Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot eating & cooking in Northwest England)
1
The name translates from the Catalan as The Gulp. Make of that what you will.
We’d booked this place because it was near to our hotel and, arriving mid evening, we knew we’d just want to get something to eat rather than sample some of the city’s gastro delights. This was going to be a meal about which there were no significant issues but, also, one that had little to enthuse over.
We both went with vegetable starters. One was a traditional escalivade– long cooked onions with green and red peppers. It was light and perfectly fine but felt underseasoned. Underflavoured even. Across the table, grilled vegetables, were served warm with a little bite to them. They came with a romesco sauce and was the better of the two plates.
For one main course, there was Secreto Iberico – a pork shoulder steak. Bags of flavour but I confess to doing it no favours, asking for it to be well done. Truth be told, my limited Spanish deserted me and I’d forgotten how to ask for it medium. It came with some very indifferent and not very hot fries. Across the table, there was a fillet of hake , served in a bowl with clams, white asparagus, peas, hard boiled eggs and an indeterminate savoury sauce. It just wasn’t as flavoursome as you’d expect, or the ingredients suggested.
For dessert, I suppose Crema Catalana was almost a given. But it really wasn’t a good version, the custard being barely set. The other dessert was another local speciality – mel I mata – a soft cheese, akin to ricotta, given a heavy drizzle of honey. It was fine. We finished with good café solo.
We’d gone with low expectations and they were met.
Your hotel is then also near Ciutat Comtal, one of my favourite places in Barcelona. You can drop in any time of the day, from 7AM to after midnight, and the place will be buzzing. Really good food and drinks.
Next door is also a nice English pub called Obama I believe.
Agree with @damiano. So much great food in Barcelona, even (or maybe especially) places that aren’t “gastro,” why would anyone waste a meal on someplace they know is going to be poor? Arriving “mid-evening” in Barcelona also not an issue. So, why? I actually thought when I saw the name of the restaurant that it was a send-up, but no!
Not to worry, I doubt there is anyone on this board that would have headed right to a restaurant called El Glop!
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Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot eating & cooking in Northwest England)
4
For the reason I gave. Simples.
I have absolutely no regrets - if you re-read my post, you’ll see I did not expect it to be “poor” and it wasnt. Thanks for your interest.
Well, just wanted to say it is much appreciated you wrote down your experiences from that restaurant. The only reason I mentioned Ciutat Comtal is to give some other restaurant suggestions, besides the michelin starred places most people here on HO talk about. Like @ninkat says, there are a lot of very good ‘normal’ restaurants in Barcelona which aren’t discussed much here.
So, another tip is L’Olive, also nearby, at the corner of Balmes and Consell de Cent. It’s more upscale, with a gorgeous interior design, and a traditional cuisine.
Have you already made some other reservations? I miss Barcelona, was there 2 years ago for the last time.
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Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot eating & cooking in Northwest England)
6
Our stay was a couple of weeks back - two nights prior to a cruise. In truth, it was a bit of a pain but going the two days before was the only way we could get sensible flight times from Manchester. I’ve no idea if or when we might be back in the city.
