Restaurant Comerç 24* – “Catalasian” cuisine in Barcelona

Carles Abellan, one of the former disciples of Ferran Adria, has built up a small empire of restaurants in Barcelona. His flagship restaurant is Comerç 24, where he serves a cuisine which makes use of molecular techniques he learned at El Bulli, but cares to accentuate the subtle flavor of the produce rather than emphasizing the gimmick. While his cuisine is based on many Catalan ingredients from the mountain and the sea, there is also a clear inclination towards Asia, so I decided to call it “Catalasian” (Catalan and Asian) cuisine.

The restaurant is not a quiet place, many waiters are walking back and forth to the kitchen. The pace seems to be quite high, as in a brasserie. There is a front room with a bar counter and a back room with a more formal dining room, which seems modern as well, but a certain darkness makes it somewhat comfy. The iron bars behind the windows on the other hand give it an odd vibe, so I guess the general atmosphere is “something in between”. We sat at a round table in the corner and opted for the large degustation menu.

Comerc24 Trompeta de la Muerte Infusion

Smoky “Trompeta de la Muerte” Infusion – An interesting dish to start with. It had mushroom aroma, but also reminded of black tea. Definitely a signal that an uncommon meal is about to start.

Comerc24 Cauliflower ginger rice vinegar

Cauliflower – ginger – rice vinegar – Again an intriguing dish with clear Asian inclination, think of pickles with a light Sushi flavoring because of the rice vinegar and the ginger. A nice crunchy snack.

Comerc24 Monkfish  black sesame  black garlic

Monkfish – black sesame – black garlic – Another great starter with extremly tender monkfish lying on black sesame and black garlic paste, emphasizing earhty flavors.

Comerc 24 pizza 24

Pizza24 – a thin and crunchy “coca” (the pizza of Ibiza) topped with cherry tomatoes, mozzarella, high-quality anchovies and a few salad leaves. Nothing out of the ordinary, but well executed and tasty.

Comerc24 sponge ceviche

Sponge ceviche – A sponge mushroom that mysteriously transports the acidic flavors of ceviche, obviously with lime, but definitely also with a little cilantro. A few seconds after biting into it a spicy heat comes up and lingers on. A snack with an afterburner which I enjoyed much!

Comerc 24 Beach shrimp Ceviche

Beach shrimp Ceviche – ceviche granite, peach ice cream and coriander. Fruity, spicy, with tender shrimp. Interesting, but not as compelling as the previous dishes, maybe a little over engineered.

Comerc 24 beet oyster

Beet Oyster  – a nice oyster with lingering sea aromatics. The beetroot didn’t add much though.

Comerc 24 cockles dashi

Cockles Dashi – very subtle aromatics – not a loud dish at all. One that slows you down to some kind of meditation level. Cold dashi broth is poured on cockles which are caught in spheres with their juices. Those plop open o your palate and mix with the dashi. I’ve seen that other bloggers had this dish with sea urchin. I guess it would have added a lot of intensity and quite some contrast. But I enjoyed this subtle version a lot as well.

Comerc 24 Sardine orange wasabi

Sardine orange, fresh wasabi – a great dish with extremly tender marinated sardine in the lead role. Crumbles of a Catalan cookie containing orange blossom flavor impart crunch. This is a thought through and tasty dish with texture, flavor and freshness.

Albarino do ferreiro

What a great wine this Cepas Vellas Albarino Do Ferreiro – razor sharp with salty minerality, reminding great Sauvignon Blancs. It evolved continuously with airing. I once had the simple version (no old vines) of this Albarino which was already great – but this one blows your mind. Check it out.

At this point I have to mention the sommelier. A truly passionate man who exactly knows which wine he should recommend and he has plenty of gems in his list, some of them very rare and at a faire price. So for wineheads there is one extra-reason to drop by Comerç 24!

Comerc 24 poultry migas
Comerc 24 poultry migas

Poultry Migas – I felt sorry for the waiters having to carry around those heavy stones all the time, and which poor fella has to clean these? anyway

Comerc24 razor clams Zaru soba

Razor Clams Zaru soba – excellent product quality of those navajas, light sweetness of the flesh comes out so nicely.  I guess the idea was to combine traditional Catalan seafood with a Japanese way of serving it. It is good, but nothing huge in terms of creativity.

Comerc24 pizza sashimi

Pizza Sashimi – Again, great product quality, nice crunch, tasty food, but not a creative leap.

Comerc 24 tuna tartar

Tuna Tartar – “See description above” – basically the last three dishes could have been served at any better Japanese restaurant. I enjoyed eating these, but I don’t get the sense. Am I thinking to much?

Comerc 24 cod chard chick peas miso

Cod, Chard, Chick Peas, Miso – Again a good product with a very well cooked piece of cod and a dish that is a  little more creative than the previous ones. On the subtle side again, combining the very pure fish taste with hints of earthiness.

Comerc 24 duck rice foie

Duck rice, Foie – Nice texture with the crunchy rice next to the creamy Foie Gras.

Comerc 24 amazonic stingray

Amazonic Stingray – A very well cooked piece of stingray with a nice crust dressed with a lemony sauce that also contains a few chewy tapioca pearls – works well! An enjoyable dish.

Comerc24

Again a great wine recommendation- The Villa de Corullon is a superb wine made of the Mencia grape by Palacios. Not a bold jammy wine, but lots of freshness and spice next to dark fruit.

Comerc 24 veal cheack Pekin

Veal Cheek Pekin – tender veal with Asian allures in the sauce. Great pairing for the Corullon! ;=)

Comerc 24 cheese
Comerc 24 cheese

Cheese – great cheese selection and also good explanation of all the cheeses.

Comerc 24 chocolate goat fig

Chocolate goat fig – delicious first dessert.

Comerc 24 lemon ice tea

Lemon Ice tea

Comerc24

Nougat twin cigar

Comerc 24 recuit napolita

Recuit Napolità /Apple, saffron

Comerc 24 conguito

Conguito C,24

Comerc 24 petit fours

Oreo vanilla, black sesame

Wild pine nuts Chocolate

Gold bar

Matcha tablet

Unfortunately I am lacking time to describe all the desserts, but they were totally satisfying!

As a whole We had a good time at Comerç 24. Product quality and execution of the cooking are worthy of a Michelin-starred restaurant. In particular all seafood ingredients were top notch. I also enjoyed the wines and the sommelier input very much. If you like a good (not a huge one) wine list, check it out.

Regarding creativity, I had mixed feelings. In general, the more simple combinations (only 3-4 ingredients) were the more succesfull and I enjoyed the subtlety of the dishes. The more complex dishes (beach shrimp ceviche for example) were lacking powerful stance. Also, a few dishes just seemed Japanese and that’s it. Not a problem when it comes to taste, but not really the creativity I’d exepct in a Michelin-starred restaurant.

Still, the one star rating seems well deserved and if you’re looking for fine dining in this city, it’S definitely not the wrong place to go!

 

Restaurant Comerç 24

Carrer Comerç 24
08003 Barcelona
Spain

Phone: +34 933 19 21 02

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