Restaurant : El Suquet de L'Almirall

There are few places in Barcelona that I go to time and time again.  El Suquet de L'Almirall is one of them.  It is my favorite restaurant here in Barcelona, and I am also inclined to say that I think it is the best fish restaurant in the city.

Anytime I have an out of town guest, I bring them here, and the true test of its greatness is the fact that my out of town guests reccomend it to their friends when they travel to Barcelona.
I love it because it is right on the esplanade in front of the old port, in summer, the views are unbeatable.  The ambience is relaxing, and if you can get a table on their terrace in summer, or winter for that matter, it makes for some terrific people watching.
I have been coming to this place for 7 years, and it never tires me.  I find that the food is always excellent, and it should be, because the owner and chef, Quim Marqués, is of the Bulli school.

They have great tasting menus, and their a la carte selction of starters and fish and the most superb rice dishes is gorgeous.  What I always like to do though, is tell Quim or Manel ( who is also a good friend of mine and also a magnificent chef ) to surprise me.  And I have never, ever been let down. 

Two nights ago, my good foodie friend Emmanuel, stopped by into town.  The first time he came, I brought him here, and he couldn´t stop raving about the food.  So, we were due a repeat performace, since we hadn´t been here together in over a year.

We were not let down.  My glorious journey of catalan classics with a twist was utterly divine, and I am going to share it all with you. 

First we had our starters:

Oysters on the half shell from the Island of Olerón, whose taste and special green color is due to a presence of an algea in the "claires", (which are small ponds in clay fields) where they mature instead of the regular saline banks.  They usually serve it with a spray of vinegar made from "Augustí Torrelló Mata", which is a cava (Catalan Champagne) producer.  You can add the spray yourself, natch.

Buñuelos de Bacalao (cod fritters).  This is a staple item present in almost any fish restaurant in Spain.  The difference between the fritters in a normal restaurant and this one, is that in normal ones, it is basically a fritter with pieces of cod mushed in with the batter, so it kind of just tastes like a batter fritter.  At El Suquet, they take a gorgeous, large chunk of cod, and batter it with a light and airy tempura batter.  I say this with absolute authority, they are THE BEST COD FRITTERS IN BARCELONA.  Of course, with your side of "Pa amb tomaquet", crispy country bread spread with tomatoes.  Delicious.....mmmm, getting hungry.

Then to the right you can see a tall glass that had a balsamic reduction on the bottom layer, with hummus and topped with very thin slices of perfectly cooked tuna, rare on the inside and seared on the outside.  It is refreshing and different all at the same time.

Then we had a plate of fried baby shrimp with Romesco Sauce.

Romesco is a sauce that accompanies fish, seafood and most notable, Calçots, which are spring onions.  We'll talk about that in another blog.  This sauce has its origins in antiquity, it is said it was first elaborated after Columbus brought back the Romesco Peppers from the new world.  It is delcious, it has this smokey taste due to the peppers, balanced out with the sweetness from the hazelnuts and walnuts.  The shrimp were exquisite bite sized morsels, which could be eaten whole due to the light crispy batter it had, and the smidgen of sauce on the bottom lent the whole dish another quality.  It took us like two minutes to eat the whole plate.

Then it was on to the pan seared scallops with Porcini mushrooms.

This was a delightful version of the catalan tradition of "Mar y Muntanya" which translates to Sea and Mountain (their version of our American classic, Surf and Turf).  Usually Mar y Muntanya is rabbit and norwegian lobster, but due to the prolonged mushroom season we have been having, this was an unexpected and creative take on the typical classic.

This was one of my favorites of the night, Razor Clams with truffle oil.  I would never have thought of combining the two, since razor clams on their own have this delicate sweet flavor.  But the addition of the truffle oil was just magnificent.  And the presentation, I think, is really original but nonetheless, traditional, since razor clams and mussels etc. can be bought in the stores in tins like these.

This is the last of our tapas, "Pop amb Cap i Pota"  Pop is octopus in catalan, and cap translates to head, and pota to foot.  This is a hearty stew that is traditionally made with pigs feet and cheek, or from veal, and some veggies.  The addition of the octupus I thought was genius.  It was sooooo good.  My friend Emmanuel was drooling just from the look of it, and when he took the first bite, he said that "this was his comfort food" it reminded him of dishes from his homeland, Greece.  The octopus was cooked to perfection, and the zucchini and eggplant were fork tender, not gooey and overdone as you would imagine in a stew.  The tomato sauce was rich because of the chunks of pork added to it.  Really, this was probably the best dish of the night.  Emmanuel enjoyed it so much, you could have mistaken his bowl of cap i pota for a clean one!

After this, we had our main, Pan seared Sea Bass over veggies.  I am sorry to say, that in our excitement, we forgot to take a picture.  As always, the fish was perfect.  There is nothing better than eating fish that is the star.  When you have fish as fresh as El Suquet does, you really don´t need to cover it with any sauce, because it needs to be the protagonist.  They cook it to perfection, so that it is flaky but not dry, juicy, just, well, perfect.  I with that I had another adjective to be able to describe it, but my suggestion is that if you make it out here, just come and try it yourself.  You'll understand.

Then for dessert, we had "Tarta de Santiago" which is an almond tarte, and a cheese plate. 

I love nothing better than to finish off my meal with a cheese plate.  I don't understand people who don't like cheese.  If I were stranded on a desert island, forget the coconuts.  I want cows and sheep and goats, cause you know I would learn how to make cheese.  And I would be fat and happy.  That is my stand on cheese.  I could eat it every night, and I love discovering new cheeses.  It was a beautiful and well thought out selection, ranging from a soft delicate cow's cheese to a spicy goat cheese, accompanied by "Membrillo", Quince paste.

So, fellow readers.  If you ever come and visit me, or Barcelona, please don´t leave without making a stop at "El Suquet de L'Almirall".  Its like coming to Barcelona and not seeing Gaudi's Sagrada Familia. 

Today for lunch, I am going with my friend Albert to another Barcelona classic, "Cheriff", where they make the best Paella's in town.  Stay tuned, cause you know I'll tell you about it!

El Suquet de L'Almirall

Passeig Joan de Borbo 65

Barceloneta

+34 932 216 233