When Albert Adrià closed his legendary El Bulli ( where I had a chance to dine in 2010 ) everyone was guessing what he and his brother Ferran were going to do next. Their answer – a tapas bar called Tickets (Avinguda Parallel, 164 08015 Barcelona, Spain; tel.+34 932 92 42…

El Quim tapas bar ( Mercado de La Boqueria La Rambla 91, 08002 Barcelona, Spain;tel.+34 933 01 98 10) in the middle of the emblematic la Boqueria market embodies all what a good tapas bar is about – no reservations, conviviality and great energy, lots of wine and delicious yet simple…

One word could describe Comerç 24 (C/ Comerç, 2408003 Barcelona, Spain 933 192 102) – “overhyped”. The dishes sounded better on the menu (“pizza-sashimi”) than they were in reality and even if I really enjoyed some dishes like tuna tartare, some were disappointing. I don’t say that the dinner at…

Inopia (C/ Tamarit, 104, 08015 Barcelona, Spain,93 424 52 31) is run by Alberto Adria, the younger brother of Ferran Adria (no need for introductions). It’s a lively, funky place with loud music (one of the songs played was Sade’s “Smooth Operator”) and great energy. The extensive menu includes regional…

From all the tapas restaurants in Barcelona I’ve been (posts to come), Cal Pep (Plaça de les Olles 8 Barcelona, Spain,34-93-310-7961) is the most seafood oriented. Clams, shrimps, cuttlefish, tuna is masterfully prepared according to the Catalonian tradition. Like most of the good tapas places, Cal Pep is crowded during…

Tapas, paella on the port, Jamon Iberico, more tapas… Volcano eruption…Who could have thought? (Cal Pep, Inopia, Quimet I Quimet, Comerç 24 coming soon)

I know paella is not the speciality of Catalonia and no paella in Barcelona can compare to paella Valenciana, but the black squid ink paella in the very pleasant Botafumeiro ( El Gran de Gracia 81, 08012 Barcelona, tel.+34 93 218 42 30 ) was something special, higher than all…

La Boqueria market in Barcelona (Placa de la Boqueria) is the king of all the markets I have ever been to. Something like the “Ali Baba ‘s cave” for fruit and vegetables, seafood, meat products and many other remarkable things. They say, that if you don’t find what you need…

Is it the place where Joel Robuchon got inspired? Just kidding! Tapaç 24 (Disputacio 269, tel. 93-488-0977, Barcelona) opened much later than Robuchon’s L’Ateliers in NY and Paris. And it might be opposite, as Tapaç 24 was opened in 2006 by a Spanish “star chef” Carles Abellan. When I entered this…

Have you tasted jamon Iberico de Bellota? It is the caviar of all the hams and the priciest. The reason why is that the pigs are only fed with acorns (nuts of oaks) and the ham is cured for many months. The flavour of the ham ends up very nutty…