MARC & SONIA’S REC’S

BAR MUT

Barrio Alto & Gràcia, Barcelona

c/ Pau Claris, 192

08037 Barcelona, Spain (map this)

T: +34/93.217.4338

PIRATAS

Eixample, Barcelona

c/ Ausias March, 157

08013 Barcelona, Spain (map this)

T: +34/93.245.7642

LA VINATERIA DEL CALL

Barri Gotic, Barcelona

c/ Sant Domenec del Call, 9

08002 Barcelona, Spain (map this)

T: +34/93.302.6092

GENERAL INFORMATION

Modern Spanish

Gracia, Barcelona

c/ Saragossa, 85

Barcelona, Spain 08006 (map this)

T: +34/93.518.2005

Hours:

Mon - Fri: 7:30am - 4:00pm

Fri & Sat: 9:00pm - 11:30pm

After several trips to Barcelona over the past few years, we had a pretty outstanding list of restaurants. But we were missing the local hook-up. We needed someone who worked in the Barcelona restaurant scene and knew the places that had yet to show up on the radars of my chef friends back in New York. This past September, we broke through when the manager at Tapac 24, Susana, graciously shared her favorite places to eat in Barcelona.

I trusted Susana. I had spotted her out and about, eating at the same places I had on earlier Barcelona trips. She pulled out a bright pink pen, ran her hands through her neon green hair and proceed to write down a full list. Most we had been to. But there was one that she was excited to share.

This was how we ended up at Blavis, a tiny 12-seat restaurant in the neighborhood of Gracia. For anyone who has walked up to Park Guell, you’ve passed through this area. Narrow streets, plazas with sidewalk cafes, and lots of hidden hipster bars and restaurants. Blavis is owned by chef Marc Casademunt and Sònia Devesa. They know their trade. The food was beautifully prepared. They serve a prix fixe lunch for 12 euros, that includes an appetizer of two dishes, a main and dessert.

We each started with 2 glasses of the simple, crisp house white wine. Followed by tomaquets de vinya amb cabrino i oli d'alfa brega (vine ripped succulent tomatoes topped with soft goat cheese and drizzled with basil oil). As the second appetizer, we had crema de carbassa (cold zucchini cream soup with thin strips of jamon delicately laid on top), and verduretes salte sades all i julivert (roasted root vegetables seasoned with just the right amount of sea salt, fresh, flavorful and al dente). For our main course, ivoquis a la piassola, saquets de pernil amb salsa de rossiyols (puffy pillows of gnocci, filled with red pepper in a rich and creamy mushroom sauce), and bonita a la planxa amb piquillos (grilled tuna with crispy skin, sea salt on top and cooled with an olive tapanade, on a bed of piquillo peppers). Dessert was a spin on a traditional Catalan flan. They served flan de formatge (a fluffy and light cheese flan), and a citrusy and custardy bread pudding.

The restaurant has only been open for one year. At this point, there is no website. Actually, they don’t even have an email address. And while they may be off the technological grid, their cuisine is definitely plugged in.

NEXT >

< PREVIOUS