Tara Stevens, writer for online magazine Barcelona Metropolitan, recommends Barcelona's top gastro spots, where the influence of El Bulli and the Adri� brothers is still going strong? As featured in our Barcelona city guideABaC Having been through a series of highs and lows (high at its old spot in the Born, low when it moved up town and struggled to entice an audience), ABaC is back on form. This time with Jordi Cruz at the helm, who is credited with being the youngest chef in Spain to earn a Michelin star (he was 25 at the time). The slick, architect-designed interior places it in the realms of the power restaurant ? a dramatic black and steel kitchen contrasted by a tranquil, all white dining room with views into the garden. Serious eaters looking for an experimental experience will find there's plenty to get their juices flowing here with innovations such as oysters tartar with fennel, or goat kid with cider foam. ? Avenida Tibidabo 1, + 34 93 319 6600, abacbarcelona.com, tasting menus ?125-?175. Open Tue-Sat 1.30pm-3.30pm, 8.30pm-11pm Tickets You can't really talk about a new Catalan cuisine without talking about the Adri� brothers. And no sooner does the shrine to modern cookery El Bulli announce that it's closing its door, than the brothers' modernist tapas bar Tickets opens. This time Albert Adri� is in command in Eixample, offering a taste of the past in the form of spherico olives, and "essence of sea" air on navajas (razor clams), the 33-course tasting menu rewritten as "tapas". It's the very antithesis of po-faced dining rooms: joyful, irreverent, verging on fantastical. Designed like a fairground complete with candyfloss machines and ice-cream carts, it is well worth the wait for a reservation if you missed eating at the mother ship. ? Avinguda del Parallel 164, (no phone), info@ticketsbar.es, ticketsbar.es, average ?50-?75 (no tasting menu). Open Tue-Fri & Sun 7.30pm-1.30; Sat 1pm-3.30pm Cinc SentitsWhen Cinc Sentits opened in May 2004 it fast established itself as one of the top places in town ? both in terms of quality and price ? to sample modern Catalan cooking from Jordi Artal, a self-taught chef who grew up in Canada, but returned to his roots to open the restaurant in Eixample Esquerra. The minimal decor provides a great frame to his elegant, new wave cooking based on local, mostly organic and wild ingredients. Dishes such as Catalan caviar with smoked sturgeon and poached quail's egg, tomato sorbet with garlic "bubbles", and chocolate mousse with arbequina olive oil ice cream and roast macadamias form the foundation of the oft-changing tasting menu. He picked up a well-deserved Michelin star in November 2008. ? Carrer d'Aribau 58, +34 93 323 9490, cincsentits.com, tasting menus ?49-?69. Open Tue-Thu 1.30pm-3pm, 8.30pm-10pm, Fri-Sat 1.30pm-3pm, 8.30pm-10.30pmKoy Shunka Koy Shunka is a shining example of the newish MediterrAsian genre and indeed the new breed of Asian chefs in the city (particularly Japanese), who take delicate techniques from home and apply them to local products. Ferran Adri� was a vocal admirer of the style and emulated it at El Bulli, but ? and I say this in a whisper ? chef Hideki Matsuhisa does it better in the Barri G�tic. The dining room is beautiful, all dark grey slate, polished wood and zen-like vibes, but the best place to sit is at kappo-style counter to watch the masters at work, honing pristine plates of stone-seared prawns and peas, and hake cheek and shiso tempura. ? Carrer de Copons 7, +34 93 412 7939, koyshunka.com, tasting menus ?55-?75. Open Tue-Sun 2pm-3.30pm, 9pm-11pmMomentsAfter the eye-popping decor of the Mandarin Oriental's more casual restaurant Blanc, Moments can seem a little staid; the luxe gold leaf and gauzy drapes a little serious. Well, it is serious, people, because it's showcasing the talents of rising star Ra�l Balam (son of multi-starred Carme Ruscalleda who oversees the restaurant and comes in every Thursday), who earned a star within minutes of arrival. His cooking, like that of his mother, is pure, delicate, extremely precise, yet exploding with flavour. If you want to taste a pea, a potato, or an artichoke as God intended, or tuck into upgraded Catalan classics such as escudella (Christmas stew) or arroz caldoso (rice broth), few places do it better. ? Passeig de Gr�cia, 38-40, +34 93 151 8888, mandarinoriental.com/barcelona/dining/moments, tasting