After the Sagrada Família (see blog post), I used Foursquare to find a nearby restaurant. We picked Maribàrbola, and it was pretty good.

Food at Maribàrbola

Then we took a taxi to the next museum on the list, Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya. It’s a pretty prominent building that overlooks the giant, beautifully laid out Plaça d’Espanya.

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Friday night we dined at Cinc Sentits, a fairly new restaurant in Barcelona that is already acknowledged to be one of the best in Spain. The place only takes 10 table reservations a night, as it is a small space and the meal takes hours to complete since there are so many courses.

Cinc Sentits sign

I was curious how uptight it was going to feel knowing it is a highly regarded restaurant, and they e-mailed ahead of time to ensure we knew the dress code. The staff was pretty welcoming, and it didn’t feel too stuffy, thankfully.

Once we were seated, we had to decide between the 79 euro sensations menu, or the same thing with wine pairings for each course for an additional 49 euros. We opted for the basic menu and a separate bottle of wine. Ordering the wine was interesting, as the sommelier first asked what types of wines everyone liked, and then explained what was available from various regions of Spain and why each wine was interesting. My mom’s friend Terri picked a wine called Cumal that cost only 38 euros for the bottle.

assorted Spanish treats, including orange garnished olive, tomato shaved cracker, cream skin

Canadian syrup shot with salt and cream

white asparagus, apples in almond sauce

onion bread and local three olive oil

foie gras with chives and sweet sauce

pan seared scallops with onion reduction sauce

sea urchin, razor clams with cod sauce and potato

Cumal, local wine

turbat with garlic sauce, mussel with fish sauce

suckling pig slow roasted for 12 hours with wild mushrooms and eggplant with basil flowers

squab breast with forest reduction and croquette of pigeon

cheeses of sheep, cow and goat with accompaniments of apple and thyme, date nest and walnut sponge cake

hand cloth expanded with water of lavender, mint and lemon

hand cloth expanded with water of lavender, mint and lemon

various strawberry desserts topped with celery ice

banana moose, cake and cream with yeast air and salted Carmel

mint, chocolate with orange crisp, peanut muffin and olive oil ganache on chocolate cake

Cinc Sentits sensations!

When getting up to use the restroom, one of the staff members escorts you the 20 feet and opens the door for you, while another one quickly assembles a fork and spoon in each hand and uses to to grab your napkin and fold it neatly, only touching it with the silverware.

No paper towels in the bathroom

Discard pile

Total bill for four people having the sensations menu: $590. At least you don’t have to tip!