Barcelona One-Stars

[cabrales]

I'd appreciate members' input on which of the linked one-starred restaurants in Barcelona offers good cuisine. Also, proximity to the airport or main train station woud be relevant.

http://www.viamichelin.com/viamichelin2/gb...Q5YWGY?from=216

[Bux]

That link didn't work for me. It's possible that it only works from the computer that entered the qualifying date for reasons of cookis or scripting. To respond, I'll assume all one star restauarants are included and then note that of all the starred restaurant in the city, I've only been to Jean-Luc Figueras.

Two factor's diminished my appreciation for our dinner. I came down with a head cold that affected my appreciation of food and particularly of finesse in flavor. We requested that each dish be split into half orders so two savory courses became four, but they followed so quickly that we never had time to reflect on a course. As I recall the next course was in the hands of the waiter at our side as the last course was being cleared from our table. The restaurant seemed eager and ready to accommodate our request with the recommendation that we change one of our courses as it would be hard to plate as a half order. We had two of the specials listed in Michelin. The canelones de cigalas, without a binder for the seafood, tomatoes and black olives, seemed more like a summer roll than either an Italian or Provencal pasta and more applealing intellectually than delicious. It was unadorned except by a sauce that was mostly on the side. My wife thought it was buerre blanc, I wasn't at all sure. The Tarta fina de butifarra del perol a layer of rustic (blood, guts, hoof and head as far I would guess) sausage meat on phyllo disk with with sliced ratte potatoes and black truffles was less intellectual, but impressed us very favorably. The simplicity went with the simplicity of the decor, and the earthyness contrasted with the elgance, both in good ways. We were tired, I was not in the best of shape. We enjoyed two fish dishes, but they made less of an impression on us. The service was quite good, if too efficient.

It was a meal not quite up to the starred meals we had in the provinces and not quite as relaxed as the less formal meals I've had in Barcelona, but it deserved its star and I need to return to better evaluate it. Lizzee's been there and recommends it. I'd guess it's a short taxi ride from the train station, but then again there are several stations and some of the metros stations seem to serve the main train lines as well on separate tracks. Sants is the only train station I've used, but you can also get the train I took at the plaça de Catalunya. Food is reasonably priced in Barcelona, hotels are expensive and taxis are inexpensive.

I also have very high marks for Ca l'Isidre--not listed in Michelin--Les Flors 12, phone (34) 93 241 11 39. It's less upscale and more traditional, but excellent. Lizzee and Wilfrid can comment on it as well.

What's your target here. Are you passing through to el Bulli, El Raco de Can Fabes, etc. or is Barcelona your destination?

[cabrales]

Bux -- You know the answer to that question.

[lizziee]

Cabrales,

We liked Jean Luc Figueras very much. The cuisine is very contemporary and the decor stark. We found the service exceptional. Our waiter, Mikial, had worked at Guy Savoy. The sommelier is a young woman, Helene, who selected wonderful, inexpensive Catalonian wines. It is difficult to describe the food. There are separate flavors on the plate that need to be mixed as you eat it. It is not the 20 ingredient syndrome of some American chefs, but the chef focuses on a number of ingredients and wants the mixing at the moment. We had the tasting menu - 2 amuse were served beforehand. Memorable dishes were: Rare ducks chunks, iced tomato with shrimp, gazpacho soup with apple puree, snails with a red pepper mousse and a baby pork with peach honey and hot goat cheese.

I commented on Ca L'Isidre in another thread, but will briefly comment here. This is a real find. We got there around 1:45 and the place was empty. By 3:00 every table was filled, no tourists, mostly affluent businessmen. Our waiter, Joseph, spoke perfect English and with his help we orchestrated a perfect lunch. We started with tiny whitebait deep fried - every time they fry up a batch, they use fresh oil. Next a gazpacho with clams and shrimp - the gazpacho was pureed with a little oil floating on the top. Next quickly sauteed squid in olive oil that were so tender they melted in your mouth. Finally, their speciality - roast baby goat with small onions and white wine. Cabrales, they do a humorous "egg" dish for dessert. Naria, the daughter does the pastry. In an egg shell, she placed sabayon which represented the yolk, white choclate was the white of the egg and underneath it all, liquid dark chocolate.

La Dama was horrible - old-fashioned, tired food, indifferent service. They rushed us through our tasting menu in an hour.

Gaig - I have no tasting notes. It is traditional cuisine with good service. It has been in the Gaig family for 4 generations, but other than remembering that the room was elegant and the dining was relaxed, I have no recollection of what I actually ate.

