Category: Spain

Inopia – VIP tapas

We had heard good things about Inopia, but were not sure it would be our scene, as it seemed a little too trendy and lively for our tastes, but we decided to give it a go. Following advice from other food bloggers we arrived early (about 7:30 to avoid the queues) the red rope was raised and we got the last two seats.

The place was already buzzing,  food bloggers were clearly in situ, armed with cameras and note books. For such a busy place the service was exceptional, friendly and efficient.

Here is a short video:-

As you would expect with the el Bulli connection (Inopia is owned by el Bulli’s dessert chef, Alberto Adria), the food quality and service was definitely well above your average tapas. We were happy to follow the waiters recommendations, sampling top quality tapas favourites like  Patatas Bravas and ham croquettes, along with other dishes such as the Russian Salad and the Tuna carpaccio, we had about 7 dishes in total, washed down with a couple of glasses of Kalimotxo and a refreshing complimentary liqueur.

UPDATE November 2010 – Last weekend, the last tapas were served at Inopia, co-owned by Alberto Adrià, who is said to have been too busy working on another project to mourn over the closing, the place is soon to reopen under a new name, Lolita.

Marks out of 10

Food 7

Service 7.5

Ambience 7.8

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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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Cinc Sentits – roller coaster!

This was our 4th visit to Cinc Sentits over a 5 year period, and I can only compare it to a roller coaster as far as consistancy is concerned, it really has been up and down.

This restaurant based on earlier experiences was almost a tie with Comerc 24 as our favourite Barcelona Restaurant. Not so this time as Comerc 24 was streets ahead. Tram Tram another old favorite pulled out the stops and easily beat Cinc Sentits to second place.

Some of the usual courses were excellent (the foie gras) but a few too many had slipped to just ordinary so that the whole meal felt a bit hit and miss. The individual courses had shrunk so that a dimple in the plate seemed to hold them.  The cheese course in particular looked really tiny, (one small piece of cheese, a minuscule tomato and a couple of leaves of rocket), but I have to say it came as a bit of a surprise as it was very tasty indeed.

One of the more substantial dishes was the fish course served in glass paper, a presentation style I have so far only seen at Launceston Place in London.

Maybe we’ll do a return next year, but with so much competition who knows.

Marks out of 10

Food 7

Service 7

Ambience 7

 

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