Arola
Hotel Arts Barcelona
Cuisines: Spanish
About
Blessed with two Michelin stars, Catalan chef Sergi Arola is one of the rising young stars of Spain's culinary world. The setting for this, his first restaurant in Barcelona (the other, La Broche, is in Madrid), is the luxury Hotel Arts in the Olympic Village. Amid a quirky, pop-art decor of purple and lime green, Arola starts you off with hot or cold picas (literally, "nibbles") that may range from simple artichoke hearts with garlic and parsley or asparagus spears on a bed of romesco sauce, to tacos de lubina (small delicious chunks of sea bass) or patatas bravas cut and arranged on the plate to look like dozens of tiny female breasts. Main courses include Mediterranean standards with a touch of Arola magic: steamed mejillones (mussels) with citrus juice and saffron, Gorgonzola cheese croquettes, grilled gambas (prawns) with cold potato cream, and lubina (sea bass) with an emulsion of watercress, to name just a few. The dessert of goat's cheese, macadamia nuts, tomato jam, and quince cream should convince you of his talent.
