I recently visited the beautiful ‘country’ of Catalunya, and I say country because this is how the local people describe their exquisite part of Spain. Forming about 30% of Spain, Catalunya isn’t described as a country for nothing. It has everything from spectacular cultural cities, heaps of history, pristine, heavenly beaches and magnificent mountains.
A week travelling across Catalunya was a week like no other, we did everything from scaling cliff edges, to coastal walks, city photography tours and white water rafting.
The week was overflowing with fun activities and memorable experiences… but most of all we were filled with meal after meal of delicious Spanish cuisine.
From the night we arrived when we were greeted with an array of Spanish tapas in our funky hotel, I knew this was going to be a week when any diets went out the window and so I ate and ate and ate until my belly couldn’t squeeze in another Crema Catalana or paella.
Elena and Esta treated us well with so many delicious meals I couldn’t possibly fit them all into one blog post, but here are a few highlights and some of my favourite things to eat in Catalunya, Spain.
El Cellar Can Roca
Yes! The world’s Number 1 restaurant, wow, what a place! We had a quick tour of the kitchens and dining room of this world renowned restaurant and briefly met a couple of the Roca brothers. The kitchen was vast, with different rooms and sections for different courses, with many busy hands intricately preparing the day’s lunches.
The dining room was simple to highlight the food, which comes out on different quirky plate designs to compliment the flavours and colours. We didn’t eat in the restaurant but headed up the road to their mum’s restaurant Can Roca, to experience some of the original family cooking mixed with tapas sent up from the main restaurant. The 7 courses were an example of the massive yet delicious meals we devoured all week long.
There was exploding mushroom pastries, courgette omelettes served on tiny spoons, the most delicious roast beef croquettes, fish, steak, calamari and a selection of desserts and truffles.
Each course was washed down with a new wine to compliment the flavours and being sat next to the non drinking member of our group I had double the wine, which meant I had well and truly had my fill by the time our three hour meal was up and it was time to move on to our next destination.
The waiting list for a meal in El Cellar Can Roca is around a year (Mad I know!?) but it is much easier to get into their mum’s restaurant and let’s face it, she probably taught them everything they know! If my experience was anything to go by you will still have a marvellously delicious time.
Restaurant El Forn
The meals on our Catalunya Experience varied from high end designer meals to real home cooked grub. Towards the end of the trip I was craving chips or simple food and like they read my taste bud cravings we were treated to a meal of comfort eating in the Pyrenees Mountains, right after climbing our Via Ferrata. I was starving and craving stodge! The small restaurant in a quaint village was perfect. Freshly prepared cannelloni followed by pork and chips in a scrummy mustard sauce, washed down with the local wine. There were some in our party who braved the local delicacy of pigs feet, but those slimy trotters weren’t to my taste and I was happy with pig chop instead.
Trip4Real
My favourite meal of the week had to be the home-cooked meal I had as part of my time at the house of the Vives family. The home cooked pastas, fresh vegetables, paella and gazpacho were washed down perfectly with wine and Lluis’s famous gin and tonics. It was part of a Trip4Real experience dining in a local’s house, truly living the local life. It was an amazing afternoon and we all left stuffed and a little bit tipsy.
I don’t think I have ever eaten so much tasty food as I did in my week in Catalunya. Spanish cuisine is so much more than your typical patatas bravas and paella.
Have you got any top recommendations for food to try in Spain?
