Enigma: A Review of Albert Adria's Barcelona Culinary Adventure

Background:
Albert Adrià is culinary royalty. Along with his brother Ferran, the Adrià brothers ran the most famous (and probably the most influential) restaurant in the world, El Bulli, which closed in 2011. El Bulli is where modern molecular gastronomy was born, and many of the world’s best chefs spent time at El Bulli, including Massimo Bottura, Rene Redzepi, the Roco Brothers, and Grant Achatz.

Once El Bulli closed, Albert decided to open up a series of restaurants in Barcelona under the El Barri group, the most famous being Tickets, which has been ranked in the top 20 in the world and is a modern play on Spanish Tapas. In 2016, Adrià opened Enigma, which only holds 24 people at one time. Enigma has one Michelin Star and is currently ranked #82 on the 2019 World’s 50 Best restaurant’s list.

Our journey to Enigma started in when we found out we were going to Scotland. We’ve been eyeing Barcelona for a while, because Barcelona is awesome and we like saying Barcelona with a lisp to each other. Plus, it’s one of the best food cities in the world. We were originally going to try to go to Tickets, but the reservation website for the El Barri group is, in a word, terrible. Apparently, in order for the system to accept your reservation, you have to set your computer’s calendar to Barcelona’s time zone. So we ended up “settling” for Enigma, which, spoiler alert, wasn’t settling. We also went with Yvonne’s dad, Wayne, who had never been to this type of restaurant prior to this. Except for the night before, when we went to El Cellar de Can Roca. Yes, we did El Cellar De Can Roca and Enigma on back to back nights. Do not try that at home boys and girls – leave that up to us professionals and Wayne.

Eat This:
Enigma is a tasting menu experience that involves traveling to different rooms throughout your time at the restaurant. The price is €220, which is not bad when you consider that you’re going to have between 25 and 40 dishes. Enigma was one of the most fun dining experiences we’ve ever had, as it truly was a journey through different rooms in what looked like The Penguin’s ice cave. When you make the reservation, you are given a code which is needed to get into the front door. As stupid Americans, we couldn’t figure out how to get the code to work (the numbers must have been in Spanish, ahem), so the hostess came down and helped us out. This was the only mishap of the whole night.

The entrance to Enigma

Once inside, you are brought to the first room, which is called La Cava. Here we were given our first few bites.

Sus

We were first handed a cocktail, which was gin and dry vermouth and a spray of Mandarin orange essence. Let’s get boozy, people. I think it’s nice when a restaurant starts you off with a drink, whether it be champagne or a cocktail. It’s a very welcoming sign that puts you in the mood. See pictures later for Yvonne’s mood.

Blini with Caviar

This was described as pancake air with caviar. It was good, but we aren’t going to remember this one.

Crystal Bread

Enigma served this dish at Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants festivities this past April in Macao. It’s a clear bread that is crunchy with truffles shaved on top. Clear bread was a new one for us – pretty cool and innovative – and we’re only three bites in.

Aonori with Sea urchin & Wasabi

This crunchy aonori canapé with sea urchin and fresh mediterranean wasabi was served as a one bite. Notice we’ve gone from caviar to truffle to sea urchin already. $$$$$$$$.

Orange Blossom Kakigori

To round out the first room, we were given an orange blossom sorbet, which was a nice homage to our sus drink at the beginning of this section. A great palate cleanser for our raw bar experience ahead.

Next we were taken to La Barra, which was the raw bar.

Squid Veil

We watched as our chef sliced the squid so thin that it was transparent. She then put a drop of olive oil and a drop of soy sauce on each of our pieces. One of my favorite bites of the night – so simple, yet so good.

Lobster Claw & Lobster Roe

This was not how the lobster was served, but it looked so cool on the plate that I decided to use this as the picture. The claw was cut sashimi style and then topped with its own roe.

Barnacle & Codium

Have you ever had goose barnacles with codium seaweed? I doubt it. The barnacle was served with a sauce made of seaweed and sunflower oil. It was then served with a side of “barnacle juice” and actual seaweed. This was, as my buddy Branden would say, a taste of the ocean.

Anchovies Foie

The foie gras was cured in an anchovy salt while we were waiting at the table. The actual salt is cured with anchovies for over a year to bring out the subtle, extra-salty anchovy flavor. So smooth and delicious.

Off to the next room, La Planxa. This was a hot bar, almost like what you’d see at a Hibachi Style Japanese steakhouse.

La Planxa

Oyster with Iberian Ham

The best part of visiting Spain is the Iberian Ham. Sorry Italy, but I think Spain delivers on the best ham in the world, and I try to eat it as much as possible when traveling there. And who doesn’t love a little oyster confit in Iberico fat with Iberico broth? Poach anything in Iberian ham and it will be good, but pair it with a nice fresh oyster, and it’s the best.

