Roca Moo, in hip Hotel Omm, is a partnership with the world-famous Roca brothers, the chefs behind El Celler de Can Roca, an hour away in Girona. This year El Celler de Can Roca finally made in to the top spot in the list of the best restaurants in the world.
After patiently sitting on nine month-long waiting list, my mother and I bagged a table at El Celler de Can Roca last summer, and it was phenomenal. Since they've snatched the best in the world title from Noma, the waiting list has dragged out to over 12 months.
If you're too impatient to wait that long, or, like us, your trip to Cataluña is a rather more last-minute affair, Michelin-starred Roca Moo is a taste of the Roca brothers' experimental cuisine, without the wait, and with a less hefty price tag.
The room is sleek, small but spacious; slender birch trees are a nod to the trees dotted around the dining room at sister restaurant El Celler, and the plates are Moo- and Omm-branded.
I'd usually be suspicious of restaurants in hotels, but a slatted bookcase separates the restaurant from the lobby whilst still involving the noise and atmosphere from the bar next door. The cold kitchen is in the restaurant itelf, adding an element of show-cooking.
Amuse-bouches are always my favourite, maybe because you don't know what to expect before they arrive. Of the array of tiny bites which appeared on our table in an endless stream, my favourite were tiny frozen Campari and strawberry bonbons; their fragile, frozen shell breaks as you put them in your mouth, and warm Campari oozes out. They came with tapioca pearl clusters, an experimental take on patatas bravas, and herring caviar and sesame mayonnaise.
We went for Joan Roca's eight course tasting menu - a similar, although shorter, menu to those on offer at El Celler, with matching wines, almost all European, most of them Spanish.
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| Carrot cream, foie gras and green cardamom |
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| Mushroom omelette with white Catalan sausage: the fragile shell split to reveal the near-liquid mushroom and egg "omelette" inside |
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| Pork tail with tomato and black garlic: a curious take on a pork sandwich, with gourmet Roca versions of ketchup, mayo and mustard |
Since starting this blog I've become one of the people I used to hate, who take photos of their food in restaurants. But I'm very grateful that I did (and that on leaving you're presented with a menu of everything you've had) - looking back now, my memory's hazy... maybe that was the endless stream of perfectly matched and meticulously explained wines.
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| "Pigeon and corn" - intensely rich meat and super-sweet sweetcorn, both overwhelming on their own, but perfect together |
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| Pear, lemon verbena and tarrgon |
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| "Mandarin and chocolate" |
If you're in Barcelona, don't have 12 months to spare waiting for supper but want a taste of modern, inventive Catalan cuisine, Roca Moo is a great choice. Just remember to take pictures.
