La Cova Fumada

Where? La Cova Fumada (Ciutat Vella, Barcelona, Spain) Map

When? Wednesday March 20, 2024

Who? Me

Food Style? Tapas

My original choice, Lanto, was fully booked, so here I am in Barceloneta for some tapas. There’s a queue outside but single diner privilege means I can get a quick seat if I’m okay with being at the bar. The restaurant is absolutely packed and the busy sounds of people enjoying their food fill the interior. La Cova Fumada is Catalan for “The Smokey Cove”, and sure enough, even standing outside, the aromas of the kitchen are wafting through the air and it smells wonderful. I’m in the mood for seafood today. No dessert this time, I’ve already got something in mind! After standing awkwardly for a good ten minutes, my order finally gets taken.

Tapas #1

Pa amb tomaquet
The Catalan classic, bread with tomato mushed into it, seasoned with salt, garlic and olive oil. This is such a staple in the region, and I can't help but wonder what perfect alignment of bread type and tomato type is required to replicate this exactly back in Toronto.

Tapas #2

Octopus
The waitress tells me something and points to a plate in the bar counter. I don’t know what she said so I just nod. This is dumb because she speaks English and I could have easily found out but sure whatever. It’s hearty and a bit over seasoned, but the bread helps to balance it out.

Tapas #3

Squid
This one I used the OBLAT strategy: order by looking at other tables. It looks damn impressive and when it arrives, I'm over the moon. Oh my goodness it's fantastic. That charred exterior is so crispy and tasty, with the meat itself being soft and tender. The Catalans have it so good with all this fresh seafood at their doorstep.

I pay and leave. As I turn to exit the restaurant, my legs complain, having been completely upright and motionless for the past 30 minutes. I need to sit down for a bit.

Posted by Jeremy at 7:40am on Saturday December 28, 2024 :: 0 comments ::

Arume

Where? Arume (Ciutat Vella, Barcelona, Spain) Map

When? Saturday May 20, 2017

Who? Me

Food Style? Spanish

After a long day walking all around Montjuic, I've taken the funicular down and a few minutes walk away is Arume. The only place available is at the bar, which I'm sharing with three Singaporean girls who are also keen on trying the duck paella. "I wonder if it'll be like Peking duck" one says. I chuckle as one of her friends scolds her. I've ordered some baby scallops too, because seafood here is great.

As our starters arrive, my Singaporean friends apologise for taking pictures of their food.

I laugh.

Entree

Baby scallops with sweet corn sauce, kimchi and paprika bread
My plate of scallops looks amazing, and we happily exchange our starters. They have beef tartare and iberico ham carpaccio, and both are excellent, but I didn't feel like taking pictures of their food. Full of flavour, salty, savoury, beautiful smooth textures. My scallops are rich and creamy with a delicious sauce, perfectly cooked - a slight crisp on the outside and soft on the inside.

How did I not fix that one scallop on this photograph? It's really annoying me now.

Mains

Duck paella with Padron peppers
A massive hot plate of duck paella arrives. The smell is intoxicatingly delicious and I taste a bit. It tastes like duck and a hint of mushrooms, which is okay given how delicious the rest of it is. It's like a richer, meatier risotto. The smoked peppers are a great addition.

Britney's Hit Me Baby One More Time comes up on shuffle and the whole bar erupts into song. I love it.

The girls got seafood paella and fortunately for me, they can't finish it so they offer the rest to me. It's very good as well, but not as rich as the duck one. It's got all that natural saltiness from the mussels, squid and prawns in the stock, and the freshness shows.

Dessert

Afternoons with Marta - cocoa black beer sponge cake with chai tea, pineapple and ginger
I can't refuse the offer of dessert. The cake is gorgeously rich and moist, the beer and ginger evident. The rum pineapple is also really good, and coupled with the ginger ice cream, this is a well-balanced, well-made dessert to finish my time in Barcelona.

