Double take

It’s not often I go to a fabulous restaurant on holiday and risk it a second night running. You know all about those wonderful memories that you could be putting in jeopardy!

Well, Alegoria was that good, I just had to roll the dice. The atmosphere is somewhat like a Greek taverna… but this definitely isn’t Greece.

The welcome was warm from the moment I arrived and throughout the meal from a small group of staff who really seemed to be enjoying their work. So this is clearly not one of those chain restaurants churning out mediocrity with a fake smile.

The menu is relatively short, so the quality of what is presented on the plate is a top priority. So this isn’t one of those places that aims to offer something for everyone.

For the record, the accompanying photos include padron green peppers and melt in the mouth iberic pork cheek on the first visit. The second visit matched the whole experience with melon & iberic ham followed by a gorgeous ribeye steak seasoned with just the right level of salty tears!

Unlike a few other places I visited nearby, a selection of wine by the glass was offered, and I found something I had never heard of but was one of those wines where one glass could never be enough… just like one visit to this restaurant is never enough.

Until we speak again, you don’t think I’m going to tell you where it is, do you? You’d all be going there and I’d have to book my table!

The previous ‘iberic‘ references might also help. It’s not France, Italy or Portugal… but it might be close to them on a big map. The city has a successful football team in the mould of Pep Guardiola, and also miles of beachfront and marina with Olympic references. It’s also located within 100 metres of a very busy tourist street where people Rambla along… but unless you’re searching for it, you’ll never see it.

Barcelona Maciatto Tour

What, you thought I’d do all the tourist stuff about Antoni Gaudi, La Rambla, and all that Barca FC shtick? Think again, it’s in the archives back in March 2019! This was a completely unscheduled visit planned in the airport arrivals, having missed a connection onto Florence!

After a tiring day of travelling and improvising, a marina side evening stroll culminated in a visit to the upmarket Barceloneta restaurant.

The food and wine were of the expected high quality. What was unexpected was the presentation and quality of the maciatto. This was a ‘performance coffee‘ with the waiter providing the milk/foam finish with a flourish at the table!

This got me thinking, as my following morning experience confirmed my previous recollections… Barcelona is not a place that will trouble competitors in the world cappuccino stakes!

Needless to say, I had now found my pointless mission for this very relaxing visit to a stunning city. Ocana in the Gothic Quarter may not have provided the best post Flamenco gig meal, but they unexpectedly raised their game with the maciatto!

Alegoria, located neatly down a narrow side street and then an even narrower alley, so that the tourist hordes along La Rambla don’t even know it’s there… is undoubtedly an absolute gem of a restaurant. More about this one in a separate post!

They didn’t need a sugar gimmick to remind me where I was languishing, but the maciatto not surprisingly maintained the high standard I had come to expect. That wine was delicious to.

Until we speak again, if you want pictures of the photogenic place that Barcelona is… go there!