llamber
I’ve wanted to visit Llamber ever since I tried their fantastic crab ball with beans at the Vi Nouvelle wine festival back in November. The restaurant is in the same square as Mercat del Borne, handily close to La Ribera, where we’d just been shopping. Llamber has been open for just over 3 years and is a partnership of Eva Arbonés Tomás (interior design, front of the house and cellar manager) and Francisco Heras (Asturian head chef who previously worked in many top restaurants including the legendary, El Bulli). The food here is perhaps a mixture or Asturian and Catalan cuisine fused with the magic of Ferran Adria. To quote from their website, Llamber is a gastronomic tavern focusing on fresh seasonal products as well as friendly and attentive service.
menú de medio día
For €15.50 one gets everything on the Menú de Medio Dia (above). That’s 5 courses with water, bread, wine or beer and coffee!
canelon de calabacin
The first dish was canelon de calabacin – little cannelloni made from shaved courgette, stuffed with chopped tomato.
papas arrugadas
The second course of papas arrugadas con mojo picon is a dish from the Canary Isles, where their tiny new potatoes are very early in comparison to Northern Europe. These potatoes are cooked so their skins wrinkle and are served in a spicy garlic sauce.
arroz con bacalao
Third came arroz con bacalao, a savoury fish risotto dish with a perfectly cooked piece of bacalao (salt cod) on top. Traditionally a small amount of salt cod is shredded into arroz con bacalao to make an economical family meal.
butifarra “esparracada”
Fourth was a dish of butifarra “esparracada” – ragged butifarra, a typical Catalan sausage, cut into pieces and cooked in an unctuous stew.
pa
Even the bread here, which I assume is baked in the kitchen, is excellent!
momento dulce
Our pudding was aptly called momento dulce – sweet moment, a rice pudding with caramelised sugar on top – it almost took me back to childhood and my grandmother’s house on a Sunday afternoon.
rosado
The included glass of wine wasn’t quite enough, so we ordered a bottle of the excellent Quatro Pasos rosado, from Bierzo.
carajillo
…and of course, I finished with a carajillo.
The addition of a bottle of wine cost €15 on top of the €15.50 each for the menú. The food was exceptional here and the waiters were attentive without being intrusive. We even had a little light entertainment from two heavily tattooed punk buskers singing about the joy of death! They were very funny and much better than the average street musician.
This all looks beautiful and there is the salt cod again. I simply have to get some one day and taste it – I am becoming more and more interested in travelling to Spain (and Basque of course) after I visit London and Avignon next year. Your restaurant writings are enticements ! c
Thanks Cecilia. I’m fairly sure you can get bacalao in America – most of it originally came from the grand banks before they were fished out last century. The Basques used to sail across the Atlantic to catch cod off America and then cure it on the shore before sailing back to the Basque Country – this was pre Columbus, but as far as I can gather, they didn’t tell anyone where they went to catch fish as they didn’t want any competition.
You are right Mad Dog, you can find salt cod in New England. At Christmas time, you can also find it at most Italian markets even here in Florida.
I’m reading a fascinating book called Cod, A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World, which describes how salt cod made New England.
I would say it is still the most popular fish in New England.
I’m not surprised!
Beautifully built-up meal and another name, address and menu-to-die for for that trip to come 🙂 !
Thanks Eha. Llamber is a must visit restaurant, along with La Mar Salada 🙂
Unbelievably cheap for the quality no doubt. The presentation looks worthy of a much more expensive place. I went to El Bulli several years ago, soon after it opened. Still think about that meal!!!
Thanks Nadia – I really envy your visit to El Bulli – that must have been amazing. Llamber is expensive if you order à la carte, it’s only the weekday lunchtime menu that costs €15.50 🙂
That is an amazing meal for the price. When are you going to publish a restaurant guide?!!
I’m torn between the idea of providing my favourite restaurants with more custom (ensuring their survival) and making them so popular that I can’t get a seat! What can one do?
Caught between a rock and a hard place. ….
I know! I’ve seen it happen with some of the old bars I used to frequent and as well as getting too busy, they also change the style and character (not for the good) with all the extra money coming in.
Best to stay quiet and just let us “exclusive ” few be in on the secret 😆
😉
Well my first comment vanished into thin air, kind of like that meal would have if I was at the table. What a lunch…that quality at that price. Another great find by you. 😀
Thanks Karen, it’s quite an astonishing restaurant and the lunch time menu is exceptional for the price 🙂
It certainly is.
Buenísimo!! Todo tiene una pinta increíble. Tengo una duda, cada cuánto tiempo vas a BCN? O te has mudado a España? 🎉🎉🎉 un abrazo y hasta pronto
G
Gracias Giovanna, no he vuelto a Barcelona todavía, pero volver lo más posible 🙂