Fun Food Friday — Restaurante Anduriña

I haven’t done a Fun Food Friday in so long that I hope I don’t blow it. How will I measure success with today’s article? I’m aiming to leave you with your mouth watering, your tummy growling, your blood sugar plummeting in anticipation, and your hand reaching out to make reservations for a trip to Barcelona.

We found this hidden gem by doing what we usually do in an unfamiliar city. We asked the hotel receptionists where they personally would go for local cuisine. We stipulated that the establishment be a place where the locals go, that the recommendation be a tapas-style restaurant, and we preferred that it be within walking distance. After a brief consultation between the two of them, they pointed us in the direction of Restaurante Anduriña, which was at most a five-minute stroll from Hotel Catalonia Portal de l’Àngel.

Sneak peek time at the back of Restaurante Anduriña‘s menu. This side shows drinks and desserts:

So, just how good was Restaurante Anduriña? Let me just put it this way — during our three nights in Barcelona we saw no reason to go anywhere else for dinner. Not once. We weren’t even tempted to try. And talk about locals, that is all we saw eating here with very few exceptions. But, then, you pretty much had to know where to go to find this wonderful establishment even though it’s been around since 1939. It’s on the charming, narrow pedestrian street Carrer Comtal. With this place both Ursula and I thought we’d struck a homerun first time at bat.

On two of our three visits I had my camera. Alas, I did not on the evening I enjoyed their heavenly burger. Yeah, I know… pedestrian in the extreme, but I wanted to try it. Fortunately, it tasted more of the local cuisine than I deserved. It was great, and quite large. I did have my camera the evening I tried their pulled pork sandwich, though. And, as one would expect of European pomme frites (what we call French fries), those were exquisite:

But, being first and foremost a tapas establishment, I shan’t further waste your time on the mundane. Let’s begin with a look at the main menu:

But before we order some food, let’s get some house wine, which tasted much more expensive than it was:

Ursula loves European-style dried meats and sausages, as one would expect of a Zurich homegirl. Needless to say, the Spanish cured meat platter was a must on all three occasions:

Hmmm…. Looks good! Let’s zoom in and see what goodies await, as this platter includes olives, chorizo (a spicy sausage), Iberian ham, fuet (a thinly sliced dry-cured pork sausage), bull blanc (the pale meat pictured, a type of pork sausage):

Of course, one needs bread to go with this. That’s extra, but an absolute necessity with these delights. Light and fluffy with a delightfully chewy crust:

Serve it all up on your plate and it looks like this:

Ursula also loves anchovies, so as you can see above we had those as well. The olive oil in which the fillets swim is great for dunking your bread:

Not on the drink menu, but in plain view above the bar, is the good stuff for those wanting something a bit stiffer than wine:

On our second of three visits Ursula’s nose detected the faint aroma of green chilies. Looking around we saw a couple savoring a plate piled high with what we soon learned were Padrón peppers. It was love at first bite, and we wound up ordering it more than once. No need to worry about spiciness (unfortunately for us), as they were quite mild and very tasty. The peppers came to us fried and rolled in coarse salt:

It was on our second visit that we also discovered Restaurante Anduriña also makes a mean sangria. Needless to say, the house wine went by the wayside once we discovered sangria by the “jug” (pitcher):

I hope you enjoyed today’s Fun Food Friday. Next week I’ll bring you a series of articles on our transatlantic aboard Harmony of the Seas (ship review links: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3). Until then, let’s raise a glass of that wonderful Restaurante Anduriña sangria: