Tag: Grupo Tragaluz

Acontraluz

Acontraluz is part of the successful Grupo Tragaluz. It’s situated in a pretty suburban area near Sarria and far enough off the beaten track not to be mistaken for a tourist destination. We have been here several times over the years for lunch.

It’s a pleasant, relaxing venue. You would normally need to book as it is popular with the well healed locals. It’s also not the easiest place to find.

Marks out of 10

Food 5

Service 5

Ambience 5.4

Update : August 2012 : What have they done with their web site – very weird : – Acontraluz

 

 

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Moovida – grazing time.

This is pretty much our first stop after getting off the plane in Barcelona.  Moovida is the bar of the Hotel Omm, so its menu covers bar food, but that description just does not do it justice, as the quality is unmistakable. We started with a stunning veal sandwich (actually more of a burger than a sandwich), then added in a cheese course to extend the meal and finished off with a delicious apple tart with ginger ice cream.

UPDATE:  May 2010 – Revisited Moovida, we had exactly the same meal. There was no dip in the quality. The menu is more extensive, but when you find something you enjoy it’s hard not to do repeats.

 

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Cuines Santa Caterina – cleaning up.

I would love to find a market restaurant like this in London (Roast is the closest, but the food there just does not do it for me), so we have to go to Barcelona to indulge. On this trip we started with a shared plate of dips – very fresh ingredients, lovely fluffy pita bread.

I followed this with Tuna Tartare and my companion had his usual Catalan sausage with baby beans and fois gras. For dessert I had a quite stunning Crema Catalana, washed down with some fresh fruit juice. We left our plates so clean that the waiter commented rather amusingly that the “cleaner would be pleased”.

Marks out of 10 for this visit

Food 7

Service 7

Ambience 7

 

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Bar Lobo – slow and moody

Went to Bar Lobo (part of the Grupo Tragaluz) for drinks. It is a pleasant enough venue (although the drains do smell a bit when sitting outside). The service is the main problem here, staff did not seem very friendly and the service was slow and inconsistent, i.e., later arrivals getting their food and drink before we got our rather simple drinks order.

We returned again a few evenings later for Tapas (to give it a second chance!). It was quite lively but not packed, and we got a table more or less straight away, but after that it went down hill, it took ages to get our order taken. Bar Lobo could take a few lessons from Inopia on what it means to provide good service.

Marks out of 10

Food 4

Service 4

Ambience 5

 

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Traguluz – the return

Traguluz was the first quality restaurant we found in Barcelona many years ago, and thought it might be interesting to see if our tastes had changed much in the intervening years.  While not off Michelin Star level, it did impress us with good quality food and wine, served in a lovely location.

I had forgotten how nice the dining area is. Very bright and modern looking with large mirrors and creative flower displays. The service was not exactly top notch though.  For example, while being asked to taste the wine the waitress proceeded to fill up my companions glass – classic. The portions are much larger than a fine dining restaurant but then its not going for that market anyway. The food was tasty and satisfying so I would definately still recommend this venue for a meal.

Marks out of 10

Food 6.5

Service 6

Ambience 7

 

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Moo and Moovida – Hotel Omm

Moo is the 1 star Michelin restaurant (part of the Roca brothers empire) situated in the Hotel Omm in Barcelona, (part of the Grupo Tragaluz).

It is very fashionable, very much a place to be seen. Normally in this sort of venue the food disappoints, but here for once  the food is actually good enough to match the atmosphere. Advanced booking is essential.

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Moo

Marks out of 10 – Moo

Food 7

Service 7

Ambience 7.5

Moovida is the informal bar/dinning area. This venue is an especially useful recommendation as you can normally do a walk in.  Its also a great place for food and people watching (unless you are facing the wall that might as well be an NCP car park. Etiquette apparently dictates that the woman sits looking into the room, getting the interesting view. While the man has to stare at a wall. I’ve lost count of the number of tables I’ve sat at looking at a fire exit sign…rant over).

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Moovida

Short video showing Hotel Omm, finishes with some images of that wall in Moovida:-

Marks out of 10 – Moovida

Food 7

Service 7

Ambience 7

 

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