Restaurante Hisop, Barcelona

Since I've been on a diet lately, I have not really been eating out. Therefore I have nothing to blog about. But I remembered that in my last trip to Barcelona, I left out one post about a small restaurant I went to with an old friend. The place is called HISOP. Owned by 2 Catalans, they do inventive and daring Catalan cuisine yet still using the best quality ingredients. I think this is what they call "Cocina de Autor".

For starters, we had Oysters with Almond Cream and Ginger. I failed to take a picture of this. Immediately after, they served us Percebes con Sandia y pimientos (Percebes with watermelon and roast Pepper). Percebes (Gooseneck barnacles) are a shellfish with a long, soft body like the neck of a goose, hard shells at the top, and a 'foot' at the bottom that attaches them to rocks. They only grow on rocks exposed to heavy surf, and only grow in several parts of the world. They are highly sought after as a rare delicacy, savoured for their lovely texture and flavour which is somewhat like crab or lobster. Very simple dish and good contrast from the watermelon. The roasted peppers were made into a sorbet.

Next, we had Foie con Cafe y Cacao (Foie with coffee foam and cacao). It's not the first time I try Foie with Chocolate but the first time i try it with Coffee, and I must say the combination is great. Some sort of Foie Capuccino...with Maldon salt and Truffle oil...

Next on the Degustation menu was Rape con rossinyols (Monkfish with Russinyols mushrooms). The dish came with a sort of almond Ice Cream and balsamic reduction. On top of the fish was some sort of smoked bone marrow I think. I found this dish too busy and would have probably just enjoyed the fish with the mushrooms and the balsamic glaze...

Main course was Baby lamb chops with asparagus and sweetbread. I found it a bit too rare but taste was fantastic. Compared to the other dishes, this looked like a pretty straight forward dish to me.


For Dessert, we had 2 dishes: Peras Confitadas y Cacao and Cheese Tastings.



The pear confit was mixed with some kind of foam and a intense chocolate (that looked like a pear). As for the cheese, what called my attention was the fantastic blue cheese (from a small town in Spain that's I can't remember now) and the french Mimolette cheese. The platter was laid out from the weakest to the strongest tasting one, and at the end, 2 pieces of Membrillo (Quince paste) for the last 2 pieces of cheese.

Over all, I had a good dining experience. Hisop has been in operation for some years now and rumors are that it will get the coveted Michelin star soon......