A year previously, an impulse booking at Alkimià paid dividends with the result that I had one reliable go-to restaurant in Barcelona. Returning to Barcelona for a conference meant that a repeat visit to Alikimià was booked well in advance of the trip.
Come the evening of the meal and after one quick taxi ride I should be there. I flagged the waiting line outside the hotel and a Skoda in the traditional black and yellow garb of the Barcelona taxi drew up. We screeched off and it seemed my driver was keen to get to the restaurant. The early positive impression wore off quickly though. There was a strong hint of weaving down the dual carriageway before we pulled up to a set of traffic lights. At that point I’m not sure what was more worrying, the driver’s manic hand-washing action while we sat at the traffic lights or the people on the adjacent scooter shouting abuse at us for the erratic driving. Next set of traffic lights another set of hand washing. At a roundabout the routine changed, I was then asked in a hyper voice if I’d like to go and see some senoritas. I begged off saying that I was actually more interested in the restaurant. And so it continued, with every traffic light the hand washing resumed and I grew steadily more worried about whether I’d ever get to the restaurant or see my family again. This wasn’t helped by the fact that all of the streets in Barcelona look very similar in the dark. The distressed tweets started around this point too.
As we got close to the restaurant the driver asked if I was meeting friends there. Not sure what compelled me but I said I was eating alone. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. What the hell was I thinking? It was a massive feeling of relief when the street signs confirmed that we had actually turned into Carrer de la Indústria so I knew I was close. The final whammy was the taxi driver turning to me and shouting I’M A GOOD DRIVER, NO?! Ermmm......yes I whimpered and bailed for the door immediately as we drew up opposite the Alkimià entrance. I’ve never had a bad taxi ride in Barcelona before but this was terrifying.
After the taxi ride, the restaurant was a perfect oasis of calm. The relief of sitting at the linen clothed table, with a glass of water, browsing through the menu was palpable. Previous review of the on-line menu had indicated that the set menus were the same as last year so I’d decided to go for the à la carte option. The à la carte had a mix of seemingly more traditional items as well as those that were more innovative. The on-line menu was lagging the restaurant so the Alkimià menu had changed with the exception of the wonderful pickled oyster and pork dish so the choice on the night was a bit more difficult. However, the availability of half portions for all of the à la carte items made it easy to try a number of different dishes without ending up with a huge bill.
Come the evening of the meal and after one quick taxi ride I should be there. I flagged the waiting line outside the hotel and a Skoda in the traditional black and yellow garb of the Barcelona taxi drew up. We screeched off and it seemed my driver was keen to get to the restaurant. The early positive impression wore off quickly though. There was a strong hint of weaving down the dual carriageway before we pulled up to a set of traffic lights. At that point I’m not sure what was more worrying, the driver’s manic hand-washing action while we sat at the traffic lights or the people on the adjacent scooter shouting abuse at us for the erratic driving. Next set of traffic lights another set of hand washing. At a roundabout the routine changed, I was then asked in a hyper voice if I’d like to go and see some senoritas. I begged off saying that I was actually more interested in the restaurant. And so it continued, with every traffic light the hand washing resumed and I grew steadily more worried about whether I’d ever get to the restaurant or see my family again. This wasn’t helped by the fact that all of the streets in Barcelona look very similar in the dark. The distressed tweets started around this point too.
As we got close to the restaurant the driver asked if I was meeting friends there. Not sure what compelled me but I said I was eating alone. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. What the hell was I thinking? It was a massive feeling of relief when the street signs confirmed that we had actually turned into Carrer de la Indústria so I knew I was close. The final whammy was the taxi driver turning to me and shouting I’M A GOOD DRIVER, NO?! Ermmm......yes I whimpered and bailed for the door immediately as we drew up opposite the Alkimià entrance. I’ve never had a bad taxi ride in Barcelona before but this was terrifying.
After the taxi ride, the restaurant was a perfect oasis of calm. The relief of sitting at the linen clothed table, with a glass of water, browsing through the menu was palpable. Previous review of the on-line menu had indicated that the set menus were the same as last year so I’d decided to go for the à la carte option. The à la carte had a mix of seemingly more traditional items as well as those that were more innovative. The on-line menu was lagging the restaurant so the Alkimià menu had changed with the exception of the wonderful pickled oyster and pork dish so the choice on the night was a bit more difficult. However, the availability of half portions for all of the à la carte items made it easy to try a number of different dishes without ending up with a huge bill.
