Asador Extebarri (Atxondo- Bizkaia)* - HE

Lost in a small magical village in the Basque country, you will find a rustic stone country house, inside a typical and simple decoration. This is a reflection of Extebarri's food...translating what someone once said "best things in life are simple".

I do not know if I will be able to be completely fair to Extebarri in this review as this visit followed our travel through the wonders of the Roca brother's universe. Our mind was still trying to find our way back to the real world (already in the middle of the naked nature and green mountains of the Basque country) when we arrived at Plaza San Juan in Atxondo.

Service: 16/20

Simplicity makes a perfect combination with great hospitality. At Extebarri, you are not sitting at a restaurant, you are invited by the owners of the restaurant to their "home" to share a family meal. Do not expect formal service or silver cutlery, but a proud and impeccable treatment.

Ambiance and décor: 12/20

It is a shame that the breathtaking view and intense daylight is hidden behind Extebarri's small windows.

The resturant is in a rustic and typical stone country house with some incoherent decoration. I believe the Michelin star has "forced" its owners to make some changes to the place...the decoration now is a schizophrenic mix of a traditional country restaurant and a "chic" establishment. Why not keep it simple, traditional and faithful to its origins?

  

Food: 17/20

This restaurant is famous for its wonderfully simple and smokey food. We had a tasting menu and few dishes picked from the "à la carte" menu to share. Overall I would say that it is really worth visiting Extebarri, but I recommend to choose a few dishes à la carte and share (avoid the tasting menu - which looks a thing for the tourists - and is incredible expensive and contains a few unpleasant surprises).

From the dishes we tried, we definitely recommend the "Gambas Palamos" buttery and meaty large prawns, with sea and smokey aroma and flavourful heads (photo above). The "Foie" extremely smooth in a classical contrast with a sweet fruit jam  The "Cod" cooked to perfection with peppers, spinach and onions (photo left). Finally, the "Chuletón", probably the best I ever had, the meat was rare but not chewy, well grilled on the outside (photo below).

However, there were a few dishes that should not have come out of the kitchen. Had not been for these and the 17 mark for "Food" would probably had been different. The "peas with eggs and mushroom carpaccio", the carpaccion shows a great technique from the cooks, but the whole dish is unbalanced and the experience a major let down. The same for both desserts "Milk ice-cream with berries infusion" (the berries were sour and completed well the milk ice-cream, which tasted awkardly smokey...not good, at least for me) and the "biscuit with vanilla ice-cream" (ice-cream again, better this time, but all the mixture was full of alcohol, soggy and unpleaseant).

Other that these, a few remarkable but not outstanding dishes such as the barnacles (the largest I have ever seen), the mozzarella or the anchovies.

Overall: 16/20  

Pros: service, simplicity and quality of the food, the place

Cons: the décor, price

Asador Extebarri

Plaza San Juan, 1

48291 Atxondo-Bizkaya

 www.asadorextebarri.com

Genre: Grilled specialities

Price: Tasting Menu no drinks included (€120); à la carte average dish price (€25-€40)

Michelin: 1* (2012: 31st S. Pellegrino world's best restaurants)

Date of visit: Spring 2012

ELJ APO NÉS (Barcelona)

A trendy, energizing but with trivial food Japanese restaurant in Barcelona.

Service: 13/20
Not good, not bad...passable.

Ambiance and décor: 17/20The strenght of this restaurant is without doubt is good vibe, energizing mood, fashionable guests and vanguardist decoration.

Food: 11,5/20The food is the same as so many other low-medium ranked Japanese restaurants all over the world. The food is not creative and in terms of flavour is not certainly brilliant. Food is just: fine.   

Overall: 13/20
Pros: Mood and decoration
Cons: Food

ELJ APO NÉS
Pasaje de la Concepción, 5, 08008, Barcelona, Spain
http://www.grupotragaluz.com/rest-eljapones.php

Genre: Japanese/Fusion
Price: Approx. €25/person
Michelin: N.A.
St. Pellegrino World's Best Restaurants: N.A:
Date of visit: Summer 2012

Ávalon by Ramón Freixa (Barcelona)

Located in the bowels of Via Laeitana in Barcelona, Ávalon is a trendy, informal and pleasant restaurant by Ramón Freixa in Barcelona.

Service: 13,5/20
The waiters were nice, but the service was overall slow, not attentive and clumsy (and the restaurant was not even half full).

Ambiance and décor: 17/20
Trendy and well decorated. With a more skillful kitchen, energy and ambiance and the place would definitely be a "must go" in Barcelona. As this is not the case, it is only another not-so-fantastic-restaurant sponsored by a well known Spanish chef. 

