What I'm talking about is the high end menu del día. Now, the menu del día is a Barcelona institution. Some time ago, it was legislated in Barcelona that restaurants had to provide reasonably priced, hearty meals to workmen at mid-day on weekdays. Many mainstream restaurants still do so and, in most spots, you can get a substantial three course meal with bread and a drink included for about 10 euros. The truly old school places
In any event, I don't know if it's because of the financial crisis or declining popularity or a little bit of both, but the menu del día has recently been ushered in for weekday lunches at some of Barcelona's finest restaurants. It's an absolute boon for food lovers on a budget.
My personal favourite, and Felipe's as well, is the menu del día at Moo (pictured above, www.hotelomm.com). It's 45 euros per person, seven courses and includes everything--water, a glass of wine, bread and coffee. Felipe and I went on the sweltering roses and books day, La Diada de Sant Jordi, when Moo's black and white, minimalist interior in the lobby of the Hotel Omm seemed cool and inviting. While the restaurant was busy, it was by no means packed, so it may be possible to pop in on the spur of the moment if you haven't bothered to reserve ahead of time.
The meal began swimmingly with a complimentary glass of cava, immediately followed by a selection of amuse bouches, which included beetroot and shrimp chips, patatas bravas (the classic fried potatoes with hot sauce and mayonnaise) in a cone, and sobrasada (a type of sausage) in pastry. On the heels of these, came another set of delectable morsels: couscous with trout eggs and a divine sugar and bread crumb crusted foie gras. We were oohing and aahing over the foie gras before we'd even reached appetizer territory.
The mains were no less impressive. Felipe's rabo de buey (pictured above) in an elegant red wine reduction was rich and satisfying; my bacon wrapped monkfish over steamed vegetables and beetroot chips equally so.
We would have left happy after these, but there was more: a refreshing lemon and mango icecream with frozen raspberry and blueberry jelly and, finally, white and milk chocolate with coffee.
We walked out of Moo feeling like we'd eaten like kings for a relative pittance, the bill--for a feast that included the menus, two cavas, two glasses of wine and coffee--came to not a penny more than 90 euros, as promised, and I'm pretty sure that I didn't touch another piece of food for the rest of the day.
We were greeted with a creamy basil spread with crisps as an aperitif, followed by a traditionally served pan con tomate--that is to say, toasted bread, olive oil, salt, whole tomatoes and whole cloves of garlic. The expectation, of course, is that you make your own (rub the bread with the garlic and tomato (both of which you must cut open), then drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt...it's a pleasantly interactive part of the meal, but one that would be helped greatly by a more suitable knife and better bread.
The appetizers, for sharing, came next: signature patatas bravas--tiny cones of potato, filled with hot sauce and topped with creamy mayonnaise (pictured at the top)--that are perfection in both flavour and texture and possibly the best version of bravas that I have tasted; and a rather simple salad of cold, steamed baby vegetables topped with iberico ham.
The star attractions were a delicate hake
Dessert was lovely: a white chocolate cream topped with an explosive raspberry sorbet, rose jelly and lychee (pictured, left). A second dessert of petit fours (chocolate-banana flakes, coconut macaroons, lemon madeleines and marshmallows) followed with coffee.
After four glasses of wine, a bottle of fashionable water and a cortado (espresso with milk), our bill came to 115 euros. Not bad value, but Moo delivered much more for less.
A footnote to this post is the Eixample's Noti (noti-universal.com), which for a long time has had a 20 euro menu del día, a three course affair that is both competent and tasty, but rather on the small side and in no way on par with the elaborate culinary hijinks at Moo and Arola.
4 comments:
Phenomenal website. I'm visiting Barcelona next week - can't wait!
What are you're top 10 must visit places for food? We're looking at Inopia, Bar Pinoxto, and Cal Pep so far...
Our humble NYC based website...
http://dudesonfoods.blogspot.com/
Thanks! You've picked some good spots to start with. It's always hard for me to whittle things down to top tens--there's just too much choice. However, here are a few suggestions:
The three spots you have are all tapas bars - I would add to those Quimet and Quimet (a tiny, neighbourhood, standing room only spot with excellent canned products and the best montaditos in Barcelona hands down) and Tapaç24, which I prefer to Inopia (the latter has a nice selection of olives, anchovies and other canned goods, but its other tapas aren't as interesting as those at Tapaç24). Bar Pinotxo is in the Boqueria, which houses a number of other tapas bars--if it's busy, as often happens, I wouldn't hesitate to try some of the other spots. I'll be writing more about tapas this month.
To sample different cuts of jamón, try Jamonísimo in the Eixample. There's a small tasting room in the back and the owner will explain the cuts to you--best if you have some Spanish.
On the higher end of things, I love Cinc Sentits and Comerç24. Other favourites are Gaig and Alkimia. To me, you also can't go wrong with the prix fixe lunch at Moo. If you are prepared to travel out of town, Celler Can Roca is the place to go.
My favourite terrace (the food is good, but won't be the best you'll have in Barcelona) is Agua in Barceloneta--reserve in the evening (after 930) for a romantic dinner followed by a walk on the beach.
Try Can Ramonet or Cal Boter for something more traditional.
p.s. For the high end spots, I would start making reservations immediately--they tend to fill up fast in the summer.
Thanks for the help. I'll be posting the reviews on my blog when I get back :)
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