So was in Barcelona this week. Had to go there for work and well as a bonus I was able to go to have dinner at Tickets Albert Adria´s ¨Tapas¨ restaurant... http://ticketsbar.es/ I use ¨tapas¨ as this is not the typical tapas place that you can find in Spain... or better still in the world. First thing you must know is that its a RESERVATIONS only restaurant, so you have to go with a reservation... second you can only reserve online... so get online... third there is limited places and you can only reserve 3 months ahead... therefore the calendar online is a rolling 90 day calendar and availability is normally only available on day 90 at midnight... so stay up and book ASAP... aside from that welcome to a unique experience!!!!!
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| First no, I did not make a mistake and was standing in front of a ticketing booth to go to the theatre... although at 7pm in Spain that is probably what people were thinking and not that I was going to have dinner... welcome to Tickets |
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| Not your typical restaurant window... |
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| So lets start, one of the most ground breaking techniques that El Bulli has given us in the last 5 years... spherifications... so olives anyone? The one on the right is made with gordal olives and the one on the left with verdial olives... the intense flavor of both olives came through from the lovely liquid centre... |
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| Pescadito frito: Fried fish... crispy cod with powdered nori... they make a paste with the cod, dry the paste and then fry them... like eating crispy kropek but flavored with cod... light and delicate and like kropek addictive |
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| Spectacular and unique fatty tuna belly Toro with iberico ham fat, pine nuts and sea salt they serve it with a homemade bread stick to help contrast the flavors... Now I am probably, like a lot of people, a great fan of Toro and this was spectacular... not to mention that they request that you use the tweezers they provide to eat it with (got to excited and forgot to take a photo of the tweezers) makes it easier to lift the paper thin slices of toro to your mouth... |
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| Air bags filled with cheese foam and hazelnut oil caviar... the air bags a really thin hollow bread balloons, I mean paper thin bread with a lovely cheese foam, topped with a slice of manchego cheese and finished with hazelnut oil caviar... they literally explode in your mouth, both the caviar and the air bag !!! |
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| This is a tiradito of I think it was sea bass but I can't remember what fish it was, they change it depending on what is the freshest fish that day... with a special marinade made with sake, mirin, sugar, soy sauce and ginger... there are also some mini shitake mushrooms also marinated in the same sauce... lovely depth of flavor!!! |
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| Crispy cone of nori with tuna belly tartar, tomato seed, flying fish roe and chilli strand... the cone is made with brick pastry and nori wrapped together... crispy, full of flavor... beautiful to look at and to taste !!! |
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| Runny duck egg yolk with potato foam and duck fat truffle... there is something so primeval about having runny egg yolk and potato that brings me back to childhood... something about dunking potatoes into runny egg yolk... and the truffle taste well thats for the grown up in me ... |
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| This is called Roast Chicken... Wow, in one bite (well maybe two for normal people) you get blown away by the intense taste of roast chicken that you get... so run down of this: crispy skin that is the base, slow cooked chicken breast sliced on top (smooth and succulent texture), a powerful reduced chicken sauce on top and to finish a little bit of lemon zest and cracked black pepper... a perfect bite of roast chicken!!!! |
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| Steamed mollete bun with pork papada: so for those of you who don't know mollete is a kind of soft baked bun that is typical from the south of spain and papada is the jowl part of the pig, in some places its called jowl bacon. So you get a lovely soft velvety papada and this great spongy bread that is grilled with a little bit of mustard in the centre... a powerful and intense mouthful... |
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| Taco of rabbit al salmorejo... traditional rabbit stew from the Canary Islands... powerful taco, loved the soft wheat taco... the flavors reminded me of the tacos in mexico... |
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| Boiled Iberico pork with potatoes and pork broth... this I loved... its a refined version of a typical Gallegan dish that is boiled salt pork with potatoes olive oil and paprika... but refined in flavor and texture... |
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| Liquid Payoyo cheese ravioli... typical cheese from Andalusia... my pre-dessert !!! |
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| Hot-Cold Chocolate fritters: they explode in your mouth with this rich chocolaty sauce !!!! I could have eaten another plate of these !!!! |
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| Hot Liquid Almond cake with red peach sorbet... its almost like a liquid soufflé when you start eating it the centre oozes out this warm almond mousse that contrast so well with the cold peach sorbet... |
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| I know what you are thinking and so was I but no they really are stones... its the chocolate and hazelnut rock on top that was the dessert... its always nice to finish off with a great chocolaty flavor !!! |
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| Even the coffee is served in a different way... suspension of different liquids with different densities anyone?? |
I thought I would leave you with a video of the restaurant from the inside... it really is in my opinion a unique dinning experience... so I suggest get online... and try and book cause you won't be disappointed !!!!
