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Inopia
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Restaurant
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Barcelona
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Open:
Dinner Tue - Sat
Price:
Moderate
Score (/20):
15.5
Reviewed By
Sue Dyson and Roger McShane
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Phone Number:
93 424 52 31
Address:
Tamarit 104
Eixample Esquerra, 08015
Country:
Spain
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Sadly, Inopia has closed! There is talk of a larger project in Barcelona involving Albert and Ferran Adria, however.The review below is provided for historical interest as it was such a great place!===========================================An unexpected chance to spend some time in Barcelona is an opportunity to relish. Not only is this city home to the great futuristic architecture of Gaudi, it is in the vanguard of the modern food movement as well. However we decided that we would eat at a place that pays homage to the traditional food of the region but in a modern setting with very modern service and ambience.Inopia is one of the coolest, most sought-after places in Barcelona serving some of the best tapas style food in the city. We loved the precision of the cooking, the friendliness of the staff and the slickness of the operation. While the place is very modern and the staff look like they have just stepped off a movie set, the food is deeply rooted in the traditions of Catalan cuisine.When we arrived soon after 9pm (we know that 9pm is early for dining in Spain but we were anxious to get a seat!) there was already a queue that required a wait of over an hour. The staff were very good at queue management and we eventually were seated at a bar overlooking the action. Once seated there was no attempt to hurry us or to speed up our meal to make way for others.We were pleased to see a Bodegas Creciente Luna Albarino in the cooler. This wine with its attractive white label highlighted with stars and crescent moons is from the Rias Baixas region of Spain not too far from the estuarine town of Pontevedra. This is a wine whose low price does not reflect its quality. It is a lovely wine which is just perfect for sultry Spanish summer nights.Our first food order was from the section of the menu devoted to anchovies. Even though we were in Barcelona on the Mediterranean shores we decided to back our judgement that the anchovies of Cantabria on the Atlantic side of Spain would be superior to those from l'Escala near Roses to the north. And the Cantabrian anchovies were from San Filippo which is a highly respected processor of these miracle fish. Two meaty fillets bathed in limpid gold olive oil arrived at the table. They are possibly the best we have ever eaten and confirmed our preference for the Atlantic variety.Barbate Mojama was seven rectangles of glistening dried tuna with a small mound of contrasting salty roast almonds on the side. This dish appeared to be simple but the flavours were complex and exciting. This was followed by a simple tomato, olive and anchovy salad.Next we thought that we should see if the tinned products were worth the publicity or whether it was a case of the emperor's new clothes. With the tinned tuna belly there was a choice of producers. We were offered either Agromar or La Brujula. Tinned tuna belly sparkling with salt flakes and drizzled with olive oil soon appeared. It turned out to be very good. The texture was typical of a canned product but the flavour was substantial and the accompanying olive oilseem to lift the flavours even more.Our visit to Bacelona was at the end of a year of eating great sandwiches. We had been lucky enough to try pulled pork sandwiches at Boulettes Larder and at Sentinel in San Francisco. We had northern Chinese mantou at Momofuku in New York. We had walked for kilometres to sample the Vietnamese sandwich called Bahn Mi at Saigon Sandwich in Paris. So, when we saw a simple sandwich of jamon Iberico and mozzarella served t a nearby table we immediately requested the same. It was stunning. The cheese was meltingly soft and unctuous and the jamon punctuated the suppleness with spikes of intense flavour. The toasted bread added a light crunch to form a perfect package.Croquetes casolanes de pernil iberic were four golden mini-logs that were crisped to perfection on the outside and soft and creamy on the inside. They were almost too perfect. We have eaten a lot of these Spanish delicacies but the ones we sampled here were certainly some of the best we have eaten. And , by the way, we read a review recently where the author questioned why people would queue to eat simple peasant food and singled out these croquettes as an example of how diners here are being 'duped'. Well he just doesn't get it. Peasant food cooked perfectly is just as satisfying and just as exciting to stumble across as the very finest of three star cuisine. Some of our greatest food experiences have been in the back streets of Asia ordering food from local vendors or in the Spanish, Italian or French countryside eating local dishes. So we are happy to queue for local dishes such as this.We were approaching the end of the meal by now but couldn't pass up a deeply-flavoured stew of pork sausage and mushrooms served in a cocotte. Similarly we decided to try the very simple, yet perfectly-cooked skewer of lamb with salt. This is such a simple dish but when it all the elements come together it is such a special treat. We thought it was as good as a similar dish we had tried over 25 years ago in the central market in Thessaloniki in northern Greece.These last few dishes were accompanied by the good-value, pleasant Rioja from Sierra Cantabrias.Dessert was, of course, a crema catalonia (or egg custard as the English menu stated) which was accompanied by the traditional caramel sauce. We also had a fromage frais (called Drap Mato or cloth curd) which came with a jar of 'Mel de Romani' or rosemary honey from Roses near the border with France. Both were excellent.We had lots of fun in this great establishment and were impressed by both the quality of the food and the friendly, helpful service. There is little doubt that it will be one of the first places we head to on our next visit to this great city.
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