El Borracho de Oro

If you have read my blog before you would know that I have visited Barcelona twice and love everything about the city, including the food. So when I got an invite to go try out El Borracho de Oro, just behind the Morrisons on Hagley Road, I jumped at the chance to delve back into tapas heaven.

I took along my cousin, who has also been to Barcelona, to try out the eatery on a Tuesday night. The restaurant was adorned in wood and warm sunny decorations that scream Spain but not in a garish sense. We tried an array of the dishes on offer, consisting of most of the seafood and vegetarian options.

First up, it was the "Cod “ a la Llauna”, white wine, Paprika and Green Beans" (pictured above). The cod was done to perfection, soft but not rubbery, it worked well with the paprika and chilli oil sauce, as well as the soft and crunchy green beans. This tasted as good as it looked and I found it quite hard to share.

Normally, when I have octopus it is in Paella or it is in the form of calamari. So it was a refreshing change to see it being served in this way with potatoes, in a dish called "Octopus “A la Gallega”, warm Olive Oil, Paprika & Potatoes". It was a nice dish but the octopus wasn't really to my taste but I liked the way the potatoes were served with the paprika.

Patatas Bravas is a staple within any Spanish or Catalonian meal and it was no exception within this meal. In this instance it was deconstructed, this may have been because I asked for it to be dairy-free, but it was very well done. The potatoes were fried beautifully, soft in the centre and crispy on the outside and with the spicy tomato sauce, I just gobbled it up.

Next up is a unique dish that I have never heard of nor tried, called "Fideuà de Marisco, which is a seafood Catalan dish similar to Paella but made with “fideo” pasta (fine noodles) fresh seafood and fish, topped with toasted alioli". I quite liked the verchelli-like noodles and how sticky it was, which was to similar to Paella. The best part was the chunky seafood within the dish that worked well with the creamy yet dairy-free noodles (minus the alioli in the centre which is not dairy-free and I did not eat). Would I have this dish again? Maybe if it was in a smaller portion.

Mussels are not my favourite type of seafood but I do enjoy them, again when they have soaked up the flavours of Paella. This time the mussels were described as "Mussels in a Fisherman’s Sauce, Hazelnuts, Paprika, White Wine". They had an interesting flavour that didn't seem to work well with the lemon and it didn't have the depth the cod had but they were a ample portion. They even came with a bowl of hot water and lemon to soak hands in afterwards, to ensure the fishy smell didn't linger, which was ace.

Hungry yet? Yeah, me too. Feel free to have a intermission to have a cup of tea and a slice of cake, I know you wanna.

I like peppers, of all kinds, so when I saw that they had "Pimientos de Padron" aka fried baby green peppers I had to taste them and see what they were like. They had a smokiness to them that was nice and were like they had been barbecued. However, they were a tad more bitter then I had anticipated them to be and they would be lovely maybe stuffed with a little of the Fideuà de Marisco noodles.

The best part of going on the food discovery in Barcelona was discovering two things:- Tortilla Española and the bread with grated tomato. I saw that both of these dishes were on the menu at El Borracho de Oro and I am so glad I did. The tortilla was layered well and was tasty, although it needed a little seasoning, but the bread was a stand-out dish. It was crunchy yet soft and the tomato and oil made it 10 times better. I would specifically go back for this pair of dishes, as they remind me of the best part of Barcelona. Especially that bread, oh my god that bread.

Would I go back to this eatery? Yes

For anything in particular? The cod, bread with grated tomato, patatas bravas and tortilla Española.

How was the service? They were friendly and nice to all. It took a while for the food to arrive but the reason why was shown when the fresh food arrived.

How did they cope with the dairy-free dietary requirement? The waiter was well versed on what was suitable and what was not and was able to suggest some alterations.

What are the prices like? The tapas dishes that we had ranged from £5 to £9.50, which would make it around £45 in total for two people for 8 dishes.

Was it a substantial meal? Yes, we had 4 dishes each and there was more than enough to fill us both up with alot left over.

More information - http://www.elborracho.co.uk/

Overall, it was a great meal, with attentive service and a nice atmosphere, I cannot wait to go back for the Tortilla Espanol and bread soon.

*I was invited to El Borracho de Oro to review the menu and the meal was complimentary but my views are my own*