Barcelona Gastronomica

Review by Patricia & Dennis Cleveland-Peck

Quick look
What To See
Eating Out
Sleepover
Getting There

Barcelona is one of the most exuberant cities in Europe. Its architectural style, a type of Art Nouveau known as Modernisme, means that there are many highly decorated and colourful buildings to see.

Add to this an Old City with atmospheric churches and fascinating narrow lanes full of interesting boutiques and bars, numerous museums, some glorious beaches and a spectacularly good climate and you have an extremely enticing destination.
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What To See : Back to top

The Ramblas, touristy though it is, is the backbone of Barcelona and a stroll down to the sea past the animal sellers and the amazingly dressed street performers – one of who really appeared to do the Indian Rope Trick when I was there– is not to be missed. 

Antoni Gaudi, Josef  Puig I Cadafach and Domènech i Mantaner  were the top three Moderniste architects and the Quadrat D’Or or Golden Area in the Exiample district contains many fabulous examples of their domestic architecture. You can take a walk organised by the Ruta del Modernisme (www.rutadelmodernisme.com ) or wander at will.

Gaudi’s Parc Güell and his Sagrada Familia Cathedral are also  must-sees-  but if you can only visit one building make it Domènech i Mantaner’s Palau de la Musica Catalana– one of the most decorative and colourful buildings in the world.

You can balance all this flowery decoration with a visit to the simple minimalist Pavello Mies van de Rohe ( www.miesbcn.com ) at Montjuïc or the superb Picasso Museum ( www.museupicasso.bcn.es ) housed in five medieval buildings in the Old Town.

For foodies however, Barcelona’s  alternative attractions beckon. The Boqueria, the largest market in Europe, was built on the site of an old monastery and the quality and variety of goods on sale are mind-blowing. Fruit lovingly displayed, dozens of types of fungi, every cut of meat from sheep’s heads to pig’s trotters, magnificent Iberian hams, fish, crabs, crayfish and mountains of fresh vegetables, salads and herbs will awaken your taste buds in no uncertain manner.
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Barcelona is also home to a number of magnificent delicatessens. One of the oldest, which also contains a restaurant, is Can Ravell (www.ravell.com). Here huge legs of jamón serrano hang from the ceiling and jams, mustards and cheeses fill the shelves.

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Eating Out : Back to top

Naturally enough Catalan cuisine makes good use of the splendid local ingredients available but there are a number of chefs in the city who  reinterpret traditional dishes in a creative fashion, several of them influence by Feran Adrià of nearby El Bulli  fame.
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At Moo, (www.hotelomm.es/moo) the Michelin-star restaurant in the trendy Hotel Omm, Joan Roca’s tasting menu prepared by the chef Felip Llufrui, is an incredibly  finely tuned symphony of flavours. Not only are wines chosen to complement each dish but they are often echoed within them too.

Every dish is small but perfectly presented – even the crockery is specially designed. An amuse bouche which included gilded balls of foie gras set the standard. We went on to sample: a pig’s trotter carpaccio with Dublin bay prawns; then a tiny pipkin of leek soup accompanied by a piece of cod macaroni; next a little sliver of sea bream, with artichoke and an array of truffle and mushrooms; then a small square of tender lamb with mint and vegetable cous-cous, this decorated with minute  blue flowers and herbs; this was followed by  the chef’s take on a Hare Royale, here almost as a light purée; then came a delicious cheese served in a tiny kilner jar with rosemary and honey and finally  ( although by then I had given up – although small, the cumulative effect of these dishes is powerful) two puddings, coconut soup with pineapple yolk and chestnuts and chocolate. Wow!

Bars and cafes proliferate but for something different, if you flag while shopping the pretty little tea shop Caelum (c/Palla 8) near the Cathedral, sells  cakes with names like ‘saints bones’ and ‘angel hair’ together with sweets, jams, and other ‘temptacions de monsetirs’ made by nuns in convents all over Spain. This tradition dates from the days when the Moors were forced to convert and many went into the convents as cooks taking their recipes with them.

Two touristy restaurants which are nevertheless part of the Barcleona experience  are the very reasonable ( and popular – often queues) Les Quinze Nits – or Five Flies  (www.lesquinzenits.com which is well situated off the Ramblas in Plaça Reial and the classic tapas bar, Els Quatre Gats – or four Cats (www.4gats.com),  a must both for the dazzling Moderniste design and the fact that Picasso and his cronies hung out there.

For a superb meal which encapsulates the best of Barcelona, though, you cannot do better than Casa Calvet ( www.casacalvet.es )– a top restaurant housed in an 1899 Gaudi building. As one enters the restaurant, the light floods through a large stained glass window and the atmosphere is warm and welcoming.
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Miguel Alija’s menu, a creative Catalan take on Mediterranean cuisine, is pure pleasure.  Accompanied by a fresh alburiño wine, we shared a starter of   potatoes stuffed with asparagus and prawn; then, for my companion, grilled scallops with black trumpet mushrooms and spinach in a curry sauce and for me a blissful soupy risotto of lobster and chanterelles served with a spoonful of  ice cream flavoured with thyme. Finally we shared a chocolate ingot with a caramelized fruit skewer. All the flavours were fresh and the service impeccable.   For us this was the essence of the Barcelona food scene.
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Sleepover : Back to top

The Gran Hotel Havana (www.hoteles-silken.com/gran-hotel-havana-barcelona/ )is well situated on the Gran Via with all the major sites within easy walking distance. It is in the grid-like Eixample –or ‘enlargement’ district which contains most Modernisme buildings and, in the nearby Passeig de Gràcia, top designer shops. The rooms are spacious and comfortable and the service good. There is a roof -top swimming pool and terrace and a piano bar in which a weekly  Cocktails and Swing  evening takes place.
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One of the best things, however is  the breakfast. Hot scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, mushrooms  of course; plus yogurts, cereals, toast and rolls. Also a  lavish array of fresh fruits, hams, and cheeses together with Spanish specials such Serrano ham, white asparagus and tortilla. Best of all they have a a first class coffee machine, so much better than the muddy coffee still so often served in even good hotels. At the Gran Havana you do get a really a top class breakfast to set you up for the day.

It is almost impossible not to love Barcelona. For food lovers it is  a city in which to relax and stroll while anticipating the next good meal. 

Getting There : Back to top

Patricia Cleveland-Peck travelled with Kirker holidays (www.kirkerholidays.co.uk flying from Gatwick with Easyjet and then appreciating the  transfer service from and to the airport by private car which is part of the Kirker deal.