No Expert …but I know what I like – Food Blog, Restaurant reviews
Reviews, Guides & Maps
Neichels is a venue for special occasions, it’s a little of the beaten track, but well worth making the effort to get there.
Its style is classical rather than cutting edge. It provides a stunning desert trolley and a large range of PX sherries (something of an acquired taste – almost a dessert in themselves).
Marks out of 10
Food 7
Service 7
Ambience 7
I would not go out of my way to try out OT, but if you are in the area (it’s near the Sagrada Família), then it’s a viable option for an interesting lunch. (This restaurant by the way is now known as Libentia, I guess they did not like the pun!).
It is fairly casual and a bit experimental. The best part of my meal was the dessert which incorporated Mango Sorbet and popping candy.
Marks out of 10
Food 5.7
Service 6
Ambience 5.5
This 1 star Michelin is something of a Barcelona gem. Its much more experimental and adventurous in its cooking than most. At the beginning of the meal we were presented with a rack of 4 olive oil bottles to try with the bread. Gold leaf coated Macadamia nuts inside a Sardine tin prepare you for a meal that is not traditional by any measure. One particularly memorable course was the soup. Six tiny flavoured egg yokes suspended in the soup. When eaten they pop and melt over your tongue. A wonderful effect.
I was going off the idea of going to elBulli in this life time, considering it seems impossible to get a reservation, thinking that perhaps its a bit too out there, but my experience at Comerç 24 made me think there might be something to this Molecular gastronomy after all, so if you can not get to elBulli, Comerç 24 might be a more acceptable alternative.
Marks out of 10
Food 8.5
Service 6 – ( Sommelier 8 )
Ambience 5
To get out of the city for a day, we went to Carme Ruscelleda’s restaurant in Sant Pol de Mer (about 40 minutes on the RENFE train from Barcelona).
Interesting location overlooking the sea and the train station.
Very good, beautiful and amusingly presented food.
There is also a rather interesting shrine on the way out, see if you can spot the tribute to the Michelin Man.
Looking forward to Spains top-ranked female chef opening an outpost in the not too distant future at the new Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Barcelona.
UPDATE – Closed
We stumbled across this Barcelona restaurant 4 years ago. I think it had not been open for long. We had seen some stylish photos of the food on their website (www.cincsentits.com) and thought it looked interesting. Frankly I expected style over substance. When we arrived for lunch the long room was empty but for one table. Not a good sign I thought.
The young lady who acted as waitress and sommelier brought us a shot glass with some strange coloured layers and explained we should drink it in one go. Well….it turned out be the start of a great culinary experience that truly wowed us.
When a dish uses ingredients that you would normally not be keen on (lemon and blue cheese in my case) and transforms them into memorable moments that you still talk about years later, then you know you have a very special chef in the kitchen.
We left on a high. Thanking the waitress for a wonderful lunch and using my sixth sense stated that they should have a Michelin star. Maybe next year she replied modestly.
Well it took a few more years and now they have their first Michelin star.
So we made a return visit in May this year and I suspect they will not have too long to wait for a second star.
The food and matching wines were the best I think I have had any where. Some of the combinations were simply sublime. The only let down was the oxtail course which was a replacement for the pork belly. Other than that I had a near perfect lunch.
We plan to return again in September as this is one restaurant that deserves all the accolades it gets.
Marks out of 10
Food 9
Service 8
Ambience 8
Cuines Santa Caterina is housed in the Mercat Santa Caterina , it is great for an informal lunch. You can not book, so get there as soon as you can after it opens at 1:00 to guarantee getting a seat.
They have an English version of their menu, which is worth asking for as the menu layout is a bit odd.
It is probably a bit more expensive than a lot of the lunch options in Barcelona, but it’s all about quality and they deliver on that with fresh market ingredients.
It is part of the Grupo Tragaluz who really know the restaurant business. The other restaurants in the group are always good standbys, and their flag ship Michelin stared restaurant Moo in the Hotel Omm is well worth a visit, for both food and people watching.
Marks out 10
Food 6.5
Service 5.5
Ambience 6