RTW Adventures of J&M

Cal Pep
Placa de les Olles, 8
Barcelona, Spain
www.calpep.com

I have been hesitant to write about any particular eating establishment in Barcelona. I haven't eaten anything bad, but I also haven't had anything that has blown me away. Honestly, I was getting a bit concerned. Am I going to the wrong places? Or, do I not like Catalonian food? Finally, I found what I was looking for in Cal Pep.

Don't let the fact that this restaurant is talked about in every guide book, city map and internet review site deter you from going. I was skeptical at first, but  believe me… it's really good. Here are some tell tale signs:

- Their business card says, "Closed: Easter Week, monday lunch, saturday night, festive days and August"
- On the day we went for lunch, the restaurant didn't open until 1:15 PM lunch and prime lunch time is around 2:30 PM. Yet, by the time the restaurant opened its doors there was a line of 20+ people consisting of both tourists and locals.  In fact, 2 parties at the end of the line did not make the cut for the 1st lunch seating.
- "More fish, or more meat?" is the only decision you have to make for your meal. They'll take care of the rest. Do not say "more meat" because it is obvious that seafood is their specialty.
- They will unapologetically ask already-eating patrons to shift over seats in order to get a clump of free seats together.

The restaurant is basically one large U-shaped bar surrounding the kitchen (Pictures 1 & 2). I counted 3 main chefs and 5 bar men/waiters. Here's what we had and accompanying pictures where applicable:

- The usual toasted bread rubbed with a super ripe tomato - a typical Catalonian appetizer
3. Clams sauteed with wine, olive oil and parsley (best dish of the meal)
4. An assortment of lightly battered, deep fried seafood, including calamari, shrimp and whole fish! We ate everything, if you know what I mean.
5. Sauteed mushrooms in olive oil and parsley- simply yet delicious. I was super excited about this one because I've been seeing this particular mushroom all over town in supermarkets and open-air markets. It's obvious that it's in season now.
- A dish of small squid and chickpeas. I don't know how it was seasoned but it was Yuuu-MMY (I got too excited and forgot to take a picture of this one)
6. Grilled fish - one of J's favorites, but I thought it was a bit overcooked and bland. At first, I was excited because I thought those potato slices were pear slices (they're also in season now - so good). After tasting it I thought it could've use some acid or something else extra.

We also had dessert, but that's not worth mentioning in detail. In the end, we left the restaurant extremely full, very happy and for me, on the verge of being slightly buzzed (It was so good, I had two beers for lunch). However, our wallets left significantly lighter - 96 Euros lighter to be exact. It turned out not to be a pre-fix meal, and we were billed for each individual dish. But, whatever… as far as I could tell everyone else there were treated the same way. When in Rome, do as the Romans.

Was it over-priced? Yes. Was it worth it? Definitely. I can now leave Barcelona saying I ate something amazing. But for now, we must conserve - we already had Mickey D's for lunch and tonight - frozen dumplings!