The Michelin guide has still failed to be brought up to date and, even worse, it has yet to distinguish Catalan cuisine on par with the ratings it gets by many food critics. Both factors have ended up discouraging our chefs and restaurateurs, who end up ignore the Michelin judges’ demands, pet peeves and requirements to instead focus on food with an economically sustainable-profitable model.
One example is Suculent: if its cooking, dishes and interpretation were in a place with different tables, service and wine list, would be a strong contender for a star. It could be but isn’t… because many venues continue to plod along without the distinction they deserve. But anyhow, let’s get down to business. At Suculent you can savour incredible dishes that are capable of surprising and satisfying even the most discerning, refined and well-travelled palate.
With the invaluable support of Carles Abellán, who is a partner, Antonio Romero offers a cuisine free of bounds, with unique interpretations, powerful flavours and original, refined presentations. After several years, the menu is now mature and combine dishes that are sure-fire hits with new ones, those that come behind. It does so without attachments, without complexes and without tablecloths, without an extensive wine list and without a hushed venue with comfortable chairs and well-separated tables. It just does it. That’s why we say that Suculent is on the Michelin track – that’s right, after our criticism of the French system we are now using it as a reference… pardon the incongruence; it’s just to make ourselves clear.
The restaurant is located in the Raval district, and from the outside and even as you enter, it looks small, seating 30-40 diners. However, it has another dining room tucked away, almost clandestinely, on the upper level, doubling its capacity to 80. The servers are motivated, young and blithely professional; it has a combination of low and high tables, all made of rustic wood, as well as places at the bar… everything is deliberately, perfectly informal.
Christmas is coming and it’s time to get our stomachs ready, so with this in mind, and to honour such a powerful cuisine, we order the 21 dishes on the large sampling menu. Still, at Suculent you can order any way you wish: you don’t have to order the sampling menu. Here we want to highlight the most impressive dishes we devoured.
De mocadorada, “Lobster, cuttlefish and prawn croquettes” where you won’t find too much croquette but instead an exquisite dish with these three elements. Ceviche is fashionable, and the “Red prawn ceviche” at Suculent is an example of balance, beauty and subtlety. Well done! A delightful “Lobster tomalley with Thai broth” – heaven! What a display of flavour and sensibility!
Lobster, cuttlefish and prawn croquettes
Red prawn ceviche
Lobster tomalley with Thai broth
We find one of the restaurant’s classics, “Smoked sardine with ajoblanco”, as good as ever… maybe even a little better. A dish that’s not everyone’s cup of tea but absolutely exquisite is “Cockscomb”. Another classic, “Estic tar tar sobre moll”, is a play on words in Catalan featuring steak tartare with potato soufflé.[M1] We leave the dish of the evening for the end, one that is striking in flavour and refined in presentation: “Eel allipebre”. Try it: we’ll wager our reputation that it will blow you away. The desserts were exquisite, although not quite as amazing as the main menu.
Smoked sardine with ajoblanco
Eel allipebre
Cockscomb
Beautiful dishes. Endless sensibility. Perfect flavours. Fascinating textures. Sea and mountain, heaven and earth. Three huge Miguelin stars for this cuisine that leaves nothing to be desired. Go see what the folks at Suculent are capable of! Go now!
| Score | ||
|---|---|---|
| Food | Wines | |
| 83 | 67 | |
| Service | Venue | |
| 71 | 68 | |
| Price | Miguelín Stars | |
| 55€ |  |
|
| Per person: 3-4 appetisers (to share), 1-2 main courses (to share), 1 glass of wine | ||
Where is Suculent?
Address: Rambla del Raval, 43, 08001 Barcelona
Telephone: 934 43 65 79
Timetable: Wednesday to Sunday, 1 to 4 pm and 8 to 11:30 pm