Cinc Sentits — Restaurant in Barcelona

First of all, Central Europeans will be pleased to know that you can arrive at Cinc Sentits at 7 p.m. and already get something to eat. The restaurant is located in a side street not far from Placa L'Espanya and looks completely inconspicuous from the outside. Guests are asked to arrive on time, as the appetizers are served in a pretty, dark antechamber in front of the actual dining room, which only has room for a few guests.

(This is my subjective opinion about the food served. The rating refers to the expectations one might have (I have) of a restaurant in the one-star category. +/0/– should be self-explanatory)

The experience starts with appetizers in this interestingly designed room modeled after a forest, with a trio of olives, smoked trout, roasted chicken sandwich, and a vermouth-sake cocktail. (0)

After the change into the elegantly furnished and spacious dining room, another trio of appetizers is served, consisting of tuna belly, foie gras, and Wagyu. Everything is delicious, with the Wagyu praline with tartare, caviar, and fermented cream standing out—and, served on October 3, even featuring this guest's national colors on this guest's national holiday 😊 (+)

The first course looks beautiful (and) colorful, with the salty sardine balanced by vegetables and fresh cucumber foam. (0) The next course is all about tomatoes – it's nice to get really good-tasting tomatoes, but as a course in a 2-star restaurant, I find it a little unoriginal and bland. (-)

At Cinc Sentits, the bread also deserves a mention: both the brioche (with noisette butter) and the sourdough with two olive oils are fantastic. According to the recipe card, the Palamos prawn is the “star of the (next) dish” – and it is, with its perfect texture, but it has to be, because neither the bland broth nor the fennel foam contribute much to the flavor. A little disappointing. (-)

For me, the make-or-break course: white fish. Today it is Atlantic salt cod with artichoke purée and a jus to bathe in – one of the best fish courses in a long time – the texture and delicate flavor of the fish are breathtaking (+)

The ingredients and their integration into the next course are presented with additional information – which I find interesting and cool. The red wine I requested should have arrived by now, but unfortunately it hasn't appeared (the sommelier apologizes and means I should have asked again for the wine, because I had something else left to drink on the table - strange)

The meat course (for which the red wine was expected) is a letdown. The duck is not as tender as it should be and may have been left on the pass before serving, as the temperature was much too low, at best lukewarm. The flavor is good, but in my opinion not at a 2-star level.

The pre-dessert—a drink that has been on the menu since the restaurant opened—is delicious and does what it's supposed to do. The first dessert is a creation with variations of fig. Since I've never been a fan of figs due to their texture, I'm a little biased. (0, because my aversion is not the restaurants fault) The main dessert falls into the category of “style over substance” – but the presentation is really fun and it tastes good too (0). The experience ends with four delicious petit fours.

Overall, even though I chose the extended menu with two additional courses, it was the first time for a long time that I left a gourmet restaurant still feeling a little hungry. I was really surprised when the waiter told me the duck would be the last savory dish. In the end, the experience was nice but not on a high as expected. The issue with the wine… three out of five not so good plates… its not five (Google) stars, but better than four. In the end, I left a little bit disappointed, so the final...

We were very excited to eat here and got there half an hour before they opened and were the first two in line. When initially greeted, the host acknowledged our dietary restrictions and brought us in to the entry area where we were greeted with snacks, The first round of snacks brought out were taken back to the kitchen due to our dietary restrictions.

When we sat the Maitre D came over to discuss the meal, ask how serious our food allergies were and asked if we were celebrating anything; we were on our honeymoon. Throughout the evening it became evident that this conversation was not relayed to anyone else.

The menu comes out not as an actual menu but as a list of ingredients. This complicated the process when our server set us up for a course but while waiting for said course came back around to pour wine for the course to follow thinking we had just finished the last. I had to point out that we were still waiting on the initial. After we finished the meal and were given a copy of the menu, when we left the restaurant I realized the server had just skipped the first wine pairing course entirely. Menus are important, they keep the staff accountable.

The kitchen was behind the entire night which meant we were waiting a long time between courses. We sat patiently sipping our water and kept having to ask for refills as the wait time between courses became increasingly longer and staff became increasingly sparce. All of this was juxtaposed by a friend of the restaurant sitting at a table next to us being very well attended to which, was not our experience. Our experience included dirty glassware, that had to be replaced twice and the second time I asked it was explained to me the glass wasn't unwashed just badly polished. I understood this and also understood I was sitting in a 2 Michelin star restaurant being served a meal on dinnerware that only looked dirty.

While waiting for the last course I voiced our frustration about how slow the evening had been, the Maitre D' asked if it was "just too many courses for us". After he walked away I vocalize to my husband that they really didn't care. When the final course did arrive the person serving the food dropped it on our table, after he returned with a new plate I had to ask that the splattered food on the table be cleaned. At the end of the meal as I am asking for the bill to leave the chef came out to ask what had happened and explain the situation, it was appreciated but obvious most of our frustration had not been relayed to him.

All in all the experience felt rife with a lot of small errors from the entire front of house staff. A lack of communication exacerbated the situation and when addressed the response of the restaurant...

First, we had wonderful evening so all I am doing in the aftermath is nitpicking - but at this level of cuisine and price the satisfaction should last for a while. Easy things first. Service good, ambiance very reduced indeed (but to my personal taste - it is about food not decor) and generally a fairly relaxed, but slightly formal atmosphere. Apart from us only tables of 2, so quiet and chilling. Now to the slightly more difficult part. The quality of the food was impeccable and the craft of preparation also. Nevertheless, the more time passed after the visit, the stronger the following points seeped into my mind. 1. I did not really have a real, new taste-bud sensation aside the smoked chocolate in the desert - all yummy, but not surprising (and I don't go to star restaurants that often). The amuse geule was my favourite in total, but that unfortunately is not what you leave with The overall meal portions were on the small side. After 8 courses and plenty of bread aside I was still peckish. 8 courses were actually 7 - commercial pressure aside, a single (but very tasty) petit fours the size of a large amarettini is not a course! I have been to restaurants that serve an entire bakery platter with a coffee which might be OTT, but still... My final point - service is not included. Ok, maybe some countries have this standard - like the US, some vary - like the UK (pain in the A if you ask me) - and in some it is legally required to be included - like Germany, Austria, Italy, France etc. In Spain however, I have never come across a restaurant where it is not included (that's probably my good luck). It's actually less about the money, more about the fact that I haven't got the foggiest what service and tip should be under these circumstances and feel a bit lost as the last experience before leaving. The voter only remembers the last 6 months of a term and that was one of the first things I learnt in my 10 year gastro profession - and why you will always get a "free" Grappa or Limoncello (yuck) at your Italian.

So, to sum up: if your taste-buds feel like a solid, Mediterranean style palate, well prepared meal and don't yearn for a new and crazy sensation Cinc Sentits is perfect. The other points I mention are highly subjective and - other places, other rites! P.s - the accompanying wines were superb

Small set of 7 courses ;-) aperitif, water, coffee and 4 selected wines will set you back approx. 180 p.p.

The lady responsible for...