We found the place in a small street near Passeig de San Joan. The entrance looked very informal and as we entered we found a room with picture-covered walls, and traditional looking tables and chairs. The decoration seemed straight out of a family home and made you feel welcome from the start. For a party of four we ordered:
Starters
Xatonada
Crèpes de bolets
Pa amb tomàquet
Main Course
Tira de vedella a la brasa amb patates i mongetes
Roast beef amb puré de poma
Conill a la brasa
Dessert
Mousse de xocolata
We started with the Xatonada, a typical salade made with fish (cod, tuna and anchovies), peppers, lettuce, olives and the special sauce. The mixed tastes of fish and vegetables made for an excelent starter, which we greedily ate together with the always present Pa amb Tomaquet (bread with olive oil and tomato). The other starter was crèpes de bolets, crèpes filled with mushrooms and covered with a deliciously creamy mushroom sauce and nutmeg. The combination worked surprisingly well as the two starters offered very different tastes to our palate and most certainly opened our apetites for what was to come.
The main courses all consisted of meat, and they all were a treat for the carnivorous animal in us. The tira de vedella is a spare rib, straight out of the grill, and stands as proof that you only need a bit of salt and pepper to turn good quality meat into a delicous meal. It was accompanied by french fries and white beans, but with all that meat in front of you, you don't really care what else is in your plate. The roast beef was seasoned with pepper and mustard and the sweet taste of the apple puree mixed wonderfully with the tasty beaf. The conill a la brasa is simply roast rabbit. Although we are not sure how it was seasoned, the final result was very, very good. The house wine was served in a special jar and completed the meal with its soft taste.
Finally come the dessert, an absolutelly perfect home-made chocolate mousse. It was just like my mother used to make it, and I hardly need to describe it any further.
Our first incursion into Catalan cuisine was a complete success, and let us open for more gastronomic adventures in this beautiful "country". The meal definitely set the scene for the football match later that day, when FC Barcelona beat Real Madrid 1-0.
Price: 20 euros/person
Address: Carrer Tordera, 62 - 08012 Barcelona
Phone number: +34 934588462
Map:
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