Thread: El Bulli - the world's best restaurant?

I've got a lot of gems on my blog so I thought I would parse some out.

El Bulli is the most influential restaurant of our time, bar none. It is the most coveted reservation in the world. If you find a "world's best restaurants" list from the past 10 years, chances are that El Bulli is #1; if not, it's in the top 5. Why? The chef is responsible for introducing science into fine dining and relentlessly experimenting with our notions of fine food. He has also been copied endlessly to the point that much of his advances are somewhat ubiquitous at this point.

Some fun facts:
- The restaurant is open 5-6 months out of the year (the rest of the time is spent in the lab)

- There are 2,000,000 requests for 8,000 total seats every year !!!

- Eating here is truly winning the lottery


My take-away? It's not the best restaurant in the world, but it is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Despite the high-tech nature of the food, the restaurant itself is open-air, sitting on a beach, very very casual (as is most of Spain.) Some of the novelty is lost b/c the restaurant's dishes and techniques are everywhere now. If you eat something different in your dining adventures, chances are the idea originated from El BUlli.


The full review is here:
ChuckEats blog El Bulli (Roses, Spain) - The Mad Scientist

Cost per person: A very modest 175 euros/person

Some of the highlights from the 33 course meal (2006):

Green Olive
Olive gelee filled w/ olive oil. Take a bite, olive oil bursts inside your mouth coating it, and the oil slowly drains. What a fantastic sensation (mostly, the draining) as you keep re-living the taste for a good 2-3 minutes. A contender for best dish of the night. Awesome.




The Animals
All sorts of tastes, none of them magical, but I still like the whimsy of this dish. If anything, it's symbolic of the chef and his restaurant. Great Fun.




Mozzerella Brioche w/ Rose Foam
Was this bread or cheese? A very satisfying gooey bread. The rose foam was intensely fragrant. Very Good.




8. Parmesan Cheese Wonton w/ Apple Foam
Extremely light, one nearly tossed it across the room as you picked it up, an essence of a dish if there ever was one. Slight bite of parmesan foam inside; cut it with the apple foam accompaniment. A contender for best dish of the night. Ephemeral in the truest sense. Awesome.






Zucchini Risotto
No rice, just tiny little specs of zucchini. The fluorescent bits were dried peas (if my memory is working.) Bright flavor, amazing texture, a table favorite, a contender for dish of the night. Awesome.





Salmon Belly w/ Pickles
I am picky about my fish, and we were highly discouraged by the fish quality on our European adventure, but this was perfect fish. Skip the pickles, give me more fish. Excellent.






Seafood Salad
A circle of seaweed that got progressively saltier as you made your way around. The sea foam was the essence of sea, and I wouldn't be surprised if someone had run down to the beach minutes earlier. The seaweed at the end was *very* salty; the watermelon, hiding under the foam, was a very welcome treat by the end. Very Good.




Oyster w/ Oyster Sauce + Flower
We were instructed to eat the flower between oysters, presumably as a palette cleanser of some sort. My notes didn't record the purpose; they only say "very oyster like." The oysters themselves were large, warm, and cooked - yuck. Not Good.




Bone Marrow w/ Wine "Burst"
The marrow was crispy on the outside and way too rich this far into the meal. The wine "burst" (my own words) employed the same technique as the olive earlier in the meal; eat it in one bite, close your mouth, and pop. It didn't have the impact of the olive since olive oil was not coating your mouth. Good.




Ham w/ Potato Foam
I didn't have much of this; notes say "salty but good."




Chicken Feet w/ Seaweed + Tea Foam
The chicken feed were very crispy; the table was amazed he could achieve such a texture. One table eater, the "alternate" eater who would never think of eating a chicken foot, loved them. The foam had the essence of tea. I'm not sure how everything was supposed to go together; neither here nor there. Good.





A trick to eating there? If you stay nearby (it's only 1 hour north of Barcelona), they experience cancellations every day. Call them up in the morning and ask if there are any lunch or dinner cancellations.


- chuck

This is just outrageous Chuck. Funny about the ubiquity of the techniques when in fact Ferran was the originator of these novelties. I would very much like to go there if only for the showmanship of the meal; I'm sure some of the dishes got lost in science rather than taste but those that were outstanding could only add to the experience.

Chuck..I am in awe...looks outstanding!

33 course meal...

Dang, that salmon belly looks just tremendous. Great TR!

This is absolutely amazing! So, how many of ya'll have eaten here? >.<

Originally Posted by SuperMaruchi

So, how many of ya'll have eaten here? >.<

It is on my list!

carendt242, you are one eating fiend...

WOW, i was hungry, now i'm starving . . .

looks incredible!

Ferran is the first person to create "caviar" out of non-fish ingredients. Now you see that in molecular gastronomy all the time. If you think his restaurant is amazing, check out his lab....it's jawdropping.

looks delish.