We spent 5 days in Barcelona at the end of September / beginning of October (our 2nd visit ever) between our stays in Paris. My thanks to the HOers who provided some of the recommendations. I will cover the meals in two posts.
Enigma
Since we were already used to the time zone after a week plus in Paris, and ate very little during the day while taking the short flight, the first night dinner was our splurge at Enigma. It was definitely a fun experience!
The room is very cool. A tree motif. My understanding is that previously the restaurant was not only tasting menu only, but customers would walk from room to room over the course of the meal.
The ceiling:
They offer either a tasting menu or ordering a la carte. But if a la carte they still expect you to order as much as a tasting menu would cost. Since it was our first time we went with tasting menu (my wife’s choice, and they did throughout accommodate her eating preferences in terms of what she doesn’t eat).
The small bites:
- green mandarin
- melon sashimi - particularly interesting and different
- pistachio waffle
- corn “ravioli”
- “burrata”
- cepe tartelette
- caviar “muffin”
- sea lettuce
- salmon sandwich
- razor clams - “glitter without cilantro” - really good
We really liked the molecular basil spaghetti in tomato oil:
Tuna tartare, cepe skewer, tomate feo kombu:
The wagyu was tasty, but imo not worth the money (44E per person), so if ordering a la carte I’d skip it in favor of more of the smaller bites.
The came the desserts - “pizza gaugere”, pomegranate sorbet, apple meringue:
Then two more: ginger and lemon, and chocolate tartes:
They give you a copy of what you ate when you’re finished.
Overall we preferred the food at Disfrutar, but the room and experience here at dinner was something; I’d certainly encourage anyone interested to go at least once.
Gresca Bar
After checking out the Barca stadium the next morning, we went to Gresca Bar for lunch.
The grilled oysters were very good, the mushroom ‘bikini’ was good, the simple pan con tomate was very good, the bikini of Iberian pork loin and Comté was really good.
The beet salad was ok, the pumpkin curry was better.
From the reviews I’d read, I was expecting more from Gresca Bar than I got. The ham and cheese bikini was excellent. Unfortunately they were out of anchovies that day, and that probably colors my perception here, too.
Dos Pebrots
Dinner that night was at the relatively new Dos Pebrots.
The room is pretty interesting. You can order one of the tasting menus or a la carte. We chose to go with the latter.
The menu talks a bit about the history behind each dish, and the waitstaff takes you through it when bringing the dishes as well.
The ancient leeks with beer pretty good; the anchovies plus salt plus vinegar very good.
Napolitana vegetables sott’olio were good; my wife liked the vitello tonnato more than I did.
The gnocchi with mushrooms, truffle and strachiatella were just pretty good; my wife really liked the lamb kebabs.
My wife was impressed/shocked I tried the pig udders, and the dish is a sight to behold. But not only did I not care for the texture, they just didn’t taste good at all. Worth seeing, probably, but IMO not worth eating.
I enjoyed both of the sorbets we chose for dessert: the lemon sorbet with olive oil, and the carob sorbet.
The prices were pretty reasonable, and reservations weren’t that easy to get, especially for peak times. I can’t decide whether or not I’d go back to try more of the menu.
Quimet y Quimet
For lunch the next day, after going to La Pedrera in the morning (interesting building, meh tour, fabulous views from the roof) I was really looking forward to going to Quimet y Quimet for montaditos.
And the place, where you stand at tables or the small bar and need to be out in an hour, was as advertised, with the waitstaff knowledgable and friendly.
The rosé cava was very good. And I loved, loved loved the anchovy with roasted red pepper. I ordered a second, probably should have ordered a 3rd, and will return just for this one item. I’ve had variants of this before, and made them at home with ingredients imported from Spain, but the anchovy and the roasted piquillo pepper here were noticeably superior to the others I’ve ever had.
That said, i was very unimpressed with the toasts the montaditos came on; they were thick and bland and unappealing. And the other ones we tried – scallops with caviar on tomato jam, fresh anchovies with goat cheese (which I didn’t like at all), even the smoked salmon one – weren’t that impressive.
The menu is large enough that there are other’s I’d be interested in trying when we return, though. The prices are extremely reasonable; you can eat very well and be quite full for not a lot of money.
