I stayed in Mataro on my way back from Girona to Barcelona where on the previous day I had gone to…read morethe world famous, three-star, 'El Celler de Can Roca'. Mataro didn't look like an interesting city and I had slightly regretted picking it to stay for the night instead of having one more night in the absolutely beautiful Girona.
But had I not stayed in Mataro, I wouldn't have found this gem of a restaurant! I didn't really know what to expect, I would think that it would just another tapas/spanish place, but I had a very pleasant and unexpected surprise!
The place is small, maybe 10-15 tables. I read in another review that you need a reservation, but arriving at 22:45, although it was Saturday, granted us a place. We ordered a couple of tapas to share, and everything that came out of the kitchen didn't disappoint in either taste or presentation.
The deep-fried calamari were so tender and soft that they were basically falling apart in your hands. They were served on a piece of culinary newspaper. Next, we had shrimp with sweet and sour sauce. Four shrimps came individually skewered and presented in a skewer holder. The shrimp were very crispy on the outside but still fantastically soft inside.
Another dish was a sliced tuna with avocado and mascarpone paste and wasabi spheres, sundried tomatoes and bonito flakes. Again, superb presentation (have a look at the pictures I uploaded). We've also gotten three cod bunuelos, which while good, could have used some side sauce to go with it, as by themselves they might be slightly too dry.
The best dish we've had was the octopus - the best octopus I've ever had. The moment you bite into it you know it's not your standard gummy/chewy octopus but something that is as easy to bite into as a flan. Upon inquiry, I was told that it's cooked for more than three hours to get to this stage. The presentation was also very impressive here, and worthy of a michelin star - with the base of puff pastry, on top of which we have the octopus cut up into pieces and painted with culinary gold. We have purple potato chips, some greens, sauce dots all around the plate, and top it off, a pipette with paprika oil to finish it yourself. Have a look at one of my pictures to get an idea.
That's it for the main courses - I would easily want more but unfortunately we were full at this point. For desserts though, there is always space. They have a number of pre-prepared desserts in cups, which instead of picking from a menu, you pick directly from a desert box that they bring to your table. Top points for creativity again! On top of that, you have the option of getting something more creative - one of us got a desert made of dark chocolate, bread, and salt. We also went for a chocolate mouse, and a more refreshing citrus-based mousse. All the deserts were on the same level as the main courses.
Overall we were extremely surprised at this gem we've found in Mataro. The chef is a very creative person who really cares about his end product. Since the dishes were on such level, we asked to talk to the chef, and indeed we found out that he was once a chef at a 2-star restaurant in Madrid and left the hustle-and-bustle to work in the more quiet Mataro.
The decor is also very welcoming and not complicated. There is a bookshelf with books from places like 'El Celler de Can Roca', 'El Bulli', and even Harold McGee's 'On Food and Cooking' - the chef is clearly on top of his game with this!
Price wise, we found it very cheap with an extremely high quality/price ratio! For three people with wine we've just barely spent 90 EUR. This restaurant is definitely worth a detour!
