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Cal Pep

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viajera67
viajera67
First Reviewer
5 out of 5
Avg. Member Rating
3
Reviews
10
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Can't Miss Barcelona Experience

  • April 9, 2009
  • Rated 5 of 5 by oldscratch from New York, New York
Barcelona is known, of course, for it's tapas, but not all tapas bars are created equal, and while I only tried two in the city, I can't imagine a better tapas experience than the one we enjoyed at Cal Pep.

The first thing you have to do is get in line, but the line moves surprisingly fast, and before you know it, you're sitting at the counter. (The owner even orchestrated six diners moving down a stool so that my wife and I could take two far-flung but empty spots.) Then you tell the guy behind the counter if there's anything you won't eat and whether or not you want wine, and the food starts to emerge from the open kitchen a few feet away.

Our meal included the best calamari I've ever had and quite a few dishes I've never had, including a couple I perhaps would not recommend for the squeamish like whole, head-on, deep-fried shrimp.

One other thing to keep an eye out for is the placemats. They're all reproductions of the art hanging on the wall behind the counter and make a great souvenir.
Editor Pick

Cal Pep

  • November 7, 2006
  • Rated 5 of 5 by ext212 from New York, New York
Cal Pep

I read about Chef Pep and how he still cooks at the bar and entertains with his cigarette-smoke voice as if he's known them for years, but no one seemed to know where Plaza de les Olles was until a local overheard us ask a waiter at the Boqueria for directions. The waiter didn't know either so the local sketched out a street map for us. He was curious as to how we heard about Cal Pep because he told us it's one of Barcelona's foodie secrets. (Maybe that's why no one wanted to tell us where it was!) This got us even more excited and a 40-minute waiting time spent standing behind the bar stools (with champagne, natch) didn't seem to be an inconvenience.

When we were finally seated, we noticed that the printed place mats matched the art hanging on the walls. They are sketches from different artists and they randomly give a different one to each customer. The more you make a mess, the more you get it replaced.

So we sat at the bar elbow-to-elbow with everyone else--there is a dining room in the back but the action happens at the counter--and let one of the bartenders serve whatever he wanted us to eat (omakase, Catalan style!) while we started with the traditional toast rubbed with grilled tomato and garlic. The next three hours was pretty much heavenly. Everything was made with passion and you could watch the chefs toss, sauté, grill and fry different ingredients with gusto.

The almejas, or clams, quickly fried in olive oil and parsley were so fresh, you really didn't need much with them. The purple taint inside was so nice to look at, too. The chipirones, or small squid, were the size of my thumb and cooked with garbanzos. The dish changed my distaste for chickpeas. We sat right next to father-and-son Germans who ordered deep-fried pimiento peppers. The father noticed us looking so he picked up two from his plate and put them on ours. Unfortunately, Cal Pep ran out of peppers by the time we tried to order our own. The langoustines came next and we spent so much time peeling, eating the meat and sucking the juice out of their heads. A lot of work always pays off because I don't think I've ever seen my dining companion as happy.

We could have ended our night there but we really wanted to taste the way Cal Pep cooks fish. It was almost 1am and they've ran out of monkfish so they served us sea bass instead. The bartender showed us a fresh piece of fish and asked for our approval before cooking it. Before serving it to us, he filleted it for us.

And it was at Cal Pep where we ended our vacation in Barcelona. We were full, drunk and happy as we stumbled back to our Hostal Goya room. After seven days of rigorous hiking, Barcelona meant to be our reward. It was just that.

From journal Gourmandizing Barcelona

Editor Pick

Cal Pep

  • July 26, 2001
  • Rated 4 of 5 by viajera67 from New York, New York
Yummy is the word to describe the delicious, fresh, made-to-order seafood dishes served at Cal Pep. Located in La Ribera (near Estacion Francia), Cal Pep is a tapas bar (with a restaurant in back, I believe) that is usually crowded - for good reason! Order a glass of wine or beer as you wait your turn to grab a seat at the bar. While you wait, get ideas about what you want to order by watching the chefs cooking behind the bar or looking at what others are eating.

Once seated, ask your server what he recommends and order it! We ate divine calamari with white beans, clams in garlic sauce, and an order of delectable garbanzo beans and spinach. I went back the next night on my own for the clams (again) and an order of grilled prawns. Delicious!

From journal Living it up in Barcelona

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