Brothy rice for the main festival in Barceloneta
The Casa Maians, managed by Roger Soteras and Fuensanta Hernández, is a new restaurant as always in the seaside neighborhood
What a discovery, dear readers. I arrived there because a restorer expert in spoon cooking recommended it on Instagram. I thought: "If he says so, it must be tasted". It is a small, simple, and charming place in Barceloneta. Finally, I have a favorite spot to go eat rice in the seaside neighborhood. A new establishment, since it is only a year and a half old, but it feels like a restaurant that has always been there. Ideal for those who like to dip bread, for those who slurp shells and do not mind getting their fingers dirty, and for people who know that eating is so important that time must be dedicated to it. This week I present to you the Casa Maians.
They make Catalan and market cuisine. To know what fish they have, you have to ask, since the menu says: "Fresh fish and shellfish: depending on the season and the grace of the Virgin of Carmen". Because yes, fish has a season. And if it is eaten when it is in season, it is cheaper and better. But don't worry about that, because Roger Soteras, the chef, is an expert in it. In fact, he is the one who takes care of buying it every morning at the fish market. At Casa Maians they don't follow trends, they don't look for fashions. "La Barceloneta is very punished in this sense", says Soteras. And he adds: "We have neither tatakis, nor ceviches nor tiraditos". But, on the other hand, they have dishes that warm the soul. They make Sunday and festive cuisine. Good portions and casseroles that are placed in the center of the table, like at home. "Well-dressed", he says. And what does that mean? Great bases, fish and shellfish. Joy and Mare Nostrum.
Roger Soteras is half of the restaurant, the other half is Fuensanta Hernández, the person in charge of the dining room. The neighborhood has welcomed them with open arms. Firstly, because she lived there for nine years. Secondly, because they gave it a very pertinent name: Maians was the island that became integrated into the city. A land reclaimed from the sea thanks to which Barceloneta was born. They make Barcelonian cuisine for Barcelonians, with the door open to everyone. "We knew that if we won over the people of Barceloneta, the rest of the city would follow," they say.
Dishes with identity
Let's go to the eatery. They have a fixed menu and then dishes that change every day. They like casseroles, legumes, offal, and above all, rice dishes. The flagship is the soupy seafood rice. Attention, because it takes work: there is blue crab, mantis shrimp, squid, cuttlefish, Norway lobster, red shrimp, mussels, conger eel, and monkfish. They don't hold back on anything. Recently, it appeared somewhere in Japan and lots of Japanese people go there to taste it (and they go crazy, of course). Mind you, they go early in the morning. Another rice dish they almost always have on the chalkboard is the casserole rice with gratinated pig's trotters and garlic mayo. Or, now that the cold has arrived, the slaughter rice, typical of Ibiza. Roger Soteras worked on the island for a long time and gives a wink to the very rich gastronomy of the Balearic Islands.
Another dish that stands out is the ham bomb. "La Cova Fumada will always make the best meat bomb and everything else is a copy", says Soteras. His is different and is also a tribute, as he spent many years working at Bar El Jabalí, in Paral·lel. A bar-delicatessen that had a wonderful Iberian ham bomb that many Barcelonians remember with nostalgia and that you can now taste at Casa Maians. Both Roger and Fuensanta have traveled a lot, and the sediment of what they have experienced has shaped this restaurant, which they were able to buy thanks to the drop in prices post-pandemic. They serve lunch, from Wednesday to Sunday, and also fork breakfasts on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. At breakfast, you will find fuel to start the day in the form of pork jowl with garlic mayonnaise, cod omelet, or calf's head stew. You have to book for lunch, and if you want to go on the weekend, call more than a week in advance. There is room for 27 diners and they do not have shifts. "We don't want people to leave", they say. No, we don't want to leave either.