Xialoka - a Catalan masterpiece

9 / 5 Address: C. de Cabanes, 22 , Barcelona

Crispy potatoes. Perfect spice level. Creamy mayo. As close to perfection as you can come.

5/4 - 2024 This spot on a side street from Paral-lel is a must go to spot when visiting Barcelona. The restaurant itself doesn't look all that at first glance. But it's the food that should do the talking. Not the furniture. After examining the menu, that was only available in Catalan we decided on a few items. Not long after the Bravas were served. And after having quite bad luck with the Bravas the past two days I was a bit on the fence. But what was served was as close to perfection as you can come. The potatoes were sliced in perfect cubes. Just as it should be. They were fried to a crispy layer on the outside, while the inside was a perfect soft. The red Bravas sauce had a perfect spice level to it and the mayo was creamy and well made. So why not a 10? The quality of the potato could have been better. And sure, this is a personal preference. But some potato get a bit "starchy" (mjölig, in Swedish) when frying it. This was one of those cases. A bit more firmness to the potato would have pushed this to the perfect 10. But all in all, a top tier place!