For our last night in Spain, we went to a restaurant that was recommended by our Hotel Concierge – Can Cisa/Bar Brutal.  It seemed super hip and very wine-centric, which was something that I was especially looking forward to.  

When we arrived, we were seated towards the front of the space, although the a/c was not working there which made it a bit stuffy.  Because of that, though, our water for the night was free, which is something that you would typically pay for in Spain.  The space was definitely, what I would call, millennial-chic, with minimal, but natural decor, wooden tables, and wrought iron accents and muted tones.  There was a pig head bust on the wall, which I appreciated since I have one at my own home as well (I will argue to the death that the pig is the best animal to eat). 

Our experience here started of really great, as our server was chatty and was excited to talk about wines to see what I liked in order to pick out something unique and delicious for us.  His choice was absolutely perfect.  It was a bright, fresh white wine from Languedoc, France. This was a natural wine that had a very funky but pleasant aroma, which I loved.  It was cloudy – obviously unfiltered, but this really added to the allure. I typically am not a fan of natural wines, but this one was a real winner. We drank up this bottle pretty quickly, excited to try something different, however, something different never came.  In fact, our server barely came back again.  He ran by our table saying that he was working a table of 15 people and “sorry.” It was bizarre.  Then he did actually come back and talked to me about what kind of a red wine I might like, and he said he knew exactly what to bring, but it never came.  By the time we were completely done with our meal, sans wine, he came back and said he would bring the bottle, but it was too late.  Then he said he would bring us some dessert wine on the house, which he let us taste.  He said that he would pour full glasses when our dessert came, but guess what?  He never ever came back again. We were not shocked at this point.  We flagged down a different guy and managed to get some delicious sherry, but after this whole service fiasco, I was pretty irritated.  I mean, what a disaster! When you can’t get wine at a place that touts itself as one of the best wine bars in Barcelona, it’s pretty darn disappointing.  

I have to separate out the food from the service completely here, though, because the food was some of the best we had on our entire trip to Spain.  We ordered scallops as an appetizer, that were served in-shell with a delicious butter and herb sauce, and they were completely delectable and melted in your mouth.  They were so good that we ordered a second helping.  We also ordered burrata as an appetizer which was just as good as what you can get in Italy.  The sourdough bread that they brought to the table along with the olive oil was some of the best bread we had on the trip.  Very creamy and just the right amount of tart. We went through at least three orders of bread. Little did we know that they charged us for each basket that they brought.  Whoops!

We all ordered different entrees that were gobbled up in record time.  Each plate was plated skillfully and with care. Eli’s octopus was gorgeous and not too rubbery.  Clara’s beets were perfectly roasted. My lamb was ridiculously tender and covered with delicious roasted peppers and mushrooms.  For dessert, Eli and I (the non-chocolate people) split a “flotante” which was melt in your mouth meringue magnificence.  Clara and Brian (the chocolate people) said their chocolate dessert was delicious and we barely even saw what they had before they devoured it, hence the lack of photo!  

It is really too bad that our original server completely ditched us, as I was super excited to drink some cool and unique wines that you probably can’t get here in the states.  The service here really just killed the whole experience, which is such a major bummer since the food was truly spectacular. I have come to expect relatively poor service in Europe.  Most of the time, I don’t even get too upset about it, but when my wine glass is empty, I get pretty ornery.  I would definitely recommend this place for the food, but maybe try to sit at the bar, where someone is stuck back there and is forced to pay attention to you – otherwise, who knows if you will get wine or food!