Pea “Calcot”

I think i’ve come 540 degrees on peas. I think the smooshed, non-flavorful peas I grew up on soured me to what an actual good pea can taste like. When they are this crunchy and cooked so well you realize the magic of the pea.

Rabbit Tamal

The chefs wouldn’t tell us what this one was, for fear that we wouldn’t eat it once we learned it was rabbit brain. Come on bros, you know we’re not going to freak out on a little rabbit brain. Where Wayne comes from (Kentucky), this is a delicacy.

Wagyu & Sea Urchin

My dad has recently asked me 100 times what Wagyu is. God bless him. It’s technically any of the four Japanese breeds of cattle, but you can also just call it “really good shit,” k? The mix of the sea urchin created an ultra-upscale surf and turf experience.

Mushroom & Black Truffle Chawanmushi

I’m not a hot soup fan, never have been. So this wasn’t my favorite. I do love the mushroom + black truffle one-two punch that has found itself on a lot of menus recently (see Eleven Madison Park). It was good, and I ate it all, but it wasn’t my favorite.

Now we’ve made it to the central dining room where our main courses and desserts were served. What was cool was that the dishes were brought out and we were asked to eat them and then guess what we were eating. This was a fun exercise for all, and started a lot of interesting conversations. Wayne even made up a new type of plant – a sea orchid. We think he was trying to say lily pad or water lily, but we’re still going through the tapes to figure out exactly what happened.

The main dining room.

Wagyu pâté en croûte

Let’s admire the plating for a second on not just this dish, but all the dishes. I adore a small bite placed on a large plate. I love to see where they place it and if there are any patterns, etc. I’ve also been obsessed with pâté en croûte recently, as it’s been showing up on fine dining menus often. A great first bite to the dinner portion.

Aged Lobster

This was the outstanding dish of the night to me. The lobster is cured in aged cow fat and had the most delicious, marbleized meat essence. Plus, they made this sweet music video to show how they make it. Try not to start dancing when you watch, I dare you.

“Bisque”

Again, Soup Nazi here, but I’m not a soup fan so it isn’t fair for me to comment on the lobster bisque and its roe. Again, I ate it all, because I’m not a loser, but I just didn’t care too much for it. Sorry, soup lovers.

Morels with Coconut

Morels are my favorite mushroom now – let’s get that on the record. I also love the refreshing flavor of coconut. I would have never thought to put these two things together, as I think of Morels as a cold, forrest ingredient and coconut as a tropical ingredient; however, they combined beautifully. East meets West – let’s solve some world problems through food, people.

Warm Spring Salad

This was sea anemone served with lettuce heart and a lettuce vinaigrette. This is the course where Wayne famously invented the term “Sea Orchid,” as he tried to guess what this dish entailed.

White Asparagus

This one looks innocuous, but it’s not. It’s actually 4 asparagus in one – raw, grilled, cooked, and smoked. You have to see the video to see how it’s done. Pretty amazing.

White Anchovies & Trout Roe Dango

Trout roe in a roasted anchovy dashi with tapioca balls. Kind of like a boba tea, but with trout. A great looking and great tasting dish.

Tres Leches

A fun play on a traditional Spanish dish. Tigre, coconut ,and soy milk were a great transition from savory to sweet. Dink Travel says the soy sauce is 30 years old, and they seem reputable, so let’s go with that.

Banana & Foie Gras

A combination I’ve never had - banana and foie gras. Momofuku Ko in NYC always has shaved foie gras on the dessert menu, and it’s a nice creamy compliment to the soft banana and star anise sauce.

Baby Beans, Wasabi, & Lime

Lime and wasabi ice cream – a great combination of spicy, sweet, and acidity. Then you add the crunchiness of the beans and it leads to a well-balanced dish.

Cacao Bean

This dish only contains chocolate - freeze-dried chocolate air, frozen cocoa kombucha rock, and confit cocoa beans. I am a chocolate lover, so this was naturally my favorite dessert.

Soya, Soya, Soya

There are only soy beans in this dish, from the cracker to the sauces.

The main dinner was over, and we were taken through the main kitchen into a dark room that looked like the exit. They opened the door and boom – we’re in the secret back 41 Degrees bar. How fun is that! And we’re given more snacks. It never ends!

Drunk face

Lyo-strawberry & Truffle Profiterol

Each of these snacks were served with a cocktail. Who doesn’t love a nice strawberry with a truffle profiterol? This was a fun bite.

Nori Candy

Hot take: I don’t like seaweed. It tastes like your brother dunking you in the ocean and you feel like you’re going to die. But maybe that’s my childhood talking.

Vegetal Ravioli

This ravioli was made with lychee, rose, and orange, and boy, was it good. It was a great bite to finish off the night.

