Quimet y Quimet
Carrer del Poeta Cabanyes 25
08004 Barcelona
Spain
TripAdvisor

I like to believe that Anthony Bourdain is a reliable source when it comes to food.  I mean, he has built his career around being “authentic” and just “telling it like it is.”  But I have always wondered what happens if he eats something he doesn’t like while being filmed?  As a professional, it would probably be wrong to openly insult a restaurant’s food.  Quimet y Quimet is not that place.  In fact, Bourdain RAVED about the food here.  TripAdvisors only echoed the same glowing sentiments.  To The Annoyer and me, this place was not totally not what we were expecting.  We couldn’t have been more disappointed and displeased with the food.

Cecina con Tomate cured beef meat and sweet tomato
Quimet y Quimet is known for its montaditos, or a type of tapa with lots of goodies piled on top of a piece of bread.  I quite enjoyed the contrast of the salty cured meat with the sweet tomato.  

Ostras oysters
These tasted like they came out of a can.  They definitely were of some preserved variety.  Totally NOT appetizing from a texture and taste perspective.

Navajas en aceite razor clams in oil
The Annoyer was on a total razor clam kick all throughout our trip.  These weren’t nearly as unappetizing as the oysters, but we did not want to finish the whole plate.

Paté, setas, cebolla y trufa pate, mushrooms, onions, and truffle
I really enjoyed this montadito almost as much or maybe even more than the last one.  It was hard not to fall in love with the truffle essence here.

Carillada de cerdo Ibérico iberian pork cheek
Meat definitely whethers the preservation process better than seafood.  The pork cheek was tender and retained its natural flavor better than the clams and oysters, but it had an oddly dry yet oily thing going on.

Clams
They tasted as good as they looked…

I liked the montaditos, but everything else was not appetizing.  We had become so accustomed to the freshest most delicious seafood while in Barcelona.    Quimet y Quimet was a sharp departure from all of that.  Nothing was fresh.  Everything was preserved and probably came from a can or jar.  From the unanimously positive TripAdvisor reviews, it’s obvious that we just do not appreciate this style of food.  For some, its totally bomb, but for us it was just a bomb.  Would not return here.

10 – You NEED to eat here
9 – Awesome
8 – Very good
7 – Good
6 – OK
5 – Average
4 – Not bad
3 – Not good
2 – Terrible
1 – Do NOT eat here