Food: 14/20

The worst thing you can find in a restaurant is inconsistency in food, in particular, in a place orientated by a reference of the Spanish cuisine. Our dinner had to two different parts: (i) the tapas - best part - and (ii) the mains - a tragedy. 

The tapas were modern, but not completely unfaithful interpretations of Spanish classical dishes, such as patatas bravas ("Las bravas del Ávalon"), croquetas ("croquetas de asado"), pan tomaca ("coca de cristal con tomate") and the "canelones gratinados de tres carnes". These were all great, nothing exquisite or complex, but simple and well executed small dishes.

The mains: that is what I call a disaster. My "Arroz meloso con sepia y butifarra", the squid and rice is a great combination but undoubtedly without the addition of butifarra that made the dish so much more intense and unbalanced, where the fat and meat flavour completely overcame the sea flavour of the squids. The "Atún con coca fina de “recapte” al carbon vejetal" and the "Hamburguesa de pato con helado de mostaza" were also quite mediocre, despite the catchy and appealing name of both dishes.

Overall: 14/20
Pros: Reasonable price for tapas in a trendy place, access to the Skybar on the top of the hotel
Cons: Food inconsistency, service

Ávalon by Ramón Freixa
Via Laeitana, 30, Barcelona, Spain
http://www.grandhotelcentral.com

Genre: Modern Spanish Tapas
Price: Approx. €25/person
Michelin: N.A.
St. Pellegrino World's Best Restaurants: N.A:
Date of visit: Summer 2012

The Fat Duck (Bray)*** - HE - TO BE UPDATED

Service: 17,5/20

Ambiance and décor: 18,5/20

Food: 19/20

Overall: 19/20

The Fat Duck
High Street Bray, Berkshire, UK
http://www.thefatduck.co.uk

Genre: Modern International
Price: Approx. €250 (no drinks included)/person
Michelin: ***
St. Pellegrino World's Best Restaurants: 5 (2011)
Date of visit: Spring 2011

Quique Dacosta (Denia)** - HE - TO BE UPDATED

Service: 18/20

Ambiance and décor: 18,5/20

Food: 18,5/20

Overall: 18,5/20

Quique Dacosta
Ctra. Las Marinas, Km. 3, 03700 Denia, Spain
http://www.quiquedacosta.es

Genre: Modern Spanish/International
Price: €150 + VAT (season menu), €125 +  VAT ("best of" menu), €85 wine pairing (all values per person)
Michelin: **
St. Pellegrino World's Best Restaurants: 40
Date of visit: Summer 2012

El Celler de Can Roca (Girona)*** - HE

There is no such thing as the best restaurant in the world, pursuant to the same rationale there cannot be a second one. St. Pellegrino's classification is polemic and based on personal experiences and preferences that most certainly have gone to many different restaurants during their life, but probably not enough to positively state that one is the best in the world. The restaurants change every year (if not every month) and nobody could ever experiment all the best in only one year (well, maybe some people can, but it is highly unlikely). Finally, there are also personal considerations and everyday mood that influence each review...and so many other factors that impact on each evaluator opinion.

Having said this and taking into account that I have only been to a handful of top restaurants in the world, I can understand the reason why El Celler was considered the second best in the world and is a fair holder of 3 Michelin stars.

In the centre of Girona in a discrete house is located the magnificent Roca brothers' food temple. Josep, Joan and Jordi, the triple Js Rocas, run a machine so close to perfection that seems impossible. The service, the communication between the kitchen and front of house, the creativeness and excellence present in each dish and the cheerful enthusiasm with which the brothers welcome you to their "home"...

Other than that, Michel Roux, the famous chef of Le Gavroche in London, was the main guest for this mid-week lunch and sitting right next to us savoured his experience with appetite and we could sense a positive sign of envy and admiration for his fellow hosts.

In three words I would simply put it: Heaven on earth...

Service: 19/20
When you say 19/20 it says everything.

Notwithstanding here are a few remarks to justify  the 19. Precision on the coordination between the kitchen and the front of house, perfect timing, sensible judgement when approaching the table with a pleasant informality but tremendous competence and attentiveness. On top of that, the reception and regular visits to the table from the charming and entertaining Josep Roca, the somellier brother.

Ambiance and décor: 18/20

It is a high end restaurant and therefore it is not uncommon that you hear people whispering instead of talking normally. Apart from this you could perfectly be sitting in a trendy and informal place that you would not notice. From the outside and after passing through Girona, you would not believe the beauty of the inside. The entrance to a yard with plenty of colours and flowers elegantly decorating the old façade of the building, a modern looking building lay right next to it. In the middle of the year, comfortable chairs and tables invite us for an aperitif and an ending cigar with digestive.

