Berbena

I'll admit something: I arrived suspicious. A booking that takes weeks to land usually means fashion, and fashion rarely feeds you well. Then the meal began, and the pacing won me over before any single plate did. Courses came when we were ready for them, not when the pass was; the kitchen watched the room the way my mother watched a pot. What they cook in this tiny Gràcia room follows the market week by week, modern in shape but with opinions you can taste, playful without silliness. Service knows its business and lets you eat. My complaint stands, though. When a table asks this much planning of you, supper becomes an appointment, and I like my suppers spontaneous. Worth the diary work once in a while, all the same, and I'll grumble while booking.