The snack to nibble on while deciding on your meal was a nutmeg and macadamia cracker, a nice mix of flavours and textures to build anticipation for the other dishes in store.
The regularly circulating basket of breads gave a choice of a crusty white bread that was very good or a superb fruit and nut bread (similar to last year) where the contributions from chopped dates, apricots and hazelnuts were outstanding.
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Despite the apparent revamp of the menu at Alkimià, a few stalwarts of the previous menu remained. The amuse bouche of tomato water topped with breadcrumbs in olive oil accompanied by a slice of sausage was still as intensely fresh and full of flavour as ever. Wonderful.
This was followed by another taster of fig, lemon sorbet and tuna. This was a lovely fresh tasting dish where the salting of the tuna gave it a really strong flavour enhanced further by the lovely hit of pickled onion.
The first of my chosen courses was the most traditional in terms of its constituents. The artichoke salad with Iberic ham garnished with pea shoots was a lovely warm salad. The baby globe artichokes were enhanced by the Jerusalem artichoke below and the crisped onions. The salty ham was a delight. The whole dish sang thanks to the vinaigrette dressing that topped it all.
The next course has horrified everyone I’ve mentioned it to since I visited and illustrates the difference between concept and execution. Sea cucumber with pork’s ears and spinach, served with a cherry sauce included a completely new taste experience, as well as confounding expectation in the presentation of the other ingredients. I was expecting the pig’s ears to be deep-fried so it was something of a shock to see they were lightly cooked and wrapping the sea cucumber. The marine flavour of the sea cucumber was very pleasant although it was very much on the chewy side. The pig's ears were also chewy in the mouth due to the amount of tendon there but their light pork flavour went really well with the sea cucumber. The topping of toasted breadcrumb, a feature of the Alkimià dishes, added a welcome crunch as well as a means of absorbing the cherry sauce that added a rich depth to the dish. This was an unusual but very enjoyable dish that I would happily order again.
Sea bass with oyster sauce and tomato was elegantly simple in preparation. The fish was very nicely cooked with a heavy salt on its crispy skin. The creamy oyster sauce was spectacularly good. The tomato puree was fairly acidic and worked well with the fish but its combination with the smooth oyster sauce was a revelation. The ubiquitous fried breadcrumbs added a nice crunchy texture.
The next course was recommended by the waiter and was another step into the more innovative part of the menu. Veal kidneys were served with Asiatic flavours, coffee and pork jelly. I would never have ordered this without guidance but it was really good. The gently cooked kidneys, pink in the middle really benefitted from the other flavours. I loved how the fairly gently flavoured kidneys were given a robust kick by the cubes of salty pork jelly.
Pre-dessert was described as red fruit with yoghurt mousse. The fluffy mousse had a wonderfully tart edge to it underpinned by the blackcurrant syrup underneath. A lovely palate cleanser.
Chosen dessert was described as Ma Luisa soup with lemon, mint, ginger and lemon sorbet. The bowl smelt wonderful particularly as the soup wax poured on at the table. The soup itself was the weak point of the dish and I could have lived without it. The lemon cream in the bottom of the bowl was necessary to bring the entire dish to life. The ginger biscuit crumbles and mint ice were lovely. Without the soup this was a wonderful dessert but with the soup it merely became average.
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There were two final bites for the meal. The first was an incredibly light pine nut sponge dusted with coffee and lime that was wonderfully refreshing on the palate. This was followed by a passionfruit sorbet wrapped in white chocolate where the juice of the passionfruit floods through your mouth leaving the nutty white chocolate in its wake. Lovely.
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Overall verdict.
I really liked this visit to Alkimià and its cutting edge approach to food. It totally justified the return visit.
Would I revisit Alkimià?
In a heartbeat. Should be same time next year for the conference so rebooking Alkimià will be top of my priorities.
Overall Rating - 4.5/5
I really liked this visit to Alkimià and its cutting edge approach to food. It totally justified the return visit.
Would I revisit Alkimià?
In a heartbeat. Should be same time next year for the conference so rebooking Alkimià will be top of my priorities.
Overall Rating - 4.5/5