El Bulli Etiquette & Tips

[victornet]

Although I'm basically a red drinker, I did not ignore the many posts suggesting starting with cava and moving to white wine. I let the staff at el bulli lead with this, and we had a very moderately priced cava (brut nature gran riserve 03 - we ordered a glass, and while they kept pouring we paid for the glass), followed by a 'glass' of white - pazo de senorans 05 (quite nice, but we could have skipped this and gone from cava to the red). The high point for me was a more serious Rioja red they recommended (ca. 90 euro) Pagos Viejos 1998 from Artadi which was just what I wanted with this meal. We closed with a enjoyable dessert wine (again, inexpensive) Hospital de Sant Joan Baptiste at Malvasia de Sitges.

I placed myself in their hands and the trust was amply rewarded. The list is full of expensive and desireable choices for those who so desire, as well as great bargain choices for those who have alloted their budget to the menu - the ideal choice a fine restaurant can offer.

[Corinna Dunne]

I placed myself in their hands and the trust was amply rewarded. The list is full of expensive and desireable choices for those who so desire, as well as great bargain choices for those who have alloted their budget to the menu - the ideal choice a fine restaurant can offer.

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In many ways, I think this sums up elBulli, and it is a point that is often missed. Getting a booking and focusing on technique will always be a bigger story and the one that gets media attention. But the warm, unintimidating dedication of the people who run the place and work there is quite unexpected and incredible.