Xerta Restaurant — Restaurant in Barcelona

Beware of choosing to dine here. Xerta, by far, was our worst dining experience in a recent two-week Spain-Portugal trip. This place does not deserve its Michelin accolade or your patronage. The treatment we received was degrading and infuriating and the food was so disappointing.

The 1st warning sign was when the host who checked us in had absolutely no smile on his face, not an ounce of friendliness. No one offered to take our coat, umbrella (it was a rainy day) and backpacks even though you can clearly see a coat rack in the hall way next to the restaurant entrance. The restaurant was 70% full, the space was clean and picturesque as shown on the internet. We were led to our table by Adil, who was later revealed to be the Maître D (more on this later).

The 2nd warning was when Adil came back to take our orders with no introduction of himself, the restaurant or explanation of the menu. I had to ask if he can explain the menu as there were a few tasting menus and a la carte options to choose from. He responded, appearing annoyed and pointing to my menu that was flipped to the Tasting Menu page, “eh these three are cold, the next three are hot dishes and the last ones are desserts. The items are all on here”, while gesturing to the whole menu. The lack of respect and professionalism from Adil appeared all too casual, I wondered if all patrons were treated this way. My instincts told me to leave at that point, but I wanted to give the food a chance and not make a scene. I wish I listened to my instincts in hindsight. We ended up ordering the Tasting Menu for our party of 5. I told Adil I am the only one that does not eat oyster in the group, he assured me that it would be substituted with fish. Instead, I received one less-than-fresh boiled (steamed?), unflavored shrimp. I was fine with that; it did seem odd that he didn’t know what he was talking about.

Courses were served and Adil did not return to our table again until the end. We did notice he would visit other tables multiple times and have friendly conversations. Could it be that we are Asians? We WERE the only table of Asians. Whatever his reason, we definitely felt the discrimination. Nearly all the dish introduction was left to our servers, who were essentially the only positive part of this whole experience. The gentlemen who brought out our food were as friendly and warm as can be. Presentation of the food was nice but the only course I enjoyed taste wise was the Chocolate Trio. The seafood in the appetizer was not as fresh as it should be. The tomato dish had clashing flavors, the blue cheese did not work well. The fish was overcooked and literally sitting in a puddle of slightly diluted hoisin sauce, that’s just lazy and unacceptable at a restaurant like this. Off and on, I would smell smokiness in the air and thought it was incense used in the restaurant. It turned out to be the way they served the lamb (with a cloche filled with smoke) at neighboring tables. This was unusual too because it interferes with the sense of smell during the dining process. The lamb was very gamey and not flavored well. Because no course was noteworthy, we just wanted to finish this meal and get out of there.

We requested to speak to the restaurant manager about everything that had gone wrong, and a female server retrieved none other than – Adil. We asked him if he was the restaurant manager, he confirmed he is. My instinct told me something was off. Before leaving the building, I spoke to the hotel reception about our experience and asked if Adil is indeed the restaurant manager. The nice gentleman said Adil is the Maitre D, and the restaurant (Food and beverage?) manager is another gentleman who was there during our meal and pointed us to him. We proceeded to express our dissatisfaction with our dining experience, he apologized, but what’s done is done and not only was Adil made us feel unwelcome, he was dishonest. This place is NOT recommended and has a long way to go before any Michelin mentions...

We've been fortunate enough to visit a handful of Michelin starred restaurants, so this review is weighted heavily against those few, incredible experiences...

First things first: we appreciate great culinary storytelling, driven by a purpose and a passion - and to be perfectly clear, the food at Xerta delivered both. So any criticism following is -not- directed at the food, which was exquisite!

A story and theme were delivered throughout the meal, from the playful, tropical King Crab dish served in its shell (making an invasive predator of the Ebro Delta into a delicious snack) to the smoked paella dish, delivered to the table in a model of a fisherman's house - every dish displayed masterful technique and outstanding tastes, behind whimsical presentation. Even when it seemed over the top at first glance or explanation, the dishes delivered complex flavor in each bite and continued to amaze with their coherence and creativity.

Yet what fell flat - and added a disappointing undertone to an otherwise exceptional dinner - was the service, particularly the timing, and cold demeanor of the staff.

For an 830 seating, it took 30 minutes before we received our first bite of food. Disregarding that late start, we were served 6 tasting menu dishes over 2.5 hours, at varyingly frustrating intervals that always felt too long of a pause for a menu designed around small dishes/bites. This was ultimately followed by 2 (3 if you count a plate of cookies) dessert courses rushed in 15 minutes, to finish the dining experience 3+ hours later.

While that timetable isn't unmanageable if well executed, the intervals between bites, combined with the impersonal and terse interactions of the staff at Xerta created dissonant notes in an otherwise well designed menu - not only did we leave feeling less than full, but the marvel and wonder at each incredible dish dissipated over the intrusive thought of... "when is the next one coming?" My most personable interaction was a thumbs up exchanged with the chef in the kitchen, who was visibly excited to see my appreciation of the food served.

The prior shortcomings are not inherently a fault of the kitchen, nor the restaurant as a whole, and so the 4/5 star review is truly intended to encourage others to try it, as perhaps this was an 'off night' or otherwise uniquely unfortunate experience, but I can't help but feel that if front of house & back of house had been in a better rhythm about firing subsequent dishes, or created a more welcoming environment, it would've significantly improved our experience, which we were greatly looking forward to.

It didn't help that we dined at a Michelin 'recommended' locale (Pur) the night before, which, without a star, offered far better service. Yes the food was simpler and less technical, but the overall experience felt more akin to Michelin-starred restaurants we have visited...

I wish I can give zero stars for this terrible restaurant. From when our party of five walked in, we received a terrible attitude from the Maitre D (ALDI) who showed no interest in introducing himself or the menu. No one helped us with our coats or bags but that part is okay. When we asked the Maire D for a wine menu he brought it over and hovered it in the middle of the table in front of everyone instead of handing it to the person who asked for the menu. That is extremely rude behavior and was the start of a disaster.

After we placed the tasting menu order, Aldi disappeared for pretty much the rest of the meal. We waited a while and two servers were serving the dishes one by one. Although the servers were not proficient in English, we could tell that they are working hard to introduce the dishes to us. At a Michelin star restaurant, I was shocked to not have the proper dish introduction.

The food themselves also did not taste of MIchelin quality. One of the lamb dish was very gamy and not seasoned well. The seafood dishes were just okay and nothing stood out in terms of taste, cooking style, or presentation. Tastes were bad compared to other Michelin star restaurants in the area.

At the end of the meal, we waited a long time after dessert and no one asked us if we would like coffee with the dessert or offer to bring the check. We waited at least 15 minutes after the last dessert was served and all the servers were gone serving other far away tables. We called for a manager and Aldi showed up, confirming that he is the manager (but in fact, he's just the Maitre D). We told him how dissatisfied we are and he started arguing with us on how things are different in the restaurant. He offered no apologies at the end, said thank you, and walked away. Another 15 minutes go by and we were left sitting at the table not knowing what's going on. We walked out to the front of the restaurant to pay and complained to a different manager (Food & Beverage Manager). There is an apology this time but nothing more. We were left to suck up to the bad service, experience, and food.

This restaurant does not deserve any Michelin star or recommendation. I would strongly recommend you to...