El Bulli 'The World's Finest Restaurant'

[fawlty]

Never heard of it, but there again I am a bit of a Philistine when it comes to la comida. Anyone been?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/spain/7231085/Worlds-finest-restaurant-El-Bulli-to-close-permanently.html

[Jules]

Or to put it another way... when was the last time you spent £200 a head for a meal? :eek:

[annabwashere]

Not me personally, as I am not a fan of high cuisine. But friends have said it is overrated.

Anyway, the article is wrong. El Bulli is only closing for two years, not permanently, so there's time to get on the waiting list if you so desire.

[MCP]

No, from what I understand it's closing for some time, opening for a period of (I think) six months, then shutting for good, and then Ferran Adrià plans to open an academy for the research of advanced cooking.

Of course it was and is expensive...but what's wrong with a bit of high-value experimentation from time to time? I'd have gone if I could afford it.

[Legazpi]

Yes it was/is regarded as the best restaurant in the world by "those in the know" - it's along the same lines as Heston Blumenthal's "The Fat Duck" in the sense that they are quite scientific about their creations and use odd techniques (often involving liquid nitrogen). I can't say I dine there regularly ;)

[ValenciaSon]

I wonder if the academy will allow the public to sample their academic pursuits.

[delgado]

Looks like I'll just have to settle for Mugaritz (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mugaritz) and Arzak (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arzak) then... :rolleyes:

[Ben]

In El Pais today he states again that the 'closing' news was misquoted - he's just going to shut temporarily then change it to a 'fundacion' en 2014. I ate in Arzak once, but it's so long ago that I think I was too young (27) to appreicate it!

[delgado]

Going slightly off topic, the owner of Arzak is actually a really nice guy, he does a lot in the local community here, and often offers free meals as prizes in community events....
I know a guy from the barrio that won a meal there, and after he had finished the owner came over to his table to ask him how it was... The guy (politely and half jokingly) said to him "the food was nice, but I'm still hungry, I would have actually prefered a nice big plate of egg and chips":D.... The owner said (not in the least bit offended) "fine, wait a second, I´ll see what I can do" and had the chef cook him his egg and chips, which were also very nice, or so I'm told.

As for the food, I can't really say, as I've never eaten there and don't intend to. I guess that we are kind of spoilt here with so many very good restaurants in such a small area, with the food costing a fraction of the price (although still a bit expensive compared to other parts of Spain). "¡es que vamos, yo me conformo con el menú casero pues!";)

[dimonió]

Going slightly off topic, the owner of Arzak is actually a really nice guy, he does a lot in the local community here, and often offers free meals as prizes in community events....

;)

There was a really interesting article in the January Spanish edition of Conde Nast Traveler magazine with Juan Mari Arzak pointing out his favourite places in San Sebastian, such as Resaca, Tamboril, Aloña Berri and Bergara ("el mejor bacalao ajoarriero que se puede encontrar").

He sounds a really down to earth guy and says of Adria Ferran - "yo me emociono cuando como lo que cocina Adria, pero también se me saltan las lágrimas con unos huevos fritos con chorizo".

I'm taking a copy of the article when we go to SS in May. Sounds as though it's going to add a good few inches to my waistline!;)

[TotallyKen]

So you can´t afford to eat in El Bulli or get a reservation there ? Not many people can but here is an interesting article from The Times (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/travel/holiday_type/food_and_travel/article4915552.ece) from 2008 about the restaurants in the vicinity of the famed restaurant where the staff from El Bulli like to hang out and dine.

There´s also the restaurant at the El Bulli Hotel in the province of Sevilla (http://elbullihotel.com/).

[El Salto]

El Salto is the Rolls Royce of restaurants and waterfalls ;)

[dimonió]

Are we going to have to rename this thread now ??


http://www.abc.es/20100426/vivir-viajar-gourmet-restaurantes/pellegrino-201004261751.html

[Gem]

I ate at Can Roca at Christmas... was a bit creamy, moussey and essence-of for my largely uneducated tastebuds. An experience nonetheless.