Badger

Apr 19, 20183 min read

Lasarte

Updated: Aug 9, 2018

We were able to score reservations at 3-star Lasarte in Barcelona. It was exciting to see how the 3-star experience would be in Spain.

The restaurant is located in the Eixample district, nearby Xerta from the other night. We arrived at 8:30p right as they were getting ready to open for the night.

While we waited for the restaurant to open, we sat in the next door bar/lounge and enjoyed the decor.

Experimenting with portrait mode.

The door soon opened and we were ushered in to our table. The restaurant was very spartan, yet elegant.

The dishes as we sat down were really nicely designed.

We were offered rose or regular cava to start and we decided to start with rose.

We went with the tasting menu to try the best of what they had to offer.

They then brought out the first of many amuse bouches.

Then one of the coolest bread carts ever.

Carving us each a selection.

With a sampling of butters to try.

The olive oil was amazing, I think it could be my favorite ever.

A playful amuse of foie gras with a brûlée top.

Next up was a mousse with a bit of horseradish.

Then our first actual course of lightly poached oyster with iced watercress and foam. The oyster was nice and creamy.

The first wine of the pairing was a great crisp white that paired great with seafood.

The next course was a sea urchin curd with fresh sea urchin above and raddichio foam on top. This dish was very nice, had sea and earthiness, but cut through with the foam.

They brought a Rioja for MsFlamingo to try since she isn't a fan of whites. The Digma was excellent and she enjoyed it a lot.

Next course was a wagyu carpaccio with tarragon and frozen cheese powder. Tasty, yet not memorable.

A Pouilly-Fume was great, always great minerality.

Status check of the glasses :)

Next up, another egg-yolk hack, but this one was very nice. In addition to the fresh egg yolk, it was over a squid tartare that were like noodles and some type of crunchy topping. It all come together very nicely.

Next up was a beautiful presentation of an into the garden type of dish. Very fresh vegetables over a tomato gelee and dollops of flavorful cream.

Then a beautiful red prawn cooked perfectly. So sweet and tender!

Next up was a pinot noir style wine which I'm not normally a fan of, but went superbly with the next course.

The next course was a black truffle hare raviolo with sautéed artichoke and mushrooms. This was the star of the night in my opinion, incredible amounts of umami.

Next up was a great virrey fish tomatoes and a saffron puree. Very fresh and the crispy skin was excellent.

Then a Rioja as part of the official tasting. It had a strong fruit backbone, but I actually preferred MsFlamingo's Rioja more.

The final savory course of grilled venison was really nice. Often venison is chewy, but this was like a beef filet. Very nice!

Now time for the intermezzo which was phenomenal. It was a shiso and mint leaf sorbet with matcha "cake" pieces and milk crisps that brought this together.