We came here at the suggestion of our e-bike tour guide, who is a local to the neighborhood. La Perla is truly a neighborhood gem. When we arrived it was filled with locals at the tables, and not having a reservation, we were seated at the bar. When it became obvious we were going to order a "real" lunch, they gave us the last table in the house.
Lorenzo was our waiter, and he was outstanding. He made deft suggestions as we ordered to keep us on track. For instance, we ordered a full plate of the Russian salad, and he suggested a half order, because it was large. We ordered the raw cod salad with olives, and he suggested that we order the half portion of pan con tomate because the cod was best eaten on it.
That Russian Salad featured home-made potato salad mixed with some tonno quality tuna, with more of the tuna on top, and two kinds of olives. It put all other potato salad to shame.
The cod salad was served over thinly sliced tomatoes, and paired with the bread, it was a perfect balance of crispy and unctuous.
We ordered the artichoke special of the day; bathed in butter lightly scented with garlic and pepper. They were baby artichokes, fresh from the field, baked with a piece of jambon iberico in the center.
We finished with Seafood Paella. The Paella was perfection itself. After the tapas, a single portion of Paella was enough for the two of us. The seafood was fresh and sweet, the rice perfectly toothsome, and it was served just the "wet side of dry". La Perla knows paella!
We convinced ourselves that we needed dessert and ordered the tarte tatin with freshly whipped cream. Yum! Lorenzo treated us to digestifs on the house (Spanish grappa with and without herbs).
The bill for this amazing 2 1/2 hour lunch? $70 euro. What a bargain.
When you are sightseeing on Mont Juic and want a great lunch (they aren't open for dinner, so don't think about that), head straight to La Perla and you won't be disappointed. Very highly recommended. read more