Aleia

Handsome room, and it tells you so quietly: Passeig de Gràcia light, surfaces that soften sound, money spent where it calms rather than shouts. The first ten minutes run like choreography, coats gone and a glass in hand before you have finished admiring the ceiling, the pace unhurried in the way only confident houses manage. What follows is a curious marriage, Andalusian warmth of seasoning carried on Catalan technique, and mostly a happy one. The southern accent lends the flavours a generosity you rarely meet at this level of refinement. Not every dish earns its concept; once or twice the idea ran ahead of the plate, and I would like the newest compositions to settle. But the fundamentals are sound and the classics honoured. This is a table for occasions you can count on one hand, and when one arrives it will hold up its end.