Loidi (Barcelona)

The most unexpected surprise of Barcelona was this trendy bistrot supervised by Martin Berasategui located at Calle Mallorca right across his main establishment in Barcelona, Lasarte. It was like being raised from the dead (after the lunch at Sauc) a swift trip from hell to heaven...

Service: 17/20
Quick, efficient, great coordination and communication amongst all staff members (front of house and kitchen brigade). It is not a classical service and it is not supposed to be. I was extremely happy with the service excellence and availability.

Ambience and décor: 14/20
Minor changes in the room decoration could take this bistro to another level, the excess of light and poor decoration make this restaurant look like a classic 3 star NH Hotel's restaurant...and this is definitely not the case.

Food: 16/20
This is an unpretentious restaurant with phenomenal, simple and perfectly cooked food. The bistro is not at the level of other high-end restaurants with a classification of 16 in this blog, but is surely one of the best non "HE" restaurants reviewed so far in this blog. Having said this, this is certainly one of the best value for money options I have ever had the opportunity to try.

A special menu was drawn up for this San Jordi's evening composed of 4 dishes.

Ham Croquetas - this is how a croqueta should be! (16/20)

Bolets ravioli with foie and jamon - perfect harmony of elements and complementing flavours, a perfectly cooked ravioli with foie and bolets) with jamon on top and an intense, thick and complex sauce (17/20).

Cod fish rolled in bacon, spinach parmetier and pinetree oil and pinetrees, once again wonderful combination of flavours and the different textures took this dish to another level (16/20).

Mille-feuilles with two kinds of apples - the mille-feuille was dry and had no filling, contrasting with the dehydrated apple and cooked apple with vanilla seeds on top of it. It was from far the least good dish of the night, but still a good performer (13.5/20).

As petit fours a cold red fruits infusion and a correct chocolate truffle (14/20).






Genre: Catalan/International
Price: €27 plus drinks
Michelin: N.A.
Date of visit: Spring 2012

Overall: 15.5/20
Pros: a great place to have dinner with a group of friends, simple and quality food, efficient and swift service
Cons: decór, minor inconsistencies

Loidi
Hotel Condes, Mallorca 259, Barcelona
www.condesdebarcelona.com/en/loidi