Restaurant Estrella — Restaurant in Barcelona

What an utter delight! Not far from the beach in Barceloneta down a quiet alley... We were the first ones there for lunch, so it was a quiet start, but the place was packed by the time we left.

The staff determined immediately that we weren't fluent in Catalan and brought out the English menu. But the real treat was the owner walking us through everything - including the off-menu options. To begin with, he made it clear that their menu varies because everything is seasonal and market-fresh. Then, he pointed out all of the traditional Catalunyan dishes.

If it's available when you're there, do yourself a favor and order the winter cod salad. The depth of flavor in that dish was amazing - especially for something so very simple. Cod, roe, oranges, olive oil, dried tomatoes, and micro-greens. I'll remember that dish for years.

The tuna shoulder was another stand-out. The owner described it as a shoulder of tuna that's slow-cooked almost like a pork roast - so that it's falling-off-the-bone tender. When it came out, it looked so much like a roast that we had to take a second look. Only the shape of the tuna bones gave it away. It was so incredibly tender and rich, yet not heavy at all.

Finally, we had the lime and celery sorbet, which I thought might be just lightly flavored with celery to offset the lime. Nope. It had a strong celery flavor that held up perfectly against the lime. Neither one fought the other, but the contrast was simply remarkable.

Truly one of our favorite stops...

I made the reservation 3 weeks in advance for my trip to Barcelona. We arrive right on time and were the first people in the restaurant. The owner sat us right next to the entance to the toilets. In my book, this is very disrespectful when the entire restaurant is empty. When I asked for a different table, the owner told me he was fully booked. I wonder why he thought we were not worthy of a better spot. The food was ok, but nothing out of ordinary. Or maybe being disappointed on the first 5 minutes ruined the experience. When the wine finished earlier than our meals, I wanted to get a 2nd bottle. The guy forgot my request for the wine menu. He was obviously more tentative to other customers. Weird because I am pretty sure I was probably running one of the highest tabs that night. He remembered to bring the menu right around we decided to leave at 10 pm. Coincidentally, that’s the same time the last table was filled at a better spot. Maybe, the owner doesn’t think much of anyone under 50. As far as I could see, apart from us, that was the demographics of the clientele. This was one of rare occasions that I did not...

Astonishing food to a (for this quality and service) absolutely reasonable price. Service was very attentive and kind and the Owner (I suggest) himself came to the table to explain the seasonal dishes not found on the regular menu. We had sweet-Onion- and reindeer carpccio as startets. The croquettes were just out of this world (even though they're priced quite high at 7 € each) and the reminder carpaccio was tender and well balanced. As main course we had cod with black garlic and hake stuffed with scallops. Without any exaggeration the cod was one of the best fish-dishes I've ever tasted. The hake was great but a little unevenly salted, which wasn't a major drawback because the overall taste was still impeccable. As dessert we chose the Cheesecake with Pear-jam, which was very nice, and the Hazelnut dish, giving you a variety of hazelnut flavors containing ice, bread, cream and biscuits all made of hazelnuts. Also absolutely delicious.

All together among the best restaurants I've been to with a great service. Super clean spot, quick service and great food - absolutely recommend...