The meal started with a Lunya Bikini, a traditional toasted sandwich using Joselito ham and Torta de Baros cheese. While the bread was possibly a bit hard for my liking, both the ham and cheese, which was definitely worthy of further investigation, were of superb quality.
The second course was the dish that beforehand I had been most ambivalent about. I had tasted and enjoyed the restaurant’s salt cod cigars on a previous visit, but was not sure if the strong flavour of the fish would work in the Esqueixada (salt cod salad) we were presented with. My fears proved unfounded, as the cod was a pleasant, unobtrusive background flavour in what was a very elegant and fresh salad, the real standout element of which were the superb empeltre olives scattered through it.
Following the salad was what was described as the ‘definitive Spanish fry up’, a migas. This Catalan take contained chorizo, morcilla and a fried quail’s egg. With those constituent parts there was never much chance of me not enjoying it, and sure enough it ticked all my boxes, particularly the morcilla which had the texture and consistency of haggis and a lovely understated smoky flavour that combined well with the mild kick provided by the chorizo.
This combination was also used to good effect in what was my highlight of the meal, the Catalan scouse. Having sampled a teaspoon of this at the Sefton Park Food Festival and waited patiently(ish) for it to appear on the daily menu – I’m assured this will happen soon – I was delighted to see this on the running order and would quite happily have had second and third portions. The addition of a fig, which I had initially been sceptical about, introduced a lovely sweetness that gave the whole course a lift.
The penultimate dish was the only minor disappointment. The combination of lentils and bacon is one I generally enjoy and while there was nothing wildly wrong with what was served, it was slightly underseasoned and watery for me. That said, the treacle cured bacon was very tasty and further evidence of a commitment to excellent ingredients.
Dessert was a pleasingly light ‘Catalan Mess’, as with the scouse enhanced by the presence of fig and with a lovely almond flavour running through it.
For a wine novice it was nice to have the choices explained in an unfussy, concise and clear way by Ian Clarke, and his selections were excellent, particularly the Segrel Ambar Albarino that accompanied the Esqueixada and the utterly lovely Vallemayor Gran Reserva, paired with the lentils, which was comfortably my favourite glass of the evening. It also would be remiss not to mention our food guide, whose name I’m sure was Enrique (damn my feeble memory), who was enthusiastic, knowledgeable and friendly.
Overall it was a very informal, relaxed and enjoyable evening that hopefully, going by what was said on the evening, will become a regular fixture with the emphasis on a different area in Spain on each occasion.
