Restaurant Cal Pep in Barcelona

Cal Pep is undeniably a legend among Barcelona tapas bars. Over the last decades it gained a reputation for high-quality bar food, serving market fresh produce directly at the counter. Nowadays Cal Pep is a well-oiled machine, attracting many foodie-tourists and one can read in specialist forums that it has lost some of its glow. So I might have been a little late to experience the greatness of Cal Pep, but I guess I at least wanted to add the place to my list and maybe check what the hype is about. Cal Pep is always packed, but we didn’t have to wait too long to get a seat at the bar – I guess that it helps coming a little earlier or later than peak lunch hours. Once we got our seats, it went very fast as the waiter didn’t really hand a menu but rather urged us to pick one of his daily recommendations. We ended up having some Pa amb tomaquet, then a dish made of tiny fried fish and egg that we spotted in front of our neighbors, as well as some Rovellons mushrooms and Seabass a la plancha. I must say that the food tasted quite nice and that the freshness of the products was undeniable. I also enjoyed the busy, bar-like atmosphere – a communication with your neighbors is easily started. As I was seated directly behind the beer tap, I couldn’t resist opting for some draft Estrella, but from what I could see at my neighbour’s, they have some nice wines on offer. Regarding the check, they are definitely more pricey than many bars and restaurants out there, but you still get a fair amount of great food for it. We definitely had a good time.

You can spot Pep on the far right, a very outgoing personality.

Pan amb tomaquet

The small fried fish mixed with egg we had – the waiter does the mixing in front of you.

Et voila!

Rovellons a la plancha. This mushroom, scientifically denominated as Lactarius Deliciosus, is very popular in Spain although it is seen as a pretty average mushroom in some other countries (France for example). Although it has a somewhat particular, edgy taste, far away from the round, luscious taste of Ceps for example, I would definitely not call it un-delicious.