Botafumerio - this is suppose to be one of the best seafood restuarnt in Barcelona. It is a huge room so the atmosphere is one of "rush." We had the large cold seafood plate - it was piled high with cold spider crab, crab legs, langoustines, oysters, clams. The fish was incredible fresh - just caught. But this is more a place for a quick, light lunch than fine dining.

[Wilfrid]

See my Barcelona February 2002 thread below, and no I couldn't open the link either. If you want any specific advice on how to get around, please say. The airport is about half an hour out of town, by taxi. There is a train from the airport directly into the Sants station, from where you can easily change to the metro system. If you have any questions, I have spent a lot of time traipsing around Barcelona on public transport and by foot - fire away.

Nearly forgot: as I said in the thread below, please go to Ateneu.

[Bux]

That train to Sants also goes on to other stops in the city including plaça de Catalunya. In fact, I believe the train up to France can also be picked up at other stations in the city including Catalunya. The train is really convenient especially at the airport end although it also does local duty as a commuter train and alighting at various stations during rush hour with luggage can be a bit of a problem. At plaça de Catalunya the last flight to the surface must be made by stairs--no escalator or elevator as I recall. My recollection is that taxis are not expensive in Barcelona.

[Wilfrid]

At plaça de Catalunya the last flight to the surface must be made by stairs--no escalator or elevator as I recall.

There I disagree. What about the entrance at the top of the Ramblas, for example. All escalators, and not only going down, surely.

I want to go to Barcelona right now.

[anil]

...... In fact, I believe the train up to France can also be picked up at other stations in the city including Catalunya. ..

I'm not sure about trains to France. I think the station is different than Sants.

I do not have my old notes handy, so I cannot name the station.

[Bux]

Some years ago, we flew into Barcelona and took the train north the next morning. The most reasonable course to follow seemed to be to take the train into the Sants station, check into the hotel at the station, enjoy our short day and evening in Barcelona and take the train to Beziers in the morning from that station. It would be easy enough to get to the more interesting parts of Barcelona by public transportation and eliminate two taxi rides. It was easy enough to get around Barcelona by public transportation without luggage, but we noticed the train from Sants made other stops in the city before proceeding out of Barcelona the next day. We realized we could also take the train from the airport directly to those same stops, including plaça de Catalunya. There may also be other trains to the same or other parts of France that originate at other stations and do not stop at Sants. I don't know. Indeed, the schedule may have changed since we last took the train.

Wilfrid, you may be correct. Those escalators did not exist for me, as I did not see them. The possibility of parallel universes is not to be discounted. In fact parallel universes must exist. How else can we account for the discrepancies in people's posts.

[carlak]

I've read everything you guys have posted to date on Barcelona dining and its been extremely helpful in planning our three days there this coming March.

I still need some help, advice, etc. with choosing between Abac and El Raco d'en Freixa -- they're both get one star from Michelin. The Raco website which posts the menu is fabulous and the food sounds great. A John Mariani article in Wine spectator a year ago raved about Abac. Has anyone been to either or both to give some guidance?

[paulbrussel]

I have been to Àbac twice: November 2002 and September 2003. To El Raco d'en Freixa I have been only once: in may 1997.

(The latter must have changed a lot, I suppose. I have reserved there years later by fax since my first experience was quite good, but I never got a reply back and when I went there the very evening, it was closed, contrary to the information in the Guide Michelin.)

Àbac is more upscale, I think, in various ways. It is one of the most expensive restaurants of Barcelona, luxury is every where. It is cooking in a modern way on a classic basis.

This seems very logic to me, because when I had quite a long talk with the chef during my meal, he admitted his main influence came from the chef of Can Fabes and not from El Bulli.

(If interested I can give details on the meal at Àbac I had in September. If you are more into modern cooking, I would suggest either Alikimia or hisop.)

[carlak]

Thanks for the info. My sense was that Abac was a "formal" type place.

Would love to hear about your meal there, though, since last September is certainly relevant to now. Unfortunately, I think 1997 is too long ago for a true sense of El Raco now. I have read that the son is cooking now and I don't know what real changes in style, philosophy, etc. he has made to his father's way of doing things.

We are planning lunch at Alkimia and Comerc 24 so we will be sampling the new stuff going on. How far in advance do you need reservations at these places for lunch? I'm used to NYC hot spot time frames which can be ridiculous.

[pedro]

Never been to Abac, but I've visited once en Freixà. Very good starters, uninteresting entrées and desserts, impressive cheese course, selected by a knowledgeable sumiller, passionated about them (and wine, of course).

I'll give a shot to Abac before returning to en Freixà.

