Batea - Modern Seafood Bistro
Batea is the new venture by the team behind one of my favorite Barcelona restaurants, Besta (read my review here). Transmitting my excitement to try it is next to impossible.
Batea, Barcelona. Photo © Barcelona Food Experience.
The idea behind Batea is to modernize the concept of a typical Marisqueria. Traditionally the marisquerías are fairly expensive, and the word “cool” might not be precisely the word we’d associate with them. The ingredients here are top-notch, just as at Besta, and the service is equally outstanding.
Batea, Barcelona. Photo © Barcelona Food Experience.
Batea breaks all rules here. First of all: the place is gorgeous. It’s located right by the hotel Avenida Palace, and the deco has a certain French flair to it. There’s a bar you can choose to sit by, or one of the cozy tables or sofas, or a booth.
The focus on the menu is twofold: cocktails and seafood. The cocktail concept is different and intriguing: they create cocktails based on seasonal ingredients. We had a wonderful Spritz made with Lillet Blanc, cava, a splash of absinthe, and, wait for it… field pea pods. It tasted so dreamy; you could very much distinguish the lovely, early-summer flavor of the pea pods!). The wine list offers wines from both the Atlantic and the Mediterranean; a flair that reflects the two-region philosophy of its sister restaurant.
Batea, Barcelona. Photo © Barcelona Food Experience..
The menu is divided into bites and dishes to share; all focused on fish and seafood. We began with a beautiful oyster aligned with a sauce with cilantro flowers and apples. It tasted just as incredible as it sounds.
Batea, Barcelona. Photo © Barcelona Food Experience.
The “mariscada fria” was next up: a seafood platter with three different types of clam. Let me tell you; you cannot go to Batea and NOT order this. The presentation is beautiful, and the clams all come prepared differently.
We finished the bites part of the menu with nigiri croquetas. They come served with the fish of the day, and the croqueta itself is amazingly crisp outside and is an explosion of salsa verde when you bite into it. Incredible. But the next dish blew my mind: the shrimp roll. A wonderful soft brioche comes filled with shrimp, and it is topped off with mayonnaise prepared with the infused flavors of shrimp heads. These shrimp heads are also dried to make a concentrated shrimp head dust. I have no words to tell you how delicious this was.
From there, we move on to dishes to share. First up is marinated mackerel with vegetables, a refreshing dish perfect for what is to come: the fried monkfish tail that comes with a refreshing citric mayonnaise.
Batea, Barcelona. Photo © Barcelona Food Experience.
Next up was crayfish with Agua de Lourdes, served with fresh bread, and finally acorn duck with red shrimp tartar. A fantastic finish to the savory dishes.
Batea, Barcelona. Photo © Barcelona Food Experience.
How could one leave without having dessert after all of this? We had a lovely cheesecake made with Galician cheese and an excellent flan with Chantilly.
Batea went straight up among my new favorite restaurants in Barcelona. The place is wonderfully unpretentious but beautiful; the staff is professional and friendly; the kitchen and bar are innovative, fun, playful, and surprising in a way that makes you want to visit again and again to try absolutely everything new. Besta almost managed to make me cry (read more here), and Batea makes me equally emotional for so many exciting reasons. This one is a keeper.
Batea, Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes 605, Eixample (Barcelona).
