Contracorrent Bar — Restaurant in Barcelona

My husband and I stumbled upon this place after a tour of La Sagrada Familia, which is a short distance from the Bar. The neighborhood was full of locals walking, playing football, shopping… Catalonian daily life on full display. We arrived about an hour early for our 8:00 pm reservation (typical Americans) and were greeted by the owner and his wife, an Italian couple with culinary roots all over Europe. We were quickly whisked to an out-door table for two facing the promenade-the next two hours was one of the top three culinary experiences of our lives. (And we have dined at three star Michelin) A crisp local white wine accompanied plate after plate of intense and astonishing flavors. Steak tartare with olive oil, with a hint of heat from a Serrano pepper was a revelation. A squash blossom filled with salted cod and lightly deep fried was so good it left my husband speechless, which is not an easy task. Our waiter and the sous chef , a recent transplant from Paris, also provided color and detail as we worked our way through the menu. Locally sourced, the menu changes with the product available. The wines are organic and beautifully curated and ridiculously inexpensive. In fact, the quality of the food, the attention to detail on presentation, and the knowledge, skill, and hospitality make this an absolute must destination. We have reservations at a three star Michelin in Girona, but we have already made reservation to return to Contracorrent Bar upon our return to Barcelona. I wonder if El Celler can Roca...

This place was recommended by a few friends who are locals and we were expecting great things. However, we were very disappointed. While the wines are excellent and the staff very knowledgeable, the food was a total let down. Perhaps we were unlucky as we know the menu is seasonable and changes weekly but each dish tried too hard; ingredients layered on more unnecessary ingredients making each dish merge into the other, and the food was overly salty too. Sometimes simpler is better. Cardamon pods added to lentils, for example, and artichokes butchered to the point that they resembled a bad version of patatas bravas. While the ingredients were fresh, everything was overly done - it was like the chef just didn't know when to stop adding to each dish. This view was shared amongst the 4 of us who dined here. Such a shame as I think the place has a lot...

We took 6 positions from the menu. The food was weird - almost everything was too salty or too soury (the tartar, the tongue), nothing was impressive to go with the wine (when the food has that much flavour it is not a good pairing). Also you have to pay 3 euro for bread, each portion separately - quite surprising for a place like that. No water on the table, fine, but bread. Together with quite unimpressive kitchen and the overall bill 120 euro for a light dinner - we were disappointed. Also very few glass options (only one orange, 3 reds), especially for a Saturday night (the bartenders usually open new bottles every weekend so everyone has options and you can try a lot, not the concept here). We found the place on the Raisin app which usually delivers best natural wine places -...