In Barcelona.
A nostalgic of El Bulli restaurant.
His lover who didn’t have the chance to taste Ferran Adrià’s molecular cuisine.
We all have different visions of gastronomy. Some people are looking for the harmony of the flavors, some others for perfection, and others are looking for imperfection. Personally, I like to feel that the balance of the tastes is respected and that a dish surprises me.
Disfrutar, newly opened in Barcelona, is El Bulli little sister: its talented chefs Oriol Castro and Eduard Xatruch were Ferran Adria’s right arms at that time.
Therefore, Disfrutar is not taking part in the emotional, natural and instinctive contemporary cuisine. It is more into the experimental very precise molecular discipline that can turn any dinner into an extraordinary culinary game, trying to guess which ingredients is hidden behind each plate.
I have had so many memories through this extraordinary experience, such as “the beet out of the earth” consisting into two beet meringues hidden in a bowl of seeds, and “olives” made of olive oil and blood orange juice. Among the countless starters, I loved the anchovies and iced almond with truffle, pine honey and pine nuts, that married perfectly the sweetness of almond and the salt of the anchovy.
That day, the chefs had also prepared ingenious macaroni alla carbonara made of gelatin and grilled pancetta iberica, and some pesto ravioli, that consisted in little bags filled with pine nuts and basil to be soaked in Parmesan water.
To follow, the mullet associated with teriyaki pork cheeks and smoked eggplant and the razor clams with truffle cream have completed this gustatory feast.
What is the most awesome and crazy dish I had? The one that mixed both smell and taste: I rinsed my hands in whiskey 2 times, then put the hazelnut cream and the egg into my mouth to gather all the authentic whiskey cake tastes.
If these amazing chefs would be described by an artistic movement, I would say Oriol Castro and Eduard Xatruch are surrealist masters, balancing all tastes with finesse and elegance. Disfrutar is definitely a must in Barcelona, and one of my latest brilliant and tasteful discoveries.
163 Carrer de Villarroel
08036 Barcelona
+34 933 48 68 96
Open for lunch from 1 to 3pm and for dinner from 8 to 10pm
http://en.disfrutarbarcelona.com/
