Alaire Terrace Bar, Barcelona

In an attempt to warm myself up before I write a blog on my two fine dining meals in Catalonia, I thought I would mention a meal we had on a roof top terrace bar one warm evening in Barcelona.

Before we realised we had got a reservation in the infamous 'El Celler de Can Roca', we had a back up plan in the form of Restaurant Lasarte (a two star establishment within the Hotel Condes). When we heard the incredible news from Girona that we had managed to get a lunchtime cancellation, unfortunately it meant we had to scrap our reservation in the highly regarded Lasarte, however having looked into the hotel quite a bit I knew they had a rooftop bar which served high end tapas and decided we couldn't leave without trying some of their dishes.

View of Casa Mila from the terrace.

The rooftop is rather understated, with minimalist white plastic chairs and a nice bench around the perimeter so you can admire the wonderful view with ease. I have to say, after reading the reviews of Alaire Terrace, I was certainly not expecting such a wonderful view of the well known Passeig de Gracia (home to both Casa Batllo and Casa Mila two of Gaudi's most recognised houses in Barcelona)m or indeed the Sagrada Familia towering in the distance. I suggest if you want a clear view of Sagrada come during the day for a bite to eat, as it isn't illuminated from the side we were positioned and once dusk fell was difficult to see, however it was still extremely impressive and as you can see, our front row seats for Casa Mila, which seems to look like a golden palace when lit up at night, were well worth it.

Outdoor terrace bar

Fortunately we (unintentionally) timed our visit to perfection as a football game was playing which meant their were quite a few special dining offers available. All offers came with either a beer or a glass of wine and were really reasonably priced considering their relatively pricey menu. The first deal was a pizza with a drink and we opted for the four cheese one for 12 euros.

Vine tomato and four cheese pizza

The pizza was delicious, bubbling as it was just out of the oven and covered in cheesey scrummyness. It was also an incredibly decent size too and the four of us had no trouble in polishing off the plate within a matter of minutes!

The second offer was for three of their tapas choices with a drink for 18 euros. We were told this included their spicy potatoes, Galician style octopus and then either the nachos or the foie bon bons. Having studied the menu we opted for the bon bons not only as they were the pricier of the two, but were also something different we hadn't seen on other menus during our stay!

Spicy Potatoes

When the spicy potatoes arrived I have to admit we were rather relieved! This was following a terrible attempt at them by a restaurant the previous day who considered oven chips and hot sauce a valid alternative...needless to say this portion of patatas bravas really hit the mark! Despite being called spicy the red sauce was not overpowering and added more of a smokey flavour to the perfectly crisp fried potatoes which perfectly complimented the creamy aioli.

Octopus Galician Style

Before coming to Barcelona I had never really tried Octopus, but it became a firm favourite of ours during our stay; I believe we had it in four of our meals! When done well, the octopus is so tender, not chewy how some calamari can often be, and much meatier. In this dish it was served with sliced potatoes, and a smokey hot paprika dusting. I loved them, however, for other members of my family it was a little too spicy for them and detracted away from the beautifully cooked octopus which was a little bit of a shame.

Foie bon bons

In my opinion the absolute star of the dishes we had here were the foie bon bons, which were dusted in a bright green pistachio powder. Being a huge fan of pate this was just perfect for me, with toasted crostini the little balls of loveliness came drizzled with a sweet balsamic which really worked with the creamy earthiness of the nutty foie. I could have eaten the whole dish myself, and more, such a shame we had to share!

The final offer available was for a beer and the McAlaire Burger at 15 euros. My brother opted for this and he definitely wasn't disappointed. He actually decided to add cheddar cheese and bacon to the already brimming burger and said it was like the best Big Mac he had ever tasted. I think this was probably down to the pickles and their special sauce, but he was certainly a happy man!

McAlaire Burger

As there were four of us (and only three special offers!) we also decided to order two further tapas dishes from their a la carte menu. Feeling a little stuffed from the carbs and fried foods I asked if we could try their Capresse salad, and we also opted for the dish I had been drooling over since reading their unique menu, the 'Artisan Croquettes'.

Capresse Salad

When the salad arrived I felt instantly uplifted! The vibrant colours from the rocket and pesto and well as the sweet vine ripened tomatoes and black olives seemed to make my body do a little jump for joy at the arrival of something a little fresher with a few more vitamins! I'd go as far as to say the mozzarella itself was possibly the best I had ever tasted, so creamy, it just fell apart, not like the plasticy lumps you get from British supermarkets, and obviously it went perfectly with these fail safe ingredient combinations.

Artisan croquettes

What I loved about this bar was that it really seemed to push the boundaries of the conventional tapas dishes so often served in Barcelona, and offer things a little different to try. These 4 types of croquette were a prime example of that with the fillings comprising of Iberian ham, crab, Gorgonzola & nut and foie & boletus (a type of wild mushroom). Being a sharing family we cut the four types in half so we could sample each of them, and I have to say there wasn't one I didn't enjoy. If I had to pick a favourite it was possibly the Gorgonzola and nut with little chunks of pine nut adding texturally to the soft filling and crispy outer shell, but I know we all like different ones for different elements - definitely worth trying if you head to Alaire Terrace in the future.

I would highly recommend Alaire Terrace Bar not only for the excellent views and great atmosphere, but also for their high quality food. Unfortunately we had to shoot off earlier than we would have liked to catch the La Merce firework display, I have no doubt if we had stayed we would have also sampled their cocktail menu and whisky tasting, and I imagine these too would have been excellent - there's always next time I suppose!

http://www.condesdebarcelona.com/en/alaire-terrace-bar-43/