
We were invited to eat at El Bulli (what a good friend). Once you get to the town of Roses, you drive another 30 minutes along absolutely beautiful coast line. Passing all the beach traffic and edging along the coast, I was thinking it was a damn good thing we took a cab for the hour and a half drive from our hotel or we might not have made it back when we left at yes, 1:30 in the morning.
We arrived at El Bulli at 7:30. The restaurant blends in very naturally into the hillside. We paused outside for a few photos; I thought it best to mark the occasion when eating at what is considered to be the best restaurant in the entire world. I was very excited to see the kitchen. It was beautiful. I wish I could have seen it when they were done with service to be able to really walk around all the stations and check it all out. You know, get a glimpse at the chemistry set. It is very large with a lot of open floor space and beautiful windows to the outside. Garde Manger and the hot line were separated by a wall otherwise it was a big, open, rectangular work space. Lots of stainless steel. I didn’t linger, even though I really wanted to just stay there and eat at the table with the chef. I really couldn’t get a better sense of things. We were able to meet the chef and have a photo, which was very gracious of him. There is a sculpture of a bulls head in the middle of the pass. Very cool. 50 people work in the kitchen each evening. I believe they do around 50 guests each night. Wow.
We started out on the terrace, which depending where you are sitting has a beautiful view of the beach or the sea. We moved into the dining room and were seated at a very comfortable table. There were pillows along the banquette and a nice view of the room. Cool old wooden bar in the corner that was used as a service piece for wine service. The interior felt very comfortable, maybe rustic, a sense of glass, white walls, dark wood beams, natural floors, curved archways.
Here is the menu as it was printed for us.
Served on the terrace before dinner came:
Mojito
Crystal of Parmegiano
Coniferous
Mimetics Peanuts
Sesame Cracker
Japanese Cookie
Vanilla Crisps
At the table:
Cherry Umeboshi
Flower Nectar
Coconut Sponge
Berries Cookie
Cornet of Nori with Raspberry and Soya
Oyster Leaf with Dew of Vinegar
Ham and Ginger Canape
Truffle Surprise
Chervil Tea
Prawn two Firings
Mimetic Almond
Cockles with Yuzu
Soya Milk with Soya
Roses/Artichokes
Pumpkin and Almond Sandwich
Sea Anemone with te
Pinenut Shabu-Shabu
Meatballs Shimenshi
Natural Scampi
Parmesan Ravioli
Rabbit Canape with its Giblets
Kidney of Lamb with Jerez Consomme, Yoghurt and Fenne Pond Cherry with Kirsch Coco Puff Pastry of Pineapple Roots Shellfish
And the wines the gentlemen at our table picked:
Manuel Raventos Brut Nature Gran Reserva Personal 2001
Manuel Raventos Brut Narure Gran Reserva Personal 1993
Corton-Les Vergennes Cuvee Paul Chanson 2004 Clos De Vougeot 1997
Barolo Bric del Fiasc 1999
Chatreau Haut Brion 1994
Gewurztraminer Furstentum SGN 1994