Eclectic loveliness in the heart of Barcelona

Note: This is not, never has been, and isn’t going to become a restaurant review website. There are already more than enough of them out there, and I’m not a restaurant critic.

Despite that, every so often you discover somewhere to eat that just excites you enough to want to let the world know about it. Whenever that happens, you will find a post about it here!

This week I discovered my new favourite bar/restaraunt in Barcelona, then the next day I rediscovered it, and if it weren’t for the fact that it is closed on Sundays I might have gone to discover it all over again today.

In a nod to the ever shrinking international world that we live in, the waitress was Swiss (and lovely), the chef was Irish (and talented), the decor a bit all over the place, and the food on the lunchtime menu was inspired by Persian/Lebanese cuisine. In the evening the menu gets a bit more eclectic, with influences from all over the place.

It’s called Kabara, and can be found on Calle Junta de Comerç, in Raval, Barcelona.

The decor is inviting, the staff fantastic, the ambience is really relaxing, and the food is original and very tasty. The extra special bonus, and this is a rarity in Barcelona, is that the prices are also great.

The food

We tried twelve dishes over two days, and I liked every single one of them. In fact, the only two faults I can pick with anything is that I didn’t particularly like the texture of the pureed potato that came with one dish, and that some salad leaves hadn’t been drained well after being washed and it made the side salad taste watery.

Everything was beautifully spiced, all meat was tender and there was a wonderful fresh and clean feeling running through all of the dishes.

My favourites included:

Aubergine kashk with Persian sauce

Similar to aubergine caviar (see recipe here), but completely different at the same time. I don’t know exactly what was in it, but you could taste aubergine, salt, lashings of olive oil, something citrusy, and of course kashk. Served with Arabic bread, it is a really great way to start a meal.

Goats cheese salad with dates and bacon

A really nice salad with a young Catalonian goats cheese, juicy dates, crispy bits of bacon and walnuts, with a variety of green leaves.

Chicken & lamb skewers

Such a simple dish, pieces of spiced chicken and lamb grilled on skewers and served with rice. It might be simple, but it was also sublime, both the lamb and chicken were beautifully spiced, and cooked perfectly.

Lemon sorbet with Limoncello

It is possible that there are more refreshing things in the world on a hot summers day than a lemon sorbet, but there can’t be many of them. The sorbet at Kabara was nicely made and then drowned in limoncello. Pure summery goodness!

Orange tiramasu

I love tiramusu, but what you find on most restaraunt menus is has little to no resemblance to a real Italian tiramusu. I am incredibly happy to be able to report that the tiramusu on the menu at Kabara is as good as the rest of their food. We tried both the strawberry tiramasu and the orange one, both were good, but the orange was better.

and the drink

A special mention has to be for the house white wine, which is a Catalonian blanc de blanc. It’s crisp and refreshing with summer fruit flavours. It strongly reminds me of a New Zealand Sauvignon blanc, but at a much lower price.

Oh, and the coffee is pretty good too.