suggestions for nice restaurants, preferably in the doing-magic-with-ingredients El Bulli-style, or at least original

Santi, as Simon wrote in the last thread on Can Fabes, is in the path of less interference / transformation / morphing of ingredients. It would fit with the originality request, nonetheless.

[Cellar Tours]

Hi There!

I can make a few comments on:

- Jean Luc Figueras - very classic, a bit boring in my view. Nothing like El Bulli in terms of creativity

- Alkemia- (Alkimia)- very hot right now. Friends of ours were there recently and were delighted by Jordi's flare and modesty. He has the talent of a genius, but not the arrogance. Good choice.

- Moo- a friend dined there last week, loved it. Very trendy.

- Gaig- haven't been there

- Abac- in the catty culinary scene, some have said that Abac has fallen out of favor, but then again I have heard wonderful things from winemaker friends of ours. I would say that it is a fairly solid choice,

- Commerc 24- Carles Abellan is great, and as you know he studied under Ferran, but the last time I ate there in January I didn't fin the tapas tasting menu to be very cohesive. Perhaps we ate there on an off night, but I left there a bit underwhelmed.

- Drolma - Fermi Puig is a real character! This place is very elegant, the only problem is that since it is in a hotel, I find that it is not the most intimate place, and it has a kind of corporate feel. Excellent quality though. Price range approx 100-120 euros, depending on wine cof course.

- Cinc Sentits- supposed to be fab. This is definitely the buzz restaurant on evrybody's lips now.

Also, for something really close to the geniu of Ferran, I agree with the other members that El Raco d'en Freixa is an excellent choice. We had an amazing taster menu for 115 euros, including chocolate dipped in bronze, weird and fantastic. El Raco is very small, and with a family ambience as Ramon Freixa works there along with his parents (his dad got the original Michelin star). I highly recommend El Raco.

[nimzo]

A few words about dinner at Alkimia on Saturday. My wife and I arrived at 9.02 for a 9 .00 table, entered the restaurant to be completely ignored by the 2 waiters having a chat in the dining room. We waited for about 4 minutes whilst I had a nose through the reservations book and were finally acknowledged and seated. menus were produced in English, no mention yet of aperitifs or water. The English on the menus was a poor translation of the Spanish (or Catalan) original so I asked for Spanish menus to be met with "Why?" from the waiter. I explained that terms like "..with coconut scum" didn't do much for the appetite and we got our menus. Cava and water were then forthcoming. We ordered, loin of tuna with cherries and foie gras with pear and cocoa consomme for me, cream of tomato soup with prawns and monkfish with a hazelnut puree and fried courgette flower for my wife. A bargain bottle of Guigal La Doriane(wrongly spelled on the list) at 40 euros.The dishes were delived with the beautiful explanations of "atun, tomate.'and the tuna was perfect , excellent dressing and cooked to perfection. My wife tucked into her tomato soup with red fruit salad and prawns only to discover there were no prawns but cockles instead, a shellfish she is not too keen on and certainly wouldn't order. I called the waiter over who said" Yes, that is how it is, we gave you last season's menu and we used to use prawns" not even having the courtesy to face me as she spoke.

The mains arrived in record time afterwards " foie, rape" went the delivery. Lovely foie with pear and consomme poured over, this meant that the nibs of cocoa were only discovered when the foie had been finished, it would have been stunning but I just thought it ended up as a weak broth without the nibs and the meat together.It was the same with the monkfish with the major parts of the dish being hidden away so they weren't discovered until the end.Early in the course the wine was moved to the centre of the room out of reach and we were left with empty glasses throughout.Although I saw one waiter point out our glasses and the wine to another a couple of times he simply couldn't be bothered to pour it or to move from his position glued to the floor. Not once did they replenish the water.

We ordered desserts but again the menus were different and I asked for a curerrent menu, "They are both current" was the reply."So if we order the chocolate does it come with apricot or peach sorbet?" I asked." Peach" came the reply so it was no surprise when my wife got her apricot sorbet.Would have loved a different wine with dessert but in spite of asking for the list it didn't arrive. petits fours arrived with hesitant explanations, none of which matched the food. We were almost screaming with laughter by this time guessing how far away the taste of the dish would be from the explanation.

Paid and left without so much as a goodbye, thank you or even them bothering to ask how it was after my wife had left 2 of her 3 dishes as they weren't as described.All the staff seemed more interested in havng a laugh than serving food which was clearly made by an imaginave chef using good ingredients.I hope Jordi Vila returns after the holiday with a revolution front of house.

[nimzo]

It is true that not every day can be a Bulli day but things are looking much brighter with Cinc Sentits on the horizon. We went the night after Bulli so mentally i was prepared to come away disappointed after the fireworks of the previous night but nothing could be further from the truth.beautifully decorated, well-spaced tables and met and seated with enthusiasm. We chose the Omikase menu which was 8 courses plus amuses and petit fours for 50 euros wih matching wines for an extra 15.The menu would be a complete surprise but would contain elements from the gastronomico if we wanted. From the wonderful shot of maple syrup, cava sabayon and maldon salt to the cherry compote with mascarpone mousse everthing was perfect. Highlights were perhaps the best piece of beef I have ever eaten, the torchon of foie gras with violet marmalade, the duck breast with caramelized pineapple and honey-eucalyptus syrup and the kalamansi cream . The wines ranged from a glass of Moet to start to an orange wine from Huelva with the dessert and took us through Somontano, Malaga, Ribera del Duero and Germany, 7 in total in good tasting samples.

I was going to say that I can't wait to go back but I did just that for dessert and a glass of wine the following night after a poor meal at Alkimia. My suggestion is that you make Cinc Sentits a priority when in Barcelona, the attention to detail is superb, the waiters and the kitchen look happy and the food is a bargain. well done Jordi !.

[docsconz]

Sorry to hear about your experience. This was very different than mine almost one year ago. Certainly, a lot can change in that amount of time.