Oria by Martín Berasategui — Restaurant in Barcelona

A theater starts from the wardrobe, a restaurant experience starts from a reservation. One can reserve a table fully online, usually it doesn’t require making it several months in advance - pop in one roughly one week before the planned time and you should be good to go. The reservation takes longer than expected because it asks for a prepayment of 45€ per person to guarantee the spot, so one has to enter the credit card details.

The restaurant (situated in a nice boutique style 5* Monument Hotel) can boast of a space well planned with a clever zoning by lighting and tables/casual lounges positioning. The design is elegant but not excessive.

We went for a medium-size “Custom made menu”. The size (and the price - 75-95-115€€) differs in the amount of starters (from 2 to 4). You will be asked for personal preferences and intolerances and the final selection is supposed to be tailored to your taste which is a nice touch that is more and more present in Michelin-star restaurants.

The appetizers are a selection of three one-bites. Bacalao was lacking texture and taste, but the crust with salmon was spectacular.

The selection of breads is good, the butters are a classic trio featuring rosemary and calamata ones, olive oil (we were offered 1 variety only) is a good quality and the salt is by demand.

The first starter surprises by a “fake” truffle and is well-elaborated with a foie gras of a good quality (please, ask the personal to use the classic French pronunciation, [graS] kills the ear).

The second starter was a “vegetable soup” and was the dish to remember due to the variety of tastes and the combination of creamy and crunchy textures that vegetables allow for. Many compliments to the chef! However, avoiding the crunchy texture of fresh vegetables and leaves was one of the personal preferences of my partner (asked as a part of the “customization” process) - but he got the same plate as me.

The third starter was a classic bull tail - traditionally soft meat but nothing more.

The first main plate was fish for me and lamb for my partner. The fish was definitely delicious combined with the sauce. However, there was sand in one of the navajas that brought an unpleasant moment of wondering hasn’t my tooth been destroyed (luckily not).

The lamb featured a fatty part which was cold and unpleasantly impossible to eat, although the meat itself was nice.

The meat, presa ibérica, was medium raw (however, I asked for al punto) and I would say that this particular meat asks for “done” - it would be nice if the waiters would suggest the right level also based on the quality of meat - in its medium raw variance it was definitely lacking flavor and the texture reminded gelatin.

My main compliment goes to the pastry chef. Pre-dessert did an awesome job of cleaning the mouth with its fresh and vibrant flavor and taste.

The “citrus” plate was boasting of different textures and a good play of sweet and sour and an elegant combination with tiny basil leaves is a nice flavor twist.

Petit-fours with its “Oria-oreo”, piña colada marshmallow and a mini variation of tatin were delicious. However, the fourth one, made on a macaroon base left a strange feeling of the need to use an unsuccessful macaroons batch (they featured that sinful “skirt” that appears when feet bulges outwards and were very chewy).

The personal is attentive and synced, however, when a gentleman attending us was informed about the sand in the fish dish, no reaction followed (seafood might be unpredictable, everyone knows, and nice polite apologies would do just fine).

That said, being a Michelin star restaurant, it definitely will provide you with an elegant ambient atmosphere and well-elaborated food. If you’re up for a nice dinner - go for it. But if you’re planning to surprise and make a night out of it -...

The food and ambience was great. Let me start with that. So what went wrong... Well I am American and wanted to book a Michelin star restaurant to offset being abroad on Thanksgiving. I attempted to pay with my Visa debit card and also my Chase Visa Marriott credit card. For whatever reason, the payment processing terminal that the restaurant would not process either cards. They kept loudly saying DECLINED, DECLINED, DECLINED causing others in the restaurant to take notice to the only brown people in attendance seemingly not being able to pay for their meal, which was not the reality.

I checked all my accounts and ample funds were there and the financial institutions had been informed I was traveling so there was no type of block on the cards either. I asked the waitress to enter the card credentials manually if possible and was told that "they didn't know how". By this time, my date/ companion had become embarassed and uncomfortable wishing to leave. She attempted her own debit (Mastercard) and it went through successfully with members of the staff chuckling assuming that we were without the funds and dismissing us into the night. We had gone to several bars before the dinner with zero issues paying and severl bars after the dinner such as Curtis, Hemingway Bar and others with no problem using the same cards. I did one more test purchasing several waters on the way home with the same cards from the supermarket also with no issue. Assuming there was no malicious intent... I'd have to conclude that the Credit card terminals in use were either out of date , faulty OR the workers were not trained on them properly to accept American cards. Either way, this is not the experience I'd expect from a world class Michelin rated restaurant and it severely impacted the overall dining experience as this episode overshadowed what should have been a beautiful dining experience. ...

My experience here was phenomenal despite the fact that I did not like some of the courses. Let me elaborate-- my palate hasn't acquired the taste for many flavors used widely in the restaurant business. For someone like me, eating a set course menu can be anxiety inducing since I have a limited range of food I can consume, but this was part of a birthday surprise for my spouse whose palate appreciates a wider spectrum of flavors.

Many of the courses were delicious and such an exciting new experience for my palate! I also have to spotlight the complexity of the foams, sauces, garnishes, etc. with each plate which were really really good (it left me wanting more). Additionally, the plating was a work of art, the restaurant had limited seating so it was serene even at capacity, and the service was flawless (shout out to Abdul who gave a polished and exacting introduction of every single dish set on our table) -- all in all, it gave the feeling of indulgent luxury.

The only constructive feedback is dessert: I was served two dessert courses and both had citrus. Only one dessert should have had citrus, two is overkill - even my spouse (who eats everything) didn't like the back to back citrus desserts.

If you're a picky eater like me and want to experience a luxurious set course menu - try Oria; of course, you might not like all courses, but it's par for the course when you're a picky eater and I'd still recommend this restaurant as your palate will still dance around at some...