Some delicious stuffed squid and a white tablecloth next to Barcelona's Ramblas
Located at 23 Boqueria Street, Finorri restaurant serves traditional cuisine at a good price in a pleasant and recently renovated space.
BarcelonaFinorri has just opened on the ground floor of the Hotel Condal (Calle Boqueria, 23), which is undergoing a top-to-bottom renovation. But the restaurant has its own identity (and door). There you'll find a selection of well-executed Catalan cuisine at good prices. Here are some examples: pickled hanging tomatoes, dried tuna, dates, and green oil; cod fritters with romesco sauce and roasted garlic purée; fried anchovies with citrus fruits; turbot with beetroot romesco sauce, aniseed juice, and fennel salad; or lamb shoulder, yams, and beans. All of this is daunting, but two dishes are worth highlighting. First, what they describe with the laconic "our salad." A green salad shows how seriously a restaurant takes its work. Nothing can be hidden there. Neither the product nor the love with which things are made. That's why you don't find a good salad in many places. Well, here we find it. The second dish I would like to highlight is the squid stuffed with eggplant, Cal Tomàs sausage, and mushrooms. A stew perfectly executed by chef Albert Soteras. "Congratulations, chef," as Marc Ribas would say in the Card game when he finds the best dish of all.
Albert Soteras has been the executive chef of the Hotel Miramar for eight years and wanted an "intimate" project and not so much one of "weddings and banquets," he explains in the ARA. Of course, he recognizes that you also learn a lot there. He has designed a restaurant of "well-made cuisine, of sofrito, simmering, and respect for the highest quality product." He works with organic meat from Pallars, with Petràs Mushrooms, and tries to bring life to people from the neighborhood. "Like the Antolín family and the nearby businesses here to help prevent them from disappearing. If they disappear, the culture of the street disappears," he says. Regarding the closure of the Petràs mushrooms at La Boqueria announced by this newspaperSoteras explains that Xavier Petràs has linked the business to the restaurant business and that he must have seen that the Boqueria market is not what it used to be: "I suppose he wants to get rid of all this circus that the market is now."
Finorri is on a busy street full of passers-by, especially foreigners. "We want to focus on well-prepared cuisine in a neighborhood where there aren't these types of businesses. It's not so much where you are, but what you do. People from the neighborhood come here, people who have come here through word of mouth, and many people in the profession. Passers-by, and some foreigners too. There are businesses that don't consider what they offer tourists," he complains.
Aside from Albert Soteras, Josep Nicolau and Marc Vitega are also involved in this venture, and Lluís Roig, the sommelier in the dining room, is in charge. The wine list is striking and has very affordable prices. They're not one of those places where they go overboard. The dessert, which he designed, Eva Feliu, expastissera of the Aürt and who currently has the workshop in Ullastret, executed with perfection by Núria Sol. The space is very pleasant. It's clear that they haven't skimped on the renovation. You can choose between sitting at the bar, where the stools are very comfortable, or at the tables. There are round ones that would be ideal for groups of more than four people. They're also proud of their cocktails, which are a good choice for aperitifs, evening meals, and after dinner.