Alkimia

Alkimia Review

Chef Jordi Vilà is making news here with his inventive creations and tasting menus at €44 and €58 that pass for a bargain at the top end of Barcelona culinary culture. It's usually packed, but the alcoves are intimate and the stark decor is parceled out among them. Vilà's deconstructed pa amb tomaquet (in classical usage, toasted bread with olive oil and squeezed tomato) in a shot glass give a witty culinary wink (as it were) before things get deadly serious with raw tuna strips, baby squid, or turbot. A dark-meat course, venison or beef, brings the taste progression to a close before dessert provides more comic relief. Alkimia, as its name suggests, is pure magic.