menu ?125. Open Tue-Sat 1.30pm-3.30pm, 8.30pm-10.30pmManair�Ah. There it is. Nose-to-tail eating! And chef Jordi Herrera's rock'n'roll approach to the nasty bits would be just as groundbreaking as those at St John in London, except the Spanish have always liked a bit of nose-to-tail eating. So here in the Eixample Dret Herrera ramps up his already highly skilled techniques with a self-styled "cooking with fire" that involves blow torches, high voltage lamps, a drill, and a naked flame. An inveterate rule-breaker, Herrera pushes the envelope by taking traditional dishes one step further ? trotter with a cap i pota (head and innards) of crayfish for example ? and is all the more exciting for it. ? Carrer de la Diputaci� 424, +34 93 231 0057, manairo.com, tasting menu ?55. Open Mon-Sat 1.30pm-3.30pm, 8.30pm-11pm Gelonch Chef Robert Gelonch earned his stripes at El Bulli and at Gaig (another solid, high-end Catalan restaurant) ? a better training in either the classics or the new wave would be hard to beat. Tucked away in a part of the Eixample Dreta you are never likely to visit otherwise, Gelonch is starting to draw a crowd for the way he captures the essence of the "modernist" category. Big on new techniques and technologies, there's plenty of cleverness in his dishes and a dash of madness, which he calls peque�as locuras ? little follies ? such as oysters in "gin and tonic" and cuttlefish noodles tossed together in a deconstructed pesto. The dining room is equally colourful, a welcome change from the emptiness of minimalism. ? Carrer de Bail�n 56, +34 93 265 8298, gelonch.es, tasting menus ?52-?63. Open Tue-Sat 1.30pm-3.30pm, 9pm-11.30pmSa�c Sa�c has long been one of the more reliable modern bistros offering inventive cooking built firmly on the foundation of the classics. When they got their first star, the cooking took on more avant-garde qualities, and then, when they moved to a new location, at the trendy Ohla Hotel in the Barri G�tic, their direction shifted again ? back to sturdy dishes made modern, from their signature tartar of smoked eel with herring caviar and confit of lamb neck, currently in vogue as the new onglet, to peas with cod tripe and sour apple. Modernist through and through. ? Ohla Hotel, Via Laietana 49, +34 933 415 050, ohlahotel.com, tasting menus ?64-?114. Open Tue-Sat 1.30pm-3.30pm, 8.30pm-10.30pmC�sar Pastor C�sar Pastor's self-named restaurant began life as a fairly ordinary looking joint on a back street in the Raval called Colibr�. The food was excellent yet it never really seemed to attract the attention of other, better known places. Then, all of sudden they upped sticks to the Eixample Esquerra, spent some money on upgrading the dining room ? today the vision of elegance ? and voil�: a star is born. Pastor has now put his own name above the door, while continuing to serve his trademark market-led cooking using lots of familiar, seasonal ingredients jazzed up with discreet fusion, such as the filet de bacalao on ginger-scented Santa Pau beans, and steak tartare (pictured). They offer an excellent value mini-tasting menu for ?37 (four courses, lunch and dinner). ? Carrer de Casanova 212, +34 93 443 2306, restaurantcolibri.com, tasting menu ?73. Open 1.30pm-3pm, 9pm-11.15pm, closed Sun and Mon evenings Enoteca Increasing numbers of Barcelona's high-end restaurants are opening in five-star hotels and with each new opening the bar is raised higher. Paco P�rez was already well established as one of the finest cooks on the Costa Brava when he took his post here, elevating Hotel Arts Barcelona's gourmet dining into the sphere of "modernist cuisine". His dishes are clean, bright and highly precise allowing single ingredients to be the star of the show: the hallmark of the new Catalan kitchen. Given his provenance, he's a big proponent of local fish and seafood, so if you've been dying to try one of the region's legendary sea cucumbers, this is the high-dining experience for you. It's at Port Ol�mpic and has one Michelin star. ? Carrer de la Marina 19-21, +34 93 221 1000, hotelartsbarcelona.com, tasting menu ?86. Open Mon-Tue 1pm-3.30pm, Wed-Sat 7.30pm-11pm, Sun closed ? Tara Stevens is a regular contributor to English-language online magazine Barcelona MetropolitanFood and drinkBarcelonaFood & drinkCataloniaSpainguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
No comments:
Post a Comment