Focus on Desserts
As you know we have teamed up with Sant Aniol in a series discovering fun and unique gastronomic offers in Barcelona and surroundings. I find Sant Aniol the perfect partner for this journey, I am so fascinated by their unique water! It comes from the volcanic zone in beautiful La Garrotxa, a region in Girona, from a depth of 115 meters. A slope located in an area of sedimented lava and volcanic rock makes Sant Aniol a water of great purity and excellent qualities, and it is the only water on the peninsula that has been filtered through volcanic rock! I find it really cool.
Sant Aniol. Photo © Barcelona Food Experience.
This time we focus on pairing Sant Aniol with desserts! We have gone on a tour around the city, tasting delicious desserts, and obviously we want to share the delicious result with you..!
Buscatrufas dessert att Nectari, Barcelona. Photo: Nectari.
First out is Nectari, a gorgeous Michelin-star restaurant with chef Jordi Esteve creating innovative dishes based on Mediterranean cuisine with Japanese touches. The perfect combination of innovation and tradition! The intriguing dessert we focus on here is called Buscatrufas, and the idea behind it is to bring the mountain to the table. It is a flower pot with edible soil, where you can find delicious truffles inside. On top of this beauty you can see a little forest made with rosemary flowers, thyme, seasonal herbs and a shovel to look for the truffles with, just as the name suggests. The truffles are false truffles: filled with truffle ice cream and covered with chocolate. Doesn’t that sound absolutely amazing..?
Braç de Gitano with Bailey’s at Pepa Bar, Barcelona. Photo © Barcelona Food Experience.
Next stop on our journey is Pepa Bar a Vins. You know what a soft spot I have for this place, don’t you? It used to be a book shop and it is now a very cozy and romantic wine bar with delicious and innovative food, perfect to share. And their desserts are, as expected, fantastic. It is a traditional Braç de Gitano with Bailey’s. It is a soft , rolled up sponge cake with a beautiful layer of Bailey’s cream and also a lemon cream to give it a citrusy touch. Once cut up, just before serving, they finish it with a topping of burned egg yolk and small crunchy pieces of chocolate on top. The team at Pepa Bar explains that they were very excited to add this dish to the menu, as a homage to their childhood and those wonderful Sundays with the family, sharing the dessert… Just like they want it to be at Pepa Bar: making every day into a Sunday, surrounded by family. I love how these guys think! Read my review of lovely Pepa Bar here.
Sweet dessert dumplings at Dr Zhang Dumplings, Barcelona. Photo: Dr Zhang Dumplings.
Dr Zhang Dumplings has become one of the most popular Asian restaurants in Barcelona, and it is easy to see why. Their dumplings are served in many forms, with numerous different fillings, and the place itself is cozy, cool, and inviting. They even have sweet dumplings, and the ones in the photo are fried wonton filled with cheesecake (!) and quince, doesn’t that sound like a dream? I love innovative and fun desserts like these.
Passion Fruit Dragonball at Mutenroshi, Barcelona. Photo © Barcelona Food Experience.
Mutenroshi is a popular ramen and tapas place in Gracia, with a very loyal customer base. They are playful with both their Dragonball theme and in their kitchen. They serve comforting ramen dishes and fun tapas fusioning local delicacies with a Japanese flair. Their signature dessert is without a doubt the Passion fruit Dragonball: a gorgeous, home-made passionfruit semi mousse, with a tasty, and creamy inside. How could you resist this..?
Ugot Bruncherie, Barcelona. Photos: Ugot Bruncherie.
Ugot Bruncherie is one of a kind. The place itself is wonderfully cozy, and you could stay here forever. Lovely music plays in the background, you can’t take your eyes off the flamingo wallpaper, and if you manage to snatch a table by the bookshelf in the corner you’re in luck. The brunches here are epic, as are the fun and inventive cheesecakes that come in amazing flavors. Check out their hashtag #1001cheesecakes (see photo above), with all the incredible cheesecakes they come up with. What about Mississippi with peanut butter, grilled banana, bacon crunch and honey? Or the sumac cheesecake with a granola base, suite chocolate and lemon cream? Or caramelized peach, blueberries and cardamom. These are all one-off flavors, so make sure to enjoy it before they’re gone!
Cheesecake at Bar But, Barcelona. Photo © Barcelona Food Experience.
Bar But has been a Gracia favorite ever since its opening. They focus on great, fresh ingredients, and manage to make quite the creations in their tiny kitchen. The walls are clad with changing art exhibitions, the space is cozy, and their opening hours (from early morning until late at night) means this easily can turn into your reoccurring hangout. They have a great lunch menu, and of course wonderful, home-made desserts. Just look at their big, creamy cheesecake! Another showstopper on their dessert menu is the chocolate ganache that comes served with olive oil, bread, and salt: a traditional dessert that you know I have a very weak spot for…
Dessert at Monvinic, Barcelona. Photo: Bea Schulze.
Monvinic has quite a reputation, with Wall Street Journal (!) mentioning it as one of the best in the world for its wines. Every little detail in the restaurant is designed around the amazing wine-tasting experience here, and obviously the food is up to par. In the photo above you can see a magnificent creation made with chocolate ganache, nougatine and mandarin orange sorbet. Chef Ariadna Julian really knows what she’s doing. And you can be certain you’ll have the perfect wine pairing with your dessert.
Stewed red fruit with yoghurt foam at Can Boneta. Photo: Can Boneta.
Can Boneta is a lovely restaurant that many might not have have heard of, but one that you need to add to your To Go-list as soon as possible. Their menu consists of familiar, traditional Catalan dishes, but with their own innovative touch. Their lunch menu is excellent. Desserts, you ask? They also serve my favorite classic with chocolate, olive oil and salt (and ice-cream, too), and creations such as the one in the photo above: red fruit stew with yoghurt foam.
