Xiringuito Aigua

xiringuito aigua and garden

August 15th, 2013

After a cup of Barry’s Gold Blend and an hour sitting down, we went off to eat (again) at a little restaurant hut, Xiringuito Aigua, in the Jardins Príncep de Girona.

former barracks

The gardens are a former cavalry barracks

lake

transformed into a public park, complete with lake.

xiringuito aigua

Conveniently Xiringuito Aigua serves excellent tapas and is just on the border of Gràcia, a Barcelona region holding a huge 5 day street fiesta kicking off tonight. Xiringuito Aigua is made up of a small bar, tiny kitchen in the middle and loo, far left. The proprietor, Jordi, is the brother of Cataluña’s current chef of the year – Albert Marimon.

tapes dia

Since we had a table of 11 people, Oli suggested that we order the entire tapas menu – 19 dishes, hand written on the wall of the kitchen (click to read).

dining al fresco

Everything was going swimmingly, when suddenly it got dark and all the food arrived. Note, the picture above is of the small lit area near the bar. We were on a long table to the right, with a couple of candles. I tried a few pictures with flash, but really on camera flash is dreadful and trying to photograph 19 dishes before 11 hungry people got to them was almost impossible. On the bright side, all the food was excellent, the most outstanding dishes were:

Mató Tomàquet i Pesto – Fresh White Cheese with Tomato and Pesto
Truita (riu) Tavascan – River Trout from Tavascan
Morro Bacallà All i Oli – Salt Cod Loin and Allioli
Carpaccio de Tonyina – Tuna Carpaccio
Pop Roquer – Octopus
Galtes Al Vi – Veal Cheeks cooked in wine
Peus de Porc – Pig Trotter Confit
Garro Al Forn – Roast Suckling Pig
Cap i Pota – Calf’s Head and Foot
Picantó Rosti – Roast Poussin
Conill Amb Olives – Rabbit with Olives
Costella de Porc – Pork Chops

All the food was excellent and to be honest I was disappointed not to be able to take good pictures of it, but I do have a great excuse for coming back for lunch. I drank chilled red wine with supper – some Barcelona restaurants believe that there are only two types of wine – red or white. It’s not unusual for waiters to look at you strangely if you try to order rosado!

dark lake

After two large meals and an early flight from England, any sane person would waddle down the hill to bed, but not me, my next stop was La Festa de Gràcia…

Xiringuito Aigua is at: Jardins Príncep de Girona, Horta-Guinardó, 08025 Barcelona