Barcelona’s
best restaurant is a place of paradoxes. Sophisticated and highly rated (2
Michelin stars), it inhabits a ground floor oblong room in a block of flats
in an ordinary residential road. Providing the finest food in arguably
Spain’s loveliest city, its Chef is not Spanish but French – from Alsace.
And for an establishment this far up gastronomy’s premier division, the wine
list contains some real oddities.
Neichel and its eponymous
Chef, Jean-Louis, have for years been attracting the critics’ plaudits. And
rightly so. Monsieur Neichel has not imported the cuisine of his native
region – although the appearance of cabbage and bacon here and there reminds
us of his Alsatian roots. Instead he concentrates on the lighter food of the
Mediterranean – to magical effect. A pupil of the late, great Alain Chapel
(whose restaurant at Mionnay, near Lyon, still bears his name), he is not a
man for tricks or theatrical flourishes. Rather, this is serious,
straightforward food of the highest quality.
My meal began with a salad
of black Spanish truffles (from Huesca) with walnut oil, potato and slices
of foie gras. Simple, but hugely effective – the pungent aroma of the fungus
inspiring a near desperation to get them to one’s mouth. Wonderful. Then
Mario’s sea bass. Mario is Monsieur Neichel’s son, and he is a lucky boy to
have so fine a dish named after him. The fillet was flattered by a mild wild
mustard sauce, fresh tomatoes, capers, wild rice and diced vegetables – all
brilliantly held in balance. A treat to eat.
Beef fillet with
chanterelle mushrooms and a Cabernet reduction was good, too – although in
my view there were too many things going on for it to be truly harmonious.
The plate was cluttered with lots of irrelevant vegetables. But no such
problem with the pudding, rhubarb and wild strawberries au gratin. Yummy, I
think is the appropriate word. (£44 for these four courses – good value.)
I looked round the grey and
brown room. To one side a group of young men in t-shirts from the
Netherlands were smoking between courses (a pity for their palates as well
as their lungs), but were obviously enjoying themselves. To the other side a
Spanish family (with all the conservative good dress sense of the Catalan
haute-bourgeoisie) seemed to be having an equally pleasant time. I felt at
one with them all – happy not only with the food but also with the courteous
and friendly service orchestrated by the elegant Madame Neichel.
Even the oddities on the
wine list brought a smile to my face. If you do not know your vintages, the
prospect of a bottle of the greatest of red burgundies (Romanée-Conti) for
£200 might make you fall off your chair in anticipation. But 1975 was a
disastrous year for red burgundy – keep clear. Then there are various
tempting clarets – but from the miserable 1980 vintage. Stay away from those
as well. If you want to empty your pockets, far better to go for Spain’s
grand red, Vega Sicilia Unico – try the 1970 (great vintage) rather than the
1969 (moderate vintage). Both are the same price (£230) here. There is also
one vintage (1996) of the country’s most fashionable new red – made in Spain
by a German and called Pingus – for £380.
My drinking was more
modest, but – thanks to the advice of the excellent sommelier Javier
Petrirena (and you certainly need his advice with this list!) – hugely
enjoyable. The white was an albanino (a grape new to me) from Rias Baixas
(Do Ferreiro, 1998 - £13). Fresh, citrus fruit – if there had been a hint of
oil I would have guessed Condrieu. The red was from Priorato, south of
Barcelona – very alcoholic, heavy with strawberries, tannic, ideal for the
beef (Clos Martinet, Mas Martinet Vinicult, 1996 - £39).
Before I clambered back
into my taxi, I finished off a small Monte Christo cigar and a glass of
smooth Armagnac. Not things I always do at the end of dinner, but it was
lovely to prolong the Neichel experience. For, despite its paradoxes –
perhaps even because of them – Neichel is a restaurant one just does not
want to leave.
RESTAURANT NEICHEL
Beltran I Rózpide 16 bis (Av. de Pedralbes), Barcelona 08034,
Spain
Telephone +34 93 203 08034, Spain
Fax +34 93 205 6369
Closed: Saturday lunch, Sunday, Holy Week and August
© 2002 Francis Bown. Used by
permission. All rights reserved. For reviews of hotels and restaurants across the world, visit
www.BownsBest.com
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