Can Roca – Less Magical

”There were once three brothers who were traveling along a lonely, winding road at twilight. In time, the brothers reached a river too deep to wade through and too dangerous to swim across. However, these brothers were learned in the magical arts, and so they simply waved their wands and made a bridge appear across the treacherous water.“

Continue reading

Can Fabes – Slightly Below Expectations (September 2008)

When I planned my trip to Barcelona it appeared natural for me to also include two well-known restaurants, namely Santi Santamaria’s Can Fabes and El Celler de Can Roca. Santi is regarded a Spanish monument and has had a tremendous impact on Spanish Fine Dining. He enjoys enormous popularity with his TV cooking show on Saturday, has written numerous books and articles (some were quite controversial recently about his “different” take on molecular cuisine) and opened Santceloni in Madrid, EVO in Barcelona and recently the restaurant Tierra in Oropesa.

Can Fabes holds three Michelin stars since 1994 and is the most traditional of the six three star chefs in Spain renowned for his mastery of meat courses and his quest for product perfection. Funnily, I could not find a single detailed review of his cuisine at Can Fabes in the foodie community, only short posts on eGullet or elsewhere where there was praise and blame. This should have made me cautious, but the name was strong enough to get me into a reservation…

Continue reading