KIBUKA - Gracia - Sushi

After spending a Saturday afternoon wondering up Passieg de Gracia I asked the shop keeper at Rock 01 Baby on c/bonavista where to go for Sushi in Gracia. She mentioned several places and we decided to go with Kibuka.

Before the restaurant was even open people were starting to line up outside which for me already meant a good find. We sat and waited several minutes while we saw other tables being served when they arrived after us. I was not impressed. Luckily once we ordered the food it came quickly.

We ordered enamae, zumo sushi, vegetable and shrimp tempura and another type of sushi that I cannot remember. The zumo sushi was fantastic, tons of different types of fish all rolled together with a small hint of rice. I hate when you order sushi and it is ALL RICE. I have a complete addiction to enamae and the enamae at Kibuka was perfectly salted and hit the spot. The tempura was lightly battered and crispy which filled my stomach swimminingly.

One of the best Sushi experiences I have had in Barcelona at a very reasonable price.
20€ per person

Kibuka
c/goya 9
93 237 8994

Several months after trying Kibuka on Goya, I tried the one on Verdi. We ordered the same items and it was edible but not good. The zumo sushi which I loved so much at the goya location was almost all rice. Don't go to the Kibuka on Verdi.

MONTIEL - Born - Creative Catalan

When someone asks me for a restaurant recommendation I always tell them to go to Montiel. I have been there at least 5 times and it gets better everytime I go.

Montiel is a small cosy restaurant which occupies two floors with the 2nd floor being the perfect venue to hold a private party. The mustard yellow walls, wooden tables, stone walls and artisic murals and paintings make this restaurant intimate and warm all at the same time. The chef takes pride in bringing his cliental the best ingredients in season which is why the menu changes often. The ham and cheese plates are delicious. The cuts of meat chosen are always cooked to prefection and the fish is fresh right from the market. Ask Marcos what he would suggest and you will not be disappointed. They are also very knowledgeable about wines too!

If you are only here in Barcelona for a day or have been dieing to go to a great catalan restaurant with AMAZING service. Go to Montiel. Trust me just go you will not be disappointed.
45€ per person

Montiel
c/flassaders 19
93 268 3729

RECASENS - Poble Nou - Spanish Ham & Cheeses

I went to Recasens a while back for my boyfriend's birthday. I called last minute for a reso. on a friday night. Luckily they still had a table for their 2nd seating at 11. They mentioned that we should arrive a couple minutes early in case we could sit down earlier.

We arrived at 10:45pm. We sat down to eat at 11:30pm. I was starving and not too impressed at this point. However they were nice enough to give us free wine or beer while we waited outside. We sat by the kitchen, which meant that it was a little hot... actually unbearable at one point, I ran out and sat on a bench for a couple of minutes!

We ordered everything to share. To start we had a ensalada de queso de cabra, it was absolutely amazing, I am not sure if it was the salad or the fact that I was sooooo hungry. But I do remember that it had the right amount of seeds, nuts, fruit, cheese, leafs and dressing to make me want more! We ordered a mixed meat plate and a mixed cheese plate for our main with tons of pan con tomate.... they should work a bit harder on their pan con tomate. All the regular meats were included, fuet, chorizo, paté, butifarra, iberic serrano ham etc... the cheeses sorry i cannot remember the names.. but there was a blue, a goat, a brie a hard a soft etc... Everything was sooo good especially the patés and the portions were so large we had to take a doggy bag!

Recasens is a place to go with a group of friends not a romantic evening with your partner. It is super loud, with tables on two floors. It reminded me of being in a bodega somewhere in the country with all the locals hanging out, laughing and enjoying a fantastic bite to eat.

My advice, go for the 1st seating, unless you are prepared to wait, and are having a big night out!
15 - 20€ per person

Recasens
Rambla Poblenou 102
933 008 123‎

PACO ALCALDE - Barceloneta - Fish & Seafood

Paco Alcalde, founded in 1921 is a hidden gem in Barceloneta. We walked into the restaurant, and the first room was full of Catalan families (no young kids). The restaurant had traditonal blue, white and yellow spanish tiles running half way up all the walls, white table clothes and wooden tables. I felt that the restaurant would be good right when we sat down. The service at the beginning was a tad slow but after we ordered everything ran smoothly.

I am not a huge fan of calamares in fried battar as an appetizer but Paco Alcalde surprised me, they were cooked perfectly, crispy, fantastic batter, soft chewy texture and they were not too greasy. Their pan con tomate, on huge pieces of wood oven bread, lacked oil and salt.. (which was easy to solve) and ended up being delicious. Other items we had for appetizers are not really mentionable so I will leave it at that. The black fideua, had a thicker al dente noodle (with homemade ali oli) which I adored. The special seafood paella was one of the more flavourful and best paellas I have had in a long time. I didn't try the fish but from what I gather from the people at my table it was delicious. Only one person got dessert, profiteroles, similar to donuts with homemade cream in the middle with hot dark chocolate sauce poured over it. I didnt try it not a huge fan of sweets but it looked good!

One of my favourite things about this restaurant is that you do not have to order the paellas and fideuas for 2 people. If you want a paella, and your friend wants something else. No problem. The bill came to 30€ per person which was well worth it. Oh and btw NON smoking!! such a plus.

Paco Alcalde
c/almirall aixada 12
93 221 5026