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An absolutely fantastic experience – Colombian & Mexican fusion: Restaurant Spoonik (4. December 2016)

| January 4, 2017 | 0 Comments

Outstanding and fun experience! The night at the Spoonik is definitely one to remember – Jon & Jaime give their very best and if you end up at the Chef’s Table and actually have good company, then this can only be called a perfect evening. Once you arrive at the location you wonder why you can’t see inside but given you already had to do a down-payment per person of EUR 50.00, it is not that surprising.

You can’t pick what you are going to eat. You don’t have a choice of starters and mains – but there is just one menu to be served the evening, the ‘Menu Spoonik’ (EUR 95.00). Of course if you have food allergies you can communicate that beforehand via email or just let them know the evening. They account for it. When you enter the place, you are handed a glass of ‘Cava’ and then seated at the Chef’s Table.

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Once the whole lot has arrived, you are asked to enter the kitchen where you are briefly introduced to the whole team. The menu starts with a couple of snacks served straight in the kitchen. The first course was called ‘Pizza Efírma” which did not really look like a pizza but more like one of this sweets with coconut on top. However, it turned out to taste exactly like a fresh pizza!

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The second course was “panucho confit de pato al pibil, cebolla nispek, frijoles y aguacate” which was sound but didn’t have the surprise effect of the pizza.

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As a last kitchen starter, the “arepa de choclo, stilton afinado y miel” was served and while it did not sound too appealing really, it was very pleasant.

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When you get back out of the kitchen, the Chef’s Table is prepared for you to sit down and to watch the kitchen – perfect view and interesting to follow what they do throughout the night. At first, water is served, still water. Which was a bit surprising to me that they did not ask if anybody wanted sparkling water, but I suppose that is just part of the deal.

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The first course was a “flower head, a sphere of tiger milk (which is part of ceviche usually), and finally a vegetables based ceviche with cactus, mango, and apple”. The ceviche was very close in its taste to original ceviche – again, a nice surprise!

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After the starters, a couple of aperitivo courses were served – starting with “Oda al Maíz: crema maíz, helado maíz, polvo palomitas, maíz en texturas. Espuma de hierbas y lima, pesto pinones, queso panela”. So the majority of the dish was corn – which made a bit skeptical but I must say …

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… especially the finish with the “corn cream” was actually lovely. The combination of different textures (crunchiness of the corn, the creaminess of the cream, and the cold of the ice cream) while having an intense but not overwhelming corn taste made it another good dish.

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The “Ensalada Tibia de Bogovante en texturas. Minibrotes y flores. Causa de ají. Nachos en “Triguisar”. Aguacate trufado, rábanos al Mezcal y fondo clarificado de maíz” was of refreshing nature and a good start into the heavier dishes.

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The next one was definitely heavier – not so much because of the taste, but very much so because of the way it is presented, i.e. the ‘plate’: “La Boca: Ceviche de erizo, crema de ají, maíz ahumado y lima congelado”. Basically, the plate is the dentures of one of the chefs – and the ceviche is served in its palate. Definitely something I have never tried before! And you would have to lick out the dish from the end of the dentures – also something quite uncommon! But it was tasty and had a nice sweet note to it.

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The first actual main course was “Salmonete Titoté en papillote de hoja de plátano con arroz de coco caramelizado y chayote abigarrado. Salsa Hogao”. The fish was wrapped in the banana leaves which you’d have to remove before eating – definitely a sound dish.

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It was served with an “emulsión de coco y ajo negro” which was prepared with liquid nitrogen in front of you.

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The ice cream has a intense coconut flavour but the black garlic somehow doesn’t really push through too much – which, I guess, is a good thing.

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It is a long ago that I have had an oral orgasm but the “Ajiaco sin agua, texturas de patata. Pollo de coral a las “Guacas”. Laminas aguacate, alcaparras fritas. Mantequilla de cebollino” definitely did the trick for me. The smoothness of the dish, the way it is thought through definitely makes it one of the best dishes I have had in quite a while. The texture of the ajiaco, the chicken, and the guacamole together makes it perfect.

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The last main course was a”Morrillo de Cebú en salsa panela, y mole Spoonik, ensalada de pico de gallo con suero costeño y guacahumo”. The meat was perfectly cooked so it basically fell apart if you’d strike it with a fork. The guacamole added its part to make it a great dish.

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The dish came with a little drink – but the drink came too late. While generally the service was great as they were attentive and did a very good job especially on the chef’s side, I sometimes had the feeling that the coordination was not top notch. I mean, I mentioned the water earlier; secondly if the side parts of a dish are not served at the same time as the dish, or if the water glass is not regularly re-filled then I’m ‘complaining’ on a high level but if you want to achieve top notch, then also these details matter.

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Before the desserts, let me also lose a moment on the ‘Maridaje Singulares’ aka ‘Wine Pairing’ (EUR 65.00). They are way too generous for my personal gusto – and too quick. If you serve me a glass for every two courses, then you should make sure that it is a) served before the actual courses and b) explained before the actual courses are served so you can c) achieve the ‘pairing character’ of the maridaje. Unfortunately, that didn’t always happen.

As a first dessert, respectively to tease your palate, they served ‘liquid mango in a nitrogen sphere’ which looked like an egg yolk.

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The first actual dessert course was “Yogurt Natural: 7 texturas”. So seven textures of natural yogurt. Definitely and interesting choice but at first you might also think a boring one. The opposite! The yogurt textures are incredibly rich and interesting!

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With the second last course I realized the first and only mistake of the kitchen – in the “Otoño: Frutas tratadas y helado especiado”. While the other guests had a rather large amount of crumbles, my plate barely had any. Not a problem for me but given the level to be achieved, I would say, the dishes should all look the same – especially if you only have one menu and ‘just’ have to do the same plate for one course.

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To finish off the dinner before going home, “petit four: caseros” were served. Simple but rich. And this with a “cold brewed Colombian coffee” – incredibly tasty.

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And finally, to go home, you would get some candy – which was incredibly tasty the next morning.

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Overall, if you are in Barcelona, you should definitely pay the Restaurant Spoonik a visit! Definitely an outstanding experience of two great chefs combining Colombian with Mexican flavours! Booking in advance is recommended and actually absolutely a must! Thanks Jon and Jaime for a great evening!

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Contact Details:

Restaurant Spoonik

Calle de Bertran 28

08023 Barcelona (ES)

Tel.: +34 93 488 64 84

Cell: +34 648 085 209

E-Mail: spoonik@spoonik.com

Homepage: http://www.spoonik.com

About the Author:

I started the blog in October 2009, while living in Milan which I definitely consider to be one of the food capitals of the world. I was in touch with food since my early childhood (as my father is a former chef). Whenever I can, I travel the world to discover new places, to meet people but mostly to try local dishes and to find hidden gems! If you know a place worth going, please drop a line to: info@thediningexperience.org. Currently, I am a member of the following food-related associations: Chevalier @Chaîne des Rôtisseurs Zurich-Ville; Membre Gourmet Dégustateur @Ordre Mondial des Gourmets Dégustateurs [OMGD]; Gesellschafter @Goldener Fisch and Member @Slowfood Convivium Zurich City.
EUR 175.00 (incl. tip) Filed in: Barcelona (E), Restaurants
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