Tapeo Anem de Tapes (Barcelona, Spain)
After reading all about the fine eateries at the pinnacle of the culinary pyramid around Spain, a stop on the Iberian peninsula was a must for my Europe travels. Although San Sebastian with its insane concentration of top restaurants with three in the top 10 restaurants ranked by S.Pellegrino, it would have been my ideal stop over for pure food gluttony. Unfortunately due to obvious budget reasons (having spent a truckload of money in London, and with much more to spend in Bordeaux and Paris, I really had to pick and choose carefully) and time constraints, compromises had to be made. Destination: Barcelona. Food: avoid excess spending.
After a long days bus ride from Nice, across the rolling hillsides of the Pyrenees, we arrived late in the afternoon. If anyone has been to Spain, you would realise that the Spanish operate on a completely different time schedule than we do. Lunch is after 2pm, afternoon siesta is sometime in between, and dinner not until at least 9pm. So our arrival time was perfect to make the most of day one. Whilst everyone else was to have a quiet night before a big day of sightseeing, I managed to persuade a fellow tour mate to head out and sample (*ahem, more like gorge on) some true Spanish cuisine.
First up, dinner at Tapeo anem de tapes. Being ranked 6 at the time on tripadvisor, you can’t go wrong right? At 7pm the tables were pretty empty, but it is pretty early in Spanish times for dinner. Tables did not take long to fill though.
A small cosy space, with a modern and clean décor. Our graze begins with some sangria and beautiful olives to tickle the appetite.
Rabbit ribs – were the cutest little ribs, lightly golden, moist and incredibly moreish!
Potato omelette with smashed chorizo – was a hearty filler with crispy cuts of potato, mildly fiery fragrance of chorizo and a gooey egg yolk to bring it all together.
Squid Stuffed Sanfaina. The squid was incredibly fresh and perfectly cooked, neither chewy nor squishy. Within was a mushroom stuffing that added layers of earthy, savoury flavour.
La bomba – a simple classic of meat and potato in a deep fried ball. Nothing too impressive here.
Patatas bravas – more chips slathered generously with a tomato-paprika sauce, and aioli. I realise looking at the photos now, that we actually had a lot of potato. Not that I was really complaining. Nom nom nom.
Glazed beef cheeks – Oh-My-God! These beef cheeks were so amazingly soft, succulent and had a sticky caramelised glaze adding to the sweetness of the flesh. I could not fault the beef cheeks, but having had many renditions of this back in Melbourne, I would have liked a smear of Movida’s cauliflower puree to complement the meat.
Rating: Yummy+2. Easily one of the best tapas I have had. Given the amount of online publicity this place receives, there is no doubt a degree of touristy-feel with dearer prices, but nevertheless remains far cheaper than Melbourne. In the grand scheme of things, it offers a sleek dining ambience and simple but excellent tapas that I would have again any day.
After only 6 courses of tapas, there would normally be room for more food and dessert to say the least. Another serving of the glazed beef cheeks would have been a reflex reaction. But I cannot say I had any of the desserts here. Why? Because I had prearranged a dessert degustation to ensue immediately after dinner… So stay tuned for dessert at Espai Sucre…
[Tapeo anem de tapes]
Where: Carrer de Montcada, 29. 08003 Barcelona, Spain.
Close to the Church of Santa Maria del Mar, in the Gothic quarters.
When: Tues-Sat from 12:00 h to 00:00 h. Sun 12:00 h to 16:00 h.
Note: No Reservations.
Related posts on food adventures around the world:
Almost Always Ravenous 
Oh memories! This was my favourite place in Europe! Went back there 2 nights in a row. Absolutely delicious. You didn’t have the eggplant cubes! That was amazing also.
i had a 6 course dessert to go to afterwards =P. had to leave SOME space
Omg WOW what a seriously mouthwatering post, Allan. I really want to try those rabbit ribs too! I’m sure I’ll love it a lot. Everything else has me salivating too from the stuffed squid to glazed beef. Seriously great shots!
I dragged myself out to eat whatever and whenever I could whilst in Europe. That’s what it is all about when travelling.
Reblogged this on global_food.
We have a planned Barcelona re-visit in May and have lined up 3 days in Barca… Now might just have to knock off earlier in Bordeaux and add a couple of “extras” in Barcelona.
I think you might have to. =)