After invited to see the kitchen, located in the old building, by Josep we meet his brother, Joan, the head chef. Jordi, the pastry creative genious, was not around. The kitchen half traditional, half laboratory, is the dream of every wannabe chef.

The rest of the restaurant is smooth and tranquilizing in clean white, light brown and transparent with an indoor garden.

A perfect atmosphere for what was coming out...


Food: 19,5/20

Magic, creativity, quality, consistency, perfection, textures and colours, multi sensorial are just a few words to qualify the Roca brothers' state of the art cuisine.

It is hard to tell how many dishes and non-dishes edible "things" came to the table, in my head there would only be a blur image of extraordinary colourful ingredients, in awkward harmonious combinations, from solid to liquid, hot and cold, if not for the pictures taken during the lunch.

Two different menus are offered to the guests. We opted for the Menú Festival, the longest and more complete, to enjoy a relaxed, pleasant and long afternoon in El Celler (6:30 hours).

 There was not any let down during our lunch, but as individuals we all have our preferences and amongst all the dishes that we had the opportunity to taste here are a few that deserve an extra mark for excellency:

(i) amuse bouches: 5 Roca voyages to Lebanon, Korea, Morocco, Peru and Mexico (five small rounded portions with traditional flavours of each country, a lesson on how to perfectly play with senses...colours, textures, temperature) and the calamares romana (a strange interpretation faithful to a calamare flavour);

(ii) the espárragos blancos con consomé de ibéricos (a comfortable combination with a fresh image);

(iii) toda la gamba (how to eat a whole Denia prawn? ask Joan, incredible technical work behind such a simple dish, the buttery and meaty prawn dissolved itself with the touch of the knife, the legs cracked in the mouth...);

(iv) besugo, yuzu y alcaparras (cooked to perfection in an harmony of flavours);

(v) bacalao en brandada (with, among other things, cod foam, gut stew, olive oil, with scallions with honey and thyme...delicious, complex, deeply satisfying);

(vi) cochinillo ibérico en blanqueta al riesling (with mango terrine, beetroot, melon, beetroot pure, black garlic, onion and orange - a palette of colours and array of sensations...and the crispiness of the cochinillo);

(vii) mollejas y ventresca de cordero a la brasa con setas de primavera (it is odd this dish, but incredibly linked together with a complex sauce and the setas, it came to the table with a lid and a wonderful aroma spread into the air, the meat impeccably cooked, spot on!);

  

(viii) higado de pichón con cebolla (once again not for the fainted hearted, but this was absolutely perfect with a caramelised nut curry, juniper, orange peel and herbs - once again the complexity and mixture of flavours);
(ix) flower bomb (just look at the picture! It was by far the most extraordinary dessert I have eaten all my life.)

(x) and the desserts cart...

These dishes were from another world, the others were "only" perfect. For ease of reference, the pictures of the dishes above are displayed from top to bottom in accordance with the list and description above.

Overall: 19,5/20

Pros: Everything, service, ambiance, décor, food, the Rocas,...

Cons: maybe the traditionalists won't like it or understand this form of art.

El Celler de Can Roca

Calle de Can Suyer, 48, 17007, Girona, Spain

http://www.cellercanroca.com

Genre: Modern Spanish/International

Price: €160 (Menú Festival) Wine pairing (€75)

Michelin: ***

St. Pellegrino World's Best Restaurants: 2nd (2012)

Date of visit: Spring 2012

Goizeku (Madrid) - HE

A modern Basque cuisine restaurant at one of the most charismatic hotels in Madrid. Despite being highly recommended by several friends and having tasted some exquisite and memorable food, the experience was overall (only) satisfactory.

Service - 13/20

Nice, but too serious and clumsy.

Ambiance and décor - 15/20

White cloth, professional looking waiters, but a contrasting relaxed response from the diners.

Food - 14,5/20

Some very exquisite and cooked to perfection food, such as the Jarrete de ternera blanca lacado con puré trufado de patata, but also some trivial and not so well executed dishes (e.g. Ventresca de bonito del norte encebollada or the Esponjoso de chocolate, crema de café y helado de Bailey´s).

Inconsistency is one of the greatest threats to the reputation of a restaurant...and Goizeku a victim.

Overall - 14/20

Pros: Decide well and you will have a wonderful dinner, good to take a client for dinner

Cons: Food inconsistency, unprofessional service, expensive

Goizeku
Calle Villanueva, 34, 28001, Madrid
http://www.goizekogaztelupe.com

Genre: Modern Basque cuisine
Price: Approx. 60€ (à la carte and no drinks included)/person
Michelin: N.A.
Date of visit: Summer 2012