Posted by Jeremy at 9:44am on Saturday June 10, 2017 :: 0 comments ::

Tosca

Where? Tosca (Ciutat Vella, Barcelona, Spain) Map

When? Friday May 19, 2017

Who? Me

Food Style? Tapas

After a tour of Montserrat, I'm back in Barcelona quite late and I'm looking for food. I was intending to go to this place called Casa Lorea but as I walked by their menu, it didn't look very appealing. The only thing that stood out was their sangria selection, which I would have happily had if I wasn't so hungry. I continued walking down the road and found Tosca, so here I am at the bar by myself, with a white wine sangria in hand as I wait for my food to arrive.

Tapas #1

Chorizo with chimmichurri sauce
I try the chorizo first. Wow! There's a bit of spice and the sausage is delightfully meaty, but that sauce is the winner. It's so delicious.

Tapas #2

Fried baby squid
The squid is next. It's crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, but it's nothing I haven't had before. Don't get me wrong, it's still very tasty, just not any thing special.

Tapas #3

Tuna tataki
The tuna is the last to arrive and I can see immediately it is beautifully pink and encrusted with sesame seeds. It's excellent. Fantastic flavour, great texture. It's the best of the three and I'd happily order another one of these right now.

Dessert

Home made banana caked
I know it's not very authentic but I decided to have banana cake for dessert. I was suckered in by the "house made" adjective. I also needed some more food to help digest the sangria. It's soft and warm, but perhaps a bit dry. It's good though, and I really like the walnuts.

Posted by Jeremy at 9:39am on Saturday June 10, 2017 :: 0 comments ::

Irati Taverna Basca

Where? Irati Taverna Basca (Ciutat Vella, Barcelona, Spain) Map Menu

When? Thursday May 18, 2017

Who? Me

Food Style? Pintxos

It's time for tapas round two. I purposely had an early and smaller meal at Ramblero so I could eat again. This time I've ordered my sangria. Teehee.

Pintxos

It's hard to talk about everything individually. What I will talk about is the experience and the ambience. Tapas begs company. It's like yum cha. At Irati, it's more catered to the solo traveller; instead of ordering plates of food, you ask for a plate and then you pick what you want from the bar. At the end, the number of toothpicks is tallied and you're charged €2.10 for each. In fact, this type of tapas is called pintxo, which means skewer. Stand at the bar and eat, and watch others enjoy themselves while you type up a food blog on your iPhone.

The food here is excellent. Lots of flavour and variety, and interesting combinations. Most of them are bread based, with various meats and garnish piled on top. There's tuna, sardines, smoked salmon, cured meats, cheeses, crumbed prawns wrapped in bacon - try everything once, and try them again. The staff are extremely friendly and helpful and I felt much more at ease than last night. I had eight items in total and my drink, and that came to about €20.

Posted by Jeremy at 9:22am on Saturday June 10, 2017 :: 0 comments ::

Ramblero

Where? Ramblero de la Boqueria (Ciutat Vella, Barcelona, Spain) Map Menu

When? Thursday May 18, 2017

Who? Me

Food Style? Tapas and Seafood

In the chaos of the Mercado de La Boqueria on La Rambla is a kitchen called Ramblero. Walking by, it smells amazing. They have all this fresh produce mere metres away and my mouth drops open as I watch platters of seafood leaving for tables off to the side. I'm sitting the bar and probably can't eat a whole platter to myself, so I've ordered a few dishes to try.

Solo Tapas. Is there anything more sad :( Just let me down the white wine and I'll drop my inhibitions. I should have ordered sangria.

Tapas #1

Iberican Chorizo
The iberico chorizo is solid and meaty, but isn't very spicy. I like it though. I can see it matching with some bread and cheese.

Tapas #2

Croquettes
The croquettes are very good. Perfectly crispy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside. In fact, they balance the saltiness of the chorizo.

Tapas #3

Grilled Prawns
The final dish to arrive is the prawns. They're surrounded by mushrooms and I involuntarily grimace. Despite that, the prawns are fantastic and melt in my mouth. They're so full of flavour. I even try the mushrooms. Nope. Not for me. There's a bit of chilli in the dish and I accidentally take a bite - it's hot!

It's a bit expensive for what I ate but the quality is there. I got a free shot of some traditional liquor too, but I'm not sure what it is.

Posted by Jeremy at 9:20am on Saturday June 10, 2017 :: 0 comments ::