[paulbrussel]

Diner 9/2003 (second visit) [my personal appreciation: 16/20; one star in Michelin since its guide 2001]

Chef: Xavier Pellicer; website: http://www.restaurantabac.biz

Aperitif: cava: too light and without much taste; on the side: chips (too old), green olives: very nice.

Menu de degustacion: 75,13 (most expensive of BCN)

White rioja: Placet 2001 (19,31 €): nice und bodied.

First amuse: Nicoise salad: mousse of salad, jelly of tomato, sliced cucumber: just nice.

Second amuse: Rabit ravioli: ravioli of rabbit with a sauce of aceto balsamico: very nice (but very hot: temperature)!

First dish: Tartar of mushrooms, avocado and crab: tartar of crab with champignons de Paris, a quenelle of ice of avocado: excellent and original, interesting combination of different ingredients.

Second dish: Mackerel with caviar, celery milk: mackerel on cake of celery; sauce of celery came apart; on top the caviar. The fish was cold, the rest was warm: interesting mix of temperatures here. Caviar was dominated by the rest and I could not taste it. Sauce was excellent.

Third dish: Potera's squid with ceps and lemon: potera was explained as a very rare sort of squid. It came with wild ceps, all on a sponge of lemon, accompanied by some rucola. Squid was very nice, and combined very well with the mushrooms. Being a bit allergic for sour tastes, I left the lemon aside.

Fourth dish: Mediterranean fish with polenta and tender almond: fish was sea wolf; it came with polenta, young red grapes and an andalusian sauce based on the same red grapes. Hardly salted and peppered fish and there fore quite plain. But the rest was very nice.

Main dish: Iberian suckling pig from Sierra Mayor: the suckling pig came with cêpes, baked small potatoes and confit d'ail. Quite heavy but very good.

After the main dish I had cheese.

Then desserts: Plums with ginger, mascarpone and pistachio: nice dessert, followed by a second dessert: White xocolate with advocado and vanilla, chocolate with vanilla ice cream; I took a glass of sweet wine: Peter Jackob Spattesse 2001 which was nice.

Edited February 23, 2004 by paulbrussel (log)

[paulbrussel]

We are planning lunch at Alkimia and Comerc 24 so we will be sampling the new stuff going on. How far in advance do you need reservations at these places for lunch? I'm used to NYC hot spot time frames which can be ridiculous.

Reservations are not really necessary. For lunch at Alkimia I just dropped by and got a table without any problems.

Comerç 24 I visited for dinner and reservation for dinner is absolutely necessary, a few weeks in advance, I would say; I don't know for lunch.

[Bux]

White rioja: Placet 2001 (19,31 €): nice und bodied.

A point for Spain. How often do you find yourself drinking and saying nice things about a wine under 20 euros in a good restaurant in France? If I'm wrong, I'll appreciate the name of the restaurants.

[victornet]

Definitely make sure you get a reservation at Alkimia, necessary or not.

While it was not full the night we went last July, it remains the most memorable meal we had in Barcelona. It was not clear if the chef could survive with that concept in that neighborhood, but if not he'll be back (like Thomas Keller not quite making a go of it at Rakel). When we sat down to eat another American couple read the menu (probably drawn by one of Arthur Lubow's cheerleading articles - as we were) and announced that they were sorry, but the menu was too far out for them and left without a taste - a decision they will probably never realize how unfortunate it was.

[paulbrussel]

Definitely make sure you get a reservation at Alkimia, necessary or not.

Indeed: I do agree; of my last visit, Alkimia and hisop impressed me the most. On the other hand: I was disappointed by Comerç 24.

[Bux]

When we sat down to eat another American couple read the menu (probably drawn by one of Arthur Lubow's cheerleading articles - as we were) and announced that they were sorry, but the menu was too far out for them and left without a taste - a decision they will probably never realize how unfortunate it was.

I am always fascinated (and appalled) by tourists who are drawn to the right places for the wrong reasons and thus totally unprepared to enjoy what the restaurant has to offer. Too many tourists, and I'm not referring to the gastronomic travelers who most inclined to read eGullet and to thoroughly read restaurant reviews, skim the articles taking nothing from them except a list of mentioned restaurants and perhaps their rating, without considering why the restaurant was mentioned. Actually, that in itself might not be a problem if one was open to trying new things. It's not always a matter of finding oneself faced with unexpected creative cooking. Tourists will search out the most local sort of bistro or tasca and then find the menu incomprehensible and food too different from the joints that surround their hotel and which cater to those who want food that is not so "ethnic."