b-served Gastronomy
Belmonte, Bar & Restaurante
A homage to Catalan cuisine in Barcelona's Gótico
Despite the madness that sometimes seems to dominate Barcelona’s ‘Old City’ with ever more tourists, and bars and fast food restaurants jostling for space there are still places to savour the traditional flavours and creative gastronomic flare of local Catalan cuisine. Belmonte is one of those places, a bar and restaurant situated on the very charming and historical C/ de la Mercè that runs parallel to Moll de la Fusta, just adjacent to the extraordinary Correos building. Even before entering Belmonte’s front window street is filled with postcards and messages from happy customers sending their best regards from their travels. Immediately inside the threshold the décor, the service, the menu and the very walls exude something special, something to be discovered or rediscovered.
What is most special about Belmonte is its spirit, personified by the two owners Carmina y Mercè, who embarked on this project 14 years ago, directed at a clientele who appreciate quality food. Seasonal food much of which is sourced from the kitchen garden belonging to the family of Carmina on the outskirts of Vendrell, a town located in Tarragona. A gastronomic selection of traditional "dishes" created for sharing. A respectful way of coking (without using a microwave) and the contemporary touch that Carmina adds to her dishes “We have made Belmonte a place where we’d like to go ourselves, whatever the occasion: to have a quick snack at the bar, to have a light evening meal or to savour a gastronomic dinner with good wine in a relaxed setting.”
-
-
Belmonte opens nightly from Tuesdays through Saturdays, and on Fridays and Saturdays only for lunch, offering a variety of Mediterranean autochthonous recipes, coming mainly from the Tarragona area. Olive oils they use come from cooperatives in Tarragona (Arbequina) and Girona (argudell). Carmina and Mercè always try to find suppliers that provide handicrafts and proximity products.
-
Some of the highlights on the menu include the varied selection of home-made tortillas made with organic eggs from free range hens fed on cereals; the "tastet" of thyme soup, the "xató" (sauce made with several ingredients including ground almonds or hazlenute and vingrette), the "trinxat d" espigalls "with Iberian Bellota pancetta, the roasted vegetables, the quail in citrus vinaigrette, the marinated herring, the carpaccios of octopus or Cap de Creus prawns, a crispy confit of duck, and a signature tapa, its famous "patatons" potatoes served with salt and romescu sauce.
-
The cozy and welcoming interior is organised around the bar, with a marble countertop lit with a collection of suspended bottle covers and a decorative display of siphons and drinks behind the bar, the rear area is filled with vintage furniture, art objects, paintings and posters. A mezzanine area is available for groups.
-
- Belmonte
- Carrer de la Mercè, 29
- 08002 Barcelona
- +34 93 310 76 84