Mrs Bacon, myself and our two professional foodie friends (Ms Arroz and Dr Gambas) could wait not a moment longer, we'd already waited several months for this, we called our taxi early, and made our way through the Girona suburbs.
After taking the mandatory shots of us standing in front of the wooden sign, we made our way down the little leafy alley which opens out into a pretty little courtyard and walled garden. Sipping our complimentary cava, my hangover was almost a distant memory.
We were the first to be let in, and settled in a nice corner table, with good views of the glassed inner courtyard (with tall trees inside it) and restaurant itself. It's such a beautiful space, the inner courtyard makes the room very light and sunny.
To start you get a black paper globe which is removed to reveal The World:
Mexico: guacamole, tomato seed, tomato water and coriander.
Peru: ceviche broth.
China: pickled vegetables with plum cream.
Morocco: almond, rose, honey, safron, ras el hanout, goat yoghurt.
Japan: Miso, cream dashi and nyinyonyaki tempura.
Next Caramelized Olive. Picked from a tree.
Crispy Shrimp. (On a 'fishing net')
Truffled brioche.
Truffled bombon.
Carpano Bombon with grapefruit and black sesame.
Elderflower infusion, cherries with Amaretto, gingered cherries and smoked eel. So pretty, it was almost a shame to eat it. It tasted as good as it looks too.
White asparagus and truffle viennetta.
Amontillado-steamed langoustine, Bisque velouté and Jerez caramel.
Grilled sole with black and white garlic, parsley juice and lemon.
Cod with miso and hazelnuts.
Charcoal-grilled lamb breast fillet and sweetbreads with eggplant, coffee and
liquorice. Lamb is my favourite meat, so I eat it a lot in restaurants. This is probably the best I've ever tasted.
Pigeon Parfait and onion, curry-caramelized walnuts, juniper, orange peel and herbs. Mrs Bacon would normally shy away from pigeon, but even she loved this powerful dish. Our none meat eating friend had some fantastic looking alternatives, but as she eats fish, many of the dishes were the same.
It's alive! This was great fun, I'm a sucker for dishes like this one. Essentially it moves about as it's on a specially made mechanical platform. I christened this the Dr Who Pudding as it looks like a weird space alien. It tasted delicious too.
Viola. A sphere of cinnamon and viola with coconut and honey toffee.
A selection from the sweet trolley.
The service was as slick as you'd expect at this level, although occasionally slow at times as they became busier.
One of the three brothers, Josep Roca came out and greeted us, we three the more easily embarrassed of the group had to dissuade Ms Arroz from getting a posed photo of us with him!
This really was an amazing world class experience dining at El Celler de Can Roca, it was everything I'd hoped it would be and more. All views about if it's the 'best restaurant in the world' are of course subjective, but this and Azurmendi in Bilbao remain the most impressive of all the (Three Michelin Star) restaurants we've ever visited. Although they are quite different styles, Azurmendi is more gutsy and robust, perhaps Basque? Whereas El Celler is more playful, elaborate and complex. Both were superlative; mind-blowingly good.
The only problem we have now, is how on earth can we follow this?
Price: The best restaurant in the world? A bargain at €175 for 14 courses!
Imagine tickets for the world cup final or the Olympic games? Think of it in those terms: World class food. For that you get one of the best meals you're likely to get anywhere.
It's still cheaper than The Fat Duck by £50. (You may be able to get a Ryanair return flight to Girona for that.) Plus you can get a decent bottle of wine for just €20.
Service: Excellent, a little slow at times though.
Food: World Class.
Star dishes: Too close to call.
Score: 10/10.
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Email me: bacononthebeech@gmail.com
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ReplyDeleteHi
DeleteThanks, I use Firefox and it's ok in my browser - what problems do you have?
This is making me very excited.....and no doubt will make you extremely jealous.... 20 days and counting down ;-)
ReplyDeleteGood call! Just don't get too drunk the night before ;)
DeleteFantastic article - we are going on Friday.... drool...
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear that you have enjoyed El Celler de Can Roca. It is on my hit list, but I will have to wait one more year (only next available tables I could get on a busy weekend). I'll also try Azurmendi at the same time. You asked "how on earth can we follow this?". Perhaps Alinea in Chicago would be the answer (it is an impressive food destination, but I can't compared to Azurmendi or El Celler since I have not eaten at both of them).
ReplyDeleteIt was "ok" but I enjoyed Massana a lot more the following evening.
ReplyDeleteFat Duck , Lenclume and Castle terrace all beat it hands down on the food side of things.
I saw your review with great interest and was quite surprised you didn't like El Celler de can Roca. I think it comes down to personal taste at this level. We didn't love Le Gavroche or Sant Pau, and whilst really like L'Enclume, think that El Celler easily matches it in terms of food. But as you say, it would be boring if we all agreed all of the time. Now I regret we couldn't go to Massana now though :)
DeleteHi there! I absolutely love your post on El Celler and I read it many times before my recent visit there. I've done my own post on it now too. As you'll see, the menu has changed a little (as expected) but it was hands down my best dining experience to date! I've actually referenced your blog post in my post too!
ReplyDeletehttp://forktalk.london/2016/01/19/el-celler-de-can-roca/
Thanks for your kind words I shall take a proper read of your review now.
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