The glorious Catalan school has laid down its bistronomic godchildren in Barcelona as well: it's free Antonio Romero's style, bouncing from one side of the Mediterranean to the other for a full house of flavor and contrasts from Suculent.
Photos by Carles Allende and David Egui
The restaurant
From the Gothic barrio, a beehive of hovels in the shadow of Barcelona's majestic cathedral, the atmosphere transcends in no small measure as one walks down the long Carrer de Sant Pau, crowded on both sides with stores where ethnicities mingle and exoticisms resonate. This is the Raval district, where tourist gleam yields to bawdy, bohemian atmospheres, all the way to the rambla of the same name, which Botero made famous with his fat, bronze-faced cat. A masterpiece of irony strolls under the tree-lined promenade, on whose back children glide.
Here, it only takes a few steps down to access other convivial atmospheres, screened by speakeasy-like bar stools. It is called Suculent and since 2012 the talent of Antonio Romero, a man who has come a long way before becoming chef patron, has been residing there. Originally from Castellon, he had his most formative experience at elBulli, where he stayed for three years, familiarizing himself with the instrumentarium of new techniques and assimilating an almost Japanese philosophy of taste, hinging on ingredient recognition. But he also worked at Maison Pic, whose perfectionism and pastry-making he loves to evoke, in the Basque Country at Akelarre and Arzak. “Today my cooking style depends on my business model, so something more traditional, but well done, in a casual setting. I still love gastronomy, but I see that people enjoy bistros more," he cuts to the chase.
And indeed, Suculent (mot-valise of sucar and lent, dunking flat in Catalan, evoking mouth watering succulences) is a full-fledged example of a bistronomic restaurant, not (yet?) starred, yet welcomed among the dicoveries of The World's 50 Best, as “polite” and technical in its gastronomic offerings as it is loose in its atmospheres and friendly in its prices.
The rustic-chic little room, with its wooden tables and stuffed chairs, its walls stained by plants, vases and books that taste like home, teems with attentive, jovial guests, among whom Barcelona's best chefs might be hiding. Here Pedro Garrido, a Venezuelan dining director with Latin warmth, moves nonchalantly.
The dishes
There are two menus: the house classics at 65 euros and the Suculent menu, with the latest seasonal recipes, at 85; plus possible wine pairing at 40 or 50. It draws from a list of about 300 references, where there is no shortage of local vermouth. The house aperitif, however, is the Adonis in Sherry, which stocks mouth-watering appetizers such as the duck croquette that explodes in the mouth, as immediate as it is slow in preparation, which requires roasting the bird, preparing the base and bechamel. So much work for a single bite! Suculent's concept hinges on Mediterranean cuisine, with dishes that in a multi-ethnic neighborhood like Raval touch on the Maghreb and even Italy, recently mentioned by a vitel tonné. France, however, is close by and peeps into the techniques and sauces with classicist accents that are never peregrine. Given the kitchen's succinct square footage, which is glimpsed in the background, the executions are artisanal and often expressed for a full flavor. “After elBuilli and Maison Pic, it was like touching ground again. But if the customer is happy, so am I."
Delicate are the anchovies marinated with plug and a little vinegar for 40 hours, so as to optimize the texture, married to orange jelly and green olive water. As is the red shrimp ceviche, the lone exception to the rule of Mediterraneanity, therefore attentively sought after by friend Adrià, but in high demand by the clientele. Fresh, vital and spicy, it veers toward Mexico because of corn and avocado, while the barbecued heads bring a different textural and smoky umami flavor.
Other dishes have no known ancestry, as stray as Raval's cat. For example, the roasted beet carpaccio with smoked eel and beurre blanc, a bit of Jap for rice vinegar and soy sauce, where sweetness, fatness and acidity engage in a hand-to-hand battle on the palate. Another star vegetable is the maitake mushroom, with its cartilage-like texture under the teeth, which marries piñolata, a pesto of pine nuts, Pecorino, thyme and rosemary, for an excursion into the undergrowth.
Romero's signature dish, however, is the steak tartare served on the bone with barbecued marrow, also copied in Italy, garnished with pommes soufflées. Where the cue comes from an elBulli dish with cuttlefish and horseradish; then it was reworked with foie gras (“but the textura didn't convince me”) and finally the beat, so as to push the flavor of the beef through the beef itself. A beautiful concert of creamy and crunchy, fatty and sour, raw and cooked, flooding the palate.
It's a classic, in Catalonia as in France, the black or hazelnut butter ray, whose sauce is here pushed from hazelnut paste to Thermomix, with lemon mashed potatoes and balsamic vinegar to degrease. Then for the Maghrebi shore comes the lamb neck with caramelized honey, mustard seeds and ras el hanout, with its gravy and a side of balsamic quinoa with coriander and mint.
After the white chocolate-filled strawberries with yogurt and rose jelly, closing is the Tahitian vanilla Brie cheesecake with Muscatel jelly, the inevitable cheese with sweet wine at the end of the meal, with an intriguing hint of savoriness.
Contact
Suculent
Rambla del Raval, 45, Ciutat Vella, 08001 Barcelona, Spain
Phone: +34 934 43 65 79
