We are presenting a unique place this week. Just as often happened more than 50 years ago, when chefs weren’t such visible stars, a restaurant lover who wasn’t professional chef would decide to open a restaurant, taking care of each detail, making it in his own image and likeness. He didn’t know how to cook, but he was a careful student of cooking, so he assembled a team of chefs who would execute his ideas. They suggested their own, too, but always under the owner’s philosophy.
An owner in love with Barcelona, Umberto is a cultivated Venezuelan with his own self-taught culinary theories, who comes from the business world and the world we know today as Malamén, the small restaurant we are showcasing. The name comes because he thinks that people should behave badly (“malament” in Catalan, hence “malamén”) by drinking and eating whatever they want without any diets or limitations. In case you were wondering, we Miguelines love to misbehave!
It’s a tiny restaurant seating just 30 diners located on Carrer Blai (parallel to Paral·lel), where everyone sits on a stool arranged either near the bar or around a few tall tables. It is an Art Déco venue whose owner says he was inspired by Barcelona, but which we Miguelines think looks more like New York. Mirrors around it all, neon light outside and minimalist gold lights… it’s definitely attention-grabbing and doesn’t look like anything else we’ve seen in Barcelona. The venue is like the owner: unique. By the way, since he’s in the dining room and the dining room is quite small, the owner is yet another ingredient which diners will sample in many dishes.
The menu is well-crafted, with pretensions and risks in the contrasts but not in the techniques, which are basic. There are cheap nibbles, first courses which are well-priced, and more heavy-hitting main courses costing more than €16. To start, we sample the mild “Calamari croquettes in ink”, which made the place famous in one issue of Time Out. We continue with “Foie gras montadito a la paella”, with an onion base, as delicious as it is filling. After that comes a little tapa of “Blood sausage with orange”; as the blood sausage lovers that we are, we think its contrasts could use improvement. Along the same lines is the “Vegan tartare”, a trompe-l'oeil dish made with beets in different textures; fun, but it still needs some refinement.
Calamari croquettes in ink
Foie gras montadito a la paella
Blood sausage with orange
Vegan tartare
Interesting “Assortment of shellfish with béarnaise sauce”, extremely well crafted, slides down easily and is suitable for all palates. “Ropa viaje with foamed egg” is even more outstanding and truly delicious and personal; it comes in a little ramekin where everything is mixed together, the meat and the liquid egg on a bed of poached potatoes. You’ve really got to order it… look at the video we took below and get ready for your mouth to water! The “Suckling pig in terrine” is also very good. The second part of this meal is clearly more interesting than the first. A bold contrast in “Duck magret with mint sauce” is the finale to the savoury dishes which embody Umberto’s singular approach.
Assortment of shellfish with béarnaise sauce
Ropa vieja with foamed egg
Suckling pig in terrine
Duck magret with mint sauce
The desserts, just like the main courses, are curious, although they also leave room for improvement. Malamén is ambitious, and a trip there is worth it because it’s different. The venue is interesting and so is the food. It’s a place whose cuisine is sure to be further fine-tuned, yet even today it’s a good experience.
So, are you going to misbehave and visit Malamén?
| Score | ||
|---|---|---|
| Food | Wines | |
| 66 | 65 | |
| Service | Venue | |
| 65 | 68 | |
| Price | Miguelín Stars | |
| 40€ |  |
|
| Per person: 1 appetiser, 1 main course, desserts (to share), a glass of wine | ||
Where is Malamén?
Address: Carrer de Blai, 53, 08004 Barcelona
Telephone: 932 52 77 63
Timetable: Tuesday to Sunday, 8 pm to 12 midnight. Closed Monday
Website: http://www.malamen.es/