Fine dining — but not as we know it
I WILL travel for a good dinner. I will run, walk, drive (well be driven, I still have not learnt) or fly to eat a spectacular meal.
To me a chef I admire is worth travelling for as much as a good band or an important sporting event. When a friend wrote to say she had a booking at Tickets in Barcelona I booked my flight even before replying to her email.
It is not an easy place to get a booking so you jump when you can.
Their system is unusual and I am sure it is partly designed to start the element of theatre as you sit clicking on your computer on a wet Monday night in Ireland. At midnight, every night they release tables exactly 60 days in advance. These are booked up almost instantly by people all around the world.
Tickets is theatre, an experience, a drama unfolding as the evening winds on, with the noise of tinkling ice-cream carts and the whirr of a candy floss machine, this is not a restaurant as we know it, this is something far different.
It is fantastical, fun and very special, all built around great food. Diners are seated in the centre with chefs working on the perimeter in a variety of different areas, the blue tiled, sweeping bar representing the sea or in the lurid sweeterthan-sweet desert counter.
I arrived a little early as I wanted to have a good look at what was in store. The lady safeguarding the threshold, in top hat and tails welcomed me.
My first impression was that colour, a riot of irreverent colour.
Anyone who has visited a Michelin star restaurant knows that bright and gaudy decor is not the most usual choice.
Here they are turning the notion of fine dining on its head. It is a circus where we are the audience and the performer all in one.
According to many El Bulli, Ferran Adrià’s previous venture, was the greatest restaurant in the world. Adrià has blazed a trail that is hard to quantify. He invented what is now know as molecular gastronomy.
El Bulli only opened six months of the year Andria’s team spent the other six in a workshop in Barcelona testing and tasting, pushing methods of food production and experimentation to new levels and to very exciting places.
Every chef worth his salt wanted to work at El Bulli and most that we now read about did.
El Bulli was shut down by Ferran soon after it was knocked off the top slot by Noma in Copenhagen. This adds to the mystic and makes a visit to Tickets all the more special.
Those of us who never got to try the legendary cooking at El Bulli can taste hints of it here instead.
Tickets was set up by Ferran and his brother Albert. They have always worked alongside each other. They wanted to celebrate the uniquely Spanish experience of tapas.
The sharing of small plates of food which allow for experimentation because it is a mouthful, merely a bite, a diner does not have to make a big commitment to their choice. It is a win, win situation for a chef who likes to experiment and show off.
The problem is what to order, it all looked so fantastical. We had olives to start but these were no ordinary olives. So here it goes, a spoiler moment; if you are planning to try and visit Tickets skip the next three lines of text.
Although they look like olives and even taste like olives they are not olives. They are in fact little bubbles of gelatin filled with an intense olive juice that burst in your month once you try biting into them.
The mini airbags were one of my highlights. Light crisp puffs similar to a puri from India filled with a soft cheese that spread on your tongue once you break into the crisp coating. They were a glorious pocket of taste and texture.
The tuna belly cones were a thing of minute beauty, served in a bucket of pebbles they are conical crisps filled with the freshest, zestiest tuna, perfectly seasoned, a mouthful to remember.
Next came the razor clams, I am finding it hard to pick a favourite but these have potential. Razor clams are so under used in Ireland but they are a delicious meaty seafood. This time they were served in their shell with what was described as saffron pearls, little golden jewels that pop in your mouth distributing a taste that can only be the golden warmth of saffron.
I am describing the taste but the presentation of each dish was equally as exquisite. They were intricate pictures on a plate.
I will glaze over the other plates that we chose as I could fill pages with the descriptions of the pleasures of eating them, about the textures, the flavours and the combination of ingredients. We had marinated fried fish with a mojo, rojo sauce, a very delicate avocado and crab cannelloni, which made me think one of the chefs had studied sushi making in Japan. Cebiche was served with salad in a miniature taco, quail was char-grilled and of course a few oysters.
I find it very hard to pass up an oyster, especially when it is described as being served with its own pearl.
Blackberry meringues were filled with fresh yogurt, a dessert simply called coal was bubbly white chocolate coated in a charcoal like powder. Unfortunately the golden egg was off the menu the night we were there.
The Adrià siblings are Gaudis of the food world, building and sharing their creations in the beautiful city of Barcelona. I am looking forward to seeing what they do next. There are rumours of an El Bulli foundation to teach the tricks of the trade to another generation and to ensure the continued legacy of the extraordinarily creative brothers.
Aer Lingus fly from Dublin daily — prices start from €49.99. Aer Lingus also fly from Cork in summer only — prices start from €49.99. Ryanair fly daily from Dublin, prices from €70.
For friendly service in beautiful surroundings and a great location, check out Five Rooms (www.thefiverooms.com). Cheaper than Five Rooms but still really nice old world decor, try Casa Billy. It can be noisy so ask for a room away from the street — and please ignore the terrible website it does the place no justice. www.casabillybarcelona.com
Canette just off rambla cat. for the very best traditional tapas — it feels like walking on a set of an eights sitcom — Carrer de la Unió, 17 08001 Barcelona. 930 02 94 25.
Caravelle, great for a long lazy lunch — Pintor Fortuny 31 08001 Barcelona + 34 933 17 98 92 El Vaso de Oro, squash in with the locals for steak and specialty beers. Carrer de Balboa, 6, 08003 Barcelona, Spain 933 19 30 98.
Dos papillious in casa, camper hotel has a great bar out the front where you can eat Asianinspired tapas — C/ Elisabets 11, 08001. Barcelona 00 34 93 304 05 13 La Perla de Oro — An old Spanish deli that now serves local wines and has a great menu del dia — Carrer de la Unió, 34 08001 Barcelona 933 01 56 39
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