We visited Enigma in Barcelona and left mind-blown. It hit every mark, from creativity and technique, to flavor and service. My favorite part of the entire meal was connecting the dots between the humble tapas and pintxos we’d tried throughout our trip, and the wild new interpretation that Enigma served. It had a real sense of place; Enigma would only make sense there in Barcelona and that made the meal all the more special.
Beyond the clear connection to the local cuisine, the food was delicious! The sea cucumber was a revelation and the foie gras flan was pure gluttony. As were the Palamos shrimp. The shrimp in Spain is outrageous, and the shrimp served at Enigma were no exception. That course was also a true standout from a service perspective, as our waiter had recognized my girlfriend is left-handed and shared this with the kitchen. The kitchen then plated her dish left-to-right, as opposed to mine served right-to-left. This was done without us even mentioning handedness. Really stellar stuff!
I included captions for each picture but please ask away if you want to hear more about the experience or any particular dish. I decided to cut the first couple of bites as they were the weakest part of the menu, but even those “tapi” were fun and tasty! Came across as the kitchen firing off more out-there bites to prime you for the rest of the evening, and they even started us off with a few “cocktails.” The mushroom and eggplant dish didn’t make the cut either–despite it being a favorite, we were a little tipsy and some photos of preps/dishes came out blurry! In any case, we left happy and full, and would gladly return next time we’re in Barcelona.
Date: June 21, 2024
Cost: ~$900 (two menus at 240€ plus a bottle of champagne)
mensgarb
This looks like a much better version of the evolution of shrimp than what we had about a year ago. Enigma has a ton going for it that helped us look past some of the missteps along the way.
2 Comments
We visited Enigma in Barcelona and left mind-blown. It hit every mark, from creativity and technique, to flavor and service. My favorite part of the entire meal was connecting the dots between the humble tapas and pintxos we’d tried throughout our trip, and the wild new interpretation that Enigma served. It had a real sense of place; Enigma would only make sense there in Barcelona and that made the meal all the more special.
Beyond the clear connection to the local cuisine, the food was delicious! The sea cucumber was a revelation and the foie gras flan was pure gluttony. As were the Palamos shrimp. The shrimp in Spain is outrageous, and the shrimp served at Enigma were no exception. That course was also a true standout from a service perspective, as our waiter had recognized my girlfriend is left-handed and shared this with the kitchen. The kitchen then plated her dish left-to-right, as opposed to mine served right-to-left. This was done without us even mentioning handedness. Really stellar stuff!
I included captions for each picture but please ask away if you want to hear more about the experience or any particular dish. I decided to cut the first couple of bites as they were the weakest part of the menu, but even those “tapi” were fun and tasty! Came across as the kitchen firing off more out-there bites to prime you for the rest of the evening, and they even started us off with a few “cocktails.” The mushroom and eggplant dish didn’t make the cut either–despite it being a favorite, we were a little tipsy and some photos of preps/dishes came out blurry! In any case, we left happy and full, and would gladly return next time we’re in Barcelona.
Date: June 21, 2024
Cost: ~$900 (two menus at 240€ plus a bottle of champagne)
This looks like a much better version of the evolution of shrimp than what we had about a year ago. Enigma has a ton going for it that helped us look past some of the missteps along the way.