Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
costelles
(ribs) and
escalivada
(grilled red peppers and aubergines, served with an olive oil,
salt and garlic dressing). Go for flan for dessert, as the ice creams are on a stick.
BASQUE
IPAR-TXOKO
1-3.30pm & 9-10.30pm Mon-Sat, closed Mon evening & Aug; Diagonal)
Inside this Basque eatery the atmosphere is warm and traditional. Hefty wooden beams hold
up the Catalan vaulted ceiling, and the bar (with tapas available) has a garish green-
columned front. Getxo-born Mikel turns out traditional cooking from northern Spain, in-
cluding a sumptuous
chuletón
(T-bone steak for two - look at the size of that thing) or a less
gargantuan
tortilla de bacalao
(a thick salt-cod omelette).
Then there are curiosities like
kokotxas de merluza,
heart-shaped cuts from the hake's
throat. The wine list is daunting but Mikel is on hand to explain everything - in English,
too.
FUSION
CON GRACIA
€59; 7-11pm Tue-Sat; Diagonal)
This teeny hideaway (seating about 20 in total) is a hive of originality, producing delicately
balanced Mediterranean cuisine with Asian touches. On offer is a regularly changing sur-
prise tasting menu or the set 'traditional' one, which includes such items as
sopa de foie y
miso con aceite de trufa blanca
(miso and foie gras soup with white truffle oil) and a nice
Chilean sea bass. At lunch, only groups are accepted. Book ahead.
SEAFOOD
BOTAFUMEIRO
€16-28; noon-1am; Fontana)
It is hard not to mention this classic temple of Galician shellfish and other briny delights,
long a magnet for VIPs visiting Barcelona. You can bring the price down by sharing a few
medias raciones
(large tapas plates) to taste a range of marine offerings or a
safata especial
del Mar Cantàbric
(seafood platter) between two. Try the
percebes,
the strangely twisted
goose barnacles harvested along Galicia's north Atlantic coast, which many Spaniards con-
sider the ultimate seafood delicacy.
CATALAN
ROIG ROBÍ
