Restaurant Review: El Callejon

BARCELONA, SPAIN

I found some good reviews online about this restaraurant, so we decided to tak our chances. It was off the main road, nestled in a back alley.

Once we got inside, there was nobody in the restaurant. I was worried that was a bad sign, but it was only 10:00, which is early for dinner in Barcelona. It was nice that they were accomadating for such a large group, especially since the front desk made the reservation for 2 rather than 11 (not quite sure how that was misinterpreted).

The menu, although not large, had options with seafood, chicken, beef, and vegetarian. It consisted mainly of tapas and appetizers, with a few options for main courses. The prices were not high, ranging from 3-12 Euro for almost any item on the menu. My end of the table decided to order tapas to all share. Of the dishes we ordered, the best dishes were the spinach and ricotta canneloni, the goat cheese salad, and the beef filet tapa topped with chimmichurri. Pictured below is the salman tartare with avacado. The lime in the avacado mixture was much too strong, so I didn't care for the dish. The drink/wine menu was nice, with 7 Euro XL mojitos(bottom left of the picture above) and affordable bottles of Spanish wine, averaging around 15-18 Euro. I did not order a dessert, but tried the tiramasu, which was simply excellent.

Overall, the meal, drinks, and service were all well above average. In rating on a 5 star scale, I would probably give this restaurant 4 stars. This is because the food was a little inconsistent, with some dishes being excellent and some just OK, the drinks were very good, and the service was better than the typical service I have recieved overseas.