Girona is one of the cities you’re bound to pass-by if you plan on traveling to Barcelona (1 hour away by bus or train), especially if you’re flying en route on budget domestic European Airlines, since Girona Airport is where most flights prefer to land. For me staying overnight in Girona made sense as I had to wait here for my dining companions to El Celler de Can Roca the next morning. This city is beautiful and clean, but it’s a small city and the back alleyways might give you surprises if you plan to do spontaneous shopping here. Food-wise? There are not many options to choose from but surprisingly they’re mostly of higher quality than is generally the norm within Barcelona. Girona prides itself on its food quality. Boira might not be the best representative Bar and Restaurant in town as I did have other places in mind, but by the time I arrived most kitchens were closed - so I needed to do my 3rd or 4th preferences or risk starving to death overnight! Luckily, this still turned out to be a good late supper despite this venue being second rated by the locals. You just can’t have a really bad meal in Spain, even if you tried!
A very European City, it was so… not very Spanish for some reason -
Roasted Chestnuts are found everywhere in Europe during Autumn and Winter -
it’s interesting how similar this situation is compared to Hong Kong!
Some Beautiful Scenery Around town -
Plaza de la Independencia -
During day time, there are many market stalls open within this plaza..
Boira Bar and Restaurante -
Most restaurants in Girona have their menu’s written in the local Catalonian language, which became a bit foreign to me as Tapas are called Tapes! Luckily they also translate it into normal Spanish (and English of course, haha! Otherwise I’ll have a major headache ordering!).
Pere Ventura Cava Brut Reserva, Santa Sadurni d’Anoia (D.O. Penedes) €2.50 -
Sourced from a famous white cava producing region within Catalonia, I was doing a lot of Cava and Beers in Spain. Sangria’s are best left for tourists who don’t even know how alcohol in Spain operates. Originally, Sangria is never ordered by locals at restaurants, if one notices around them carefully… They’re only drank at parties held by youngster locals, as a way of using the cheapest wine to get them to the drunken state a.s.a.p ~ 8/10
Anxoves de l’Escala -
Anxoves/Anchoas are usually salt-brined and served straight from Cans or Tins. Only prejudiced people who are biased towards canned food or have absolutely no clue about Spanish food will dismiss tinned Anchovies and make up stories that fresh Seitons/Boquerones marinated in Vinegar taste better, because they normally aren’t. The preserved tinned ones are priced at a higher level in general, even within this restaurant serving both types, and in supermarkets they have additional security coded tags attached to prevent their theft. I love both anchovies, but Anxoves/Anchoas types are more exclusive and even elusive to find in Hong Kong, certainly not within any local Spanish restaurants I know of. There have been occasional offerings in supermarkets. Make no mistakes - Anchovies in Vinegar are not the same as Salted Anchovies, one of the most delectable offerings from Spain… There’s a reason why its used in the No.2 Restaurant in the World over fresher boquerones, and why it costs more in general ~ 9/10
Nice River View at Night -
Paletilla de Pernil Iberic I pa amb Tomaquet -
Machine sliced front leg of Iberico were perfectly marbled and served with Tomato and Garlic bread (Pan Con Tomate equivalent). This hams platter and breads only costed around €9.50, as its part of a Drinks and Tapes combo deal. This quality of ham is so good, it’ll easily beat most places serving Jamon de Iberico at 300% mark-up. Amazing front leg ~ 10/10
Torres Atrium, del celler Miguel Torres (D.O. Penedes) €2.0 -
Also from the Penedes region, this is a merlot which came recommended by the staff. Its just a cheap drink but at this price point, it definitely was enjoyable ~ 8/10
Amanida de Marisc -
A Salpicon of shellfish, mostly of mussels and prawns and a variety of vegetables and spice to enhance the overall dish’s flavour. Absolutely perfectly rendered and seasoned. May be I am being lax with my rating today, you might say? Or this is simply because Spain’s Spanish food is at its absolute best? Although not 100% comparable, this beats the Escabeche dish we had at Mesa 15 and that was pretty good already ~ 10/10
A Few Trays of prepared food, a typical Spanish experience -
As over there most authentic Tapas/Raciones dishes are not hidden from the customer’s view… Not that it really matters. But if this happened in HK, people will be whining left and right that all the food is not cooked fresh. I can’t help you if you insist on thinking that way!
Price: €20.25 Per Person incl. IVA
Score: ★★★★★☆
*Bargain again, yes. Top quality food with a basement price, you’ll be hard pressed to find this anywhere else in the world…
Opening Hours:
Mon-Sun: 00:00 - 00:00
Address:
Plaza de la Independencia 17, Santa Clara, 60, 17001 Girona, Spain
Ph: +34 972211132
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