Alkimia

Alkimia Restaurant Review:

Chef Jordi Vilà and his team fuse their passion for classic Catalan gastronomy with an almost scientific approach --- Alkimia means ‘Alchemist’ in English --- where presentation, texture and colour come together to create culinary sculptures. The restaurant has a tasting menu and à la carte options that propose the freshest of Catalonia’s seasonal offerings. Appetizers and starters have included vermouth granite with black olives and anchovies, fish tartare with caviar, and an intense drinkable version of the mandatory Catalan dish, pa amb tomàquet, which is served in a shot glass. Further into the tasting menu flavors such as saffron rice with langoustines, and cured pigeon with red fruits begin to stir the senses, as do the more rustic, traditional dishes of Iberian suckling pork, and roasted chicken cannelloni. Desserts bring the dulce delights of papillote banana with coffee ice cream, or lychees with cucumber and galanga sorbet and Gewürztraminer. A relatively condensed wine menu lists a considered selection of D.O. Spanish wines. Try a lively Rioja from the Palacios Remondo Winery, or sample the products of the local terroir with one of the many cavas sourced from the Penedès region. (Note: Alkimia was formerly located at Carrer de la Indústria 79, Barcelona.)