b-served Gastronomy
de Diego's universe. Colmado Wilmot and Bar Lombo
Colmado Wilmot. Named after The Sabres of Paradise's hit, inspired by Wilmoth Houdini, the calypso singer whose song Black but Sweet is sampled in that track from the album Haunted Dancehall? Nope. Remembering John Wilmot, the second Earl of Rochester -an English poet and libertine writer, a hedonist whose only guiding principles, he wrote, were "a violent love of pleasure" and a "readiness for extravagant enjoyment."
Originally created to serve take-away food, it evolved from a grocery store to a refined bar-bodega. In a space with a terrace that opens every day, always lively and contemporary, with interior design by the Conti, Cert. studio and decorated with the pantry stock that chef Eugeni de Diego selects and uses in his creations, “quality ingredients without being prohibitive, seasonal, which we value here,” says the former head chef of elBulli. Although the traditional dishes and stews and the product cuisine offered at the corner of Calvet with Avenir are more reminiscent of his beginnings as a cook at Ca l'Isidre. Nevertheless, his touches are surprising: snails with sobrasada, omelette with cap i pota tripe, fricandó with prawns...
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On D-day, we let ourselves be guided by the maître d', Rafa, who leads an unusual dining room team, very attentive to those who come for an informal moment of gastronomic enjoyment, from breakfast (Monday to Sunday from 9 am to 12 noon, with fine pastries from the neighboring Canal pastry shop, and hot and cold sandwiches such as Two butifarras).
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Quick review of the menu: eggs with good company (elvers, caviar, prawns with garlic, anchovies in vinegar.... ), omelette skewers (we tried it with chistorra in cider), an ensaladilla rusa that convinced my partner, a fan of this classic, a salad of fragrant tomatoes with capers, anchovies from Santoña that they clean by hand, a section with a variety of caprices from the fish market grilled, another one with grocery store products (such as the iconic Strogonoff veal meatballs, macaroni a la cardenal, cod tripe with chickpeas and Iberian jowl, 350 g of high loin that if you want they serve you with fries, or rabbit ribs), and desserts such as strawberries in vinegar with cream and torrija with ensaimada body.
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Wines? For all tastes, from Spanish and French D.O.s, and pockets, ordered by price. A bottle at 24 € heads a list that ends with another at 308 €. Among the whites, “you had me at hello” labels such as And The Winner Is by Celler Credo, Hey! by Amós Bañeres or the natural Destellos by Raúl Moreno. Rosés like Zutanita from Wine Side Story, reds like Hombre Bala from Comando G and others marked as special selection (few units) like the magnum Terroir al Límit Soc. Lda. from Les Manyes, and with bubbles like the ancestral Tinc Set from Mas Candí or the champagne Salon Blanc de Blancs 2013 (1,320 €). And some references by the glass.
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Colmado Wilmot is now 2 years old, one less than Bar Lombo, de Diego's Italian restaurant (in the picture, the Gnocchi al burro e salvia). They will celebrate on May 22 with a menu —already sold out, which we reported on our Instagram profile @b_guided—, that will bring together the best of both concepts.
If you've run out of seats, make reservations for both, which are sure bets, and then, if you feel like reproducing, like a real mamma, Lombo's recipes at home, get your hands on his book.
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Photos 1, 2 and 7: Claudia Mauriño, courtesy of Conti. Cert.
- COLMADO WILMOT
- C. Calvet, 28
- 08021 (Sarrià-Sant Gervasi)
- T. 932 474 782
- www.colmadowilmot.com
- BAR LOMBO
- C. Moliné, 1
- 08006 (Sarrià-Sant Gervasi)
- T. 937 798 393
- www.barlombo.com