Restaurant: Cheriff

The Barceloneta, Barcelona´s fishing village, is one of the greatest places to go have lunch.  I love the area itself, its narrow tree lined streets, the many stores, bars and little restaurants that have so much history.  It also is home to 8 of my favorite spots....yes, count them, 8!!!  If I had to choose where to have lunch or dinner or drinks with my friends or family, any day of the week, but especially on Sundays, it would be the Barceloneta.  The last post talked about my favorite seafood restaurant, which is located at the end of the "Paseo".  This one, is at the beggining, on Calle Ginebra (which is Gin....and you all know how much I love Gin).  This street holds three of my favorite places, and the street before it has another. 

So, lets get on to the food.  Cheriff is one of the classic Paella and seafood restaurants in Barcelona.  Its old world charm stays true today, and every time I have been there, it is chock full of business men, families, friends and the odd tourist couple sampling their finest dish, the Paella. 

When you think of Paella, you think of Spain.  The only problem, is that you can get really crappy Paella everywhere, and it is really hard to get a good Paella outside of Valencia or someone´s home.  In Barcelona, we like our seafood paella.  Now, the stuff you get in the states, which is usually chicken and shrimp, really does not exist.  The typical Valencian Paella is rabbit and chicken with vegetables, and then there are the seafood ones, which usually have cuttlefish, clams, shrimp and norwegian lobster. 
Cheriff's paellas are truly special.  Here, they only serve the seafood variety, ranging from the ones described above to lobster paellas.  And the best part, is that it is really inexpensive, you can share a paella for 15 € per person, but obviously the lobster ones are market price. 

I first came to Cheriff because of my very good friend Albert.  He is Mexican, but his family is of Catalan descent.  My first impressions of the locale were mixed, the decor itself reminded me of an outdated Red Lobster (to all you europeans, this is a very cheap seafood chain all over the states), but it had a certain charm to it, especially when you see the owner and chef, a jolly,corpulent lady in her fifties.  It made me realize that this was truly, homemade food.  This last time I went though, Albert and I opted for the Fideua, which is kind of like a seafood Paella, but with short thin noodles instead, and a lovely side of Allioli....yummmm.

We started off our lunch with a bottle of Cava, as all good Catalans do.  Then we ordered the fried baby squid as a starter.  This is much like fried calamari, but only tiny and whole.  When it is done right, they are crispy and light and battered and fried to perfection.  Cheriff is definately a place where you can have one of the best fried baby squid in Barcelona.  You can get this almost everywhere, but most of the time they will be soggy, or just tast of oil, or maybe not even that small......I highly reccomend them here.  We chose to have this, but as starters there is an infinite variety of seafood that you can choose, from steamed mussels, clams, razor clams, tuna, anchovies, cockles, etc.  I could go on and on, and trust me, they are all fabulous.

Then, it was time for our Fideua.  I personally love this dish, when made well, it is truly sublime.  It isn´t Michelin star food, but whoa nelly, its what you wish your grandma would make you on a sunny Sunday afternoon! (If you like seafood, that is)  Now, the fideua here is extremely good, better than most restaurants, but I have to say, it is not the best I have tasted.  It was beautifully presented to us, at the table before serving, which is tradition here with paellas and fideua's.   The one thing I missed, is the noodles standing up on end, which is what happens when you put this in the oven.  See, Fideua has a process.  First you pan fry the noodles so they become brown.  Then you add your fish stock and the rest of the ingredients, cook a bit more until the stock is almost reduced, and then you place it in a hot oven until the noodles stand up....it really is a beautiful thing.

This fideua was lacking in that one detail.  The tast was spectacular though, and the allioli was freshly made, which is always a plus.  Nothing ruins a dish like store bought allioli.

It was an amazing meal, that I have to admit.  And I implore all of you to try Cheriff if you make it down here.  Because you will be highly disappointed in any other Paella you try in Barcelona, especially the ones on the Ramblas, which are frozen.  The greatest thing about having lunch or dinner in Barceloneta, is being able to take a stroll to digest the copious amounts of food you have consumed.  Then, make a stop at the FOC cocteleria, they serve all types of delicious cocktails, and take in the gorgeous sunset over the Old Port of Barcelona.  Simply, maaahvelous darling.

Tootles and stay tuned for the next post!

Cheriff Restaurant

Calle Ginebra 15

Tel. 933 100 760