Atmosphere:
We’ve been to a lot of restaurants all of the world, and Enigma is one of the coolest, most well-designed, fun restaurants we’ve ever been to. It feels like you’re in the dream from the moment you walk up the ramp to meet the hostess. I love the concept of moving around during a four hour tasting menu, because four hours is a long time for a millennial to sit in one place. We were at the restaurant for quite a long time, and it felt exhilarating and exciting for the entirety of our meal, which is a feat for any event of that length. Every detail and inch of space at Enigma was well thought out, and you can see why they’ve won numerous awards for their design.

The main kitchen

#elbarri4life

Some of us did the wine pairing

Did you know that Wayne is a full time Santa in his spare time?

Barthelona Hospitality:
The service from the moment you walked in was spectacular. Our main server was from Argentina, and it turns out she was only 20 or 21 years old. She was amazing, she knew every dish and every drink on the menu, and couldn’t have been more friendly. I know what I was doing when I was 20 years old, and there’s no way I could have been working at a place like Enigma, that’s for sure.

We don’t remember your name, but you were awesome

A little end of the night bar magic

Frankie’s Notes:
El Cellar de Can Roca and Enigma within 24 hours is almost as crazy as the time we did Maido and Astrid & Gaston tasting menus on the same day; Warning: only try this if you are a true eating professional; I felt like I was in The Penguin’s Lair in Batman Returns, and was half expecting an Emperor Penguin to walk across the room and hand us a glass of champagne; We couldn’t be prouder of Wayne for making it through two tasting menus and enjoying the experiences, plus he made up some fun new species along the way; Guessing what you’re eating is fun and should be done more often.

Rating: 5 out of 5 with 2 Michigan Pugs
Enigma’s overall experience is up there with the best of the best. In no other place we’ve been have we traveled through a restaurant as we did at Enigma. All the food was inventive. Some of the dishes were outstanding, some were forgettable, but none of them were bad. I wouldn’t put the food up there with Noma, but it was a close second for me.

 

The Updog Kombucha Origin Story

Olivia Wolff asked us to write an article on Updog Kombucha in exchange for a sick purple t-shirt. How could we say no to that? Instead of a lame article, we decided to write a short one act play in Shakespearean English. Feel free to read in a British accent.

A London Bar in the past

WILLIAM:

My Lady!

MARGARET:

My Lord!

WILLIAM:

I herald news not of your liking.

MARGARET:

Oh, Lord!

WILLIAM:

 ‘Tis Arthur. I am afraid his health and temperament have turned.

MARGARET:

Alas, I have feared such news for some fortnights.
My Arthur!
Why doth your health forsake thee?
Our love, in its spring and full of life.
Yet your illness stains the day.
By Jove, may this be a test?
For we shall not allow the King nor God
To cometh between our brave souls.
My William, ‘tis the prognosis?

WILLIAM:

‘Tis grim, my lady.
His gut doth protest too much.
The doctor, aged and wise
Has not viewed nor heard
Of a case this vile and less of hope.
My lady, my heart cries of sadness
To bring such news to thee. 

Lady Margaret begins to sob.

BARTENDER:

Friends, I suggest to thee a potion
From the Orient doth come.
Its power, witches envy;
Its magic, Merlin desires.
Your lover, deep in sorrow
Hope, forsaken thee.
Bring him to the brewpub
For his life is the stake.
’Tis the one last option
For your love, the risk is worth.

 William scurries out of the bar to go and retrieve the ailing body of Arthur.

 MARGARET:

Barkeep, this far east potion,
Of whose magic I doth hope,
Can save my lover’s biome
And thus, our future!
Doth it have a name? 

BARTENDER:

The shaman that delivered it
Hath named the potion Kombucha.
Of Japan, it’s origin

 MARGARET:

Dearest Kombucha!
May thy delivery to my lover
Remedy for his sickness.
So, once more, happiness doth cometh
In our house and in our hearts.

At this moment, Arthur is brought in on a stretcher, mumbling incoherently, William by his side.

MARGARET:

My Arthur!

WILLIAM:

‘Tis Grave.
Barkeep, deliver thy potion.  

BARTENDER:

Doth he prefer Mojito,
Or doth he prefer Hibiscus? 

MARGARET:

Give thee both,
For only god knoweth the preference.

The bartender drops in Arthur’s mouth two drops of each Kombucha. With each drop, Arthur’s body shakes dramatically. 

WILLIAM:

Up, my Arthur, my dog!

MARGARET:

Methinks his life has vanished.

 They all begin to leave the bar, with grave sadness. Then they hear a faint stirring.

BARTENDER:

Halt, thy friends!
Tis Arthur, his soul has vanished not!
Look! The ‘boocha’s magic
Has doth life brought back to thee.
A great miracle upon thy bar,
A life, doth saved.

 ARTHUR:

My Margaret!

 MARGARET:

A great miracle!
Even St Paul is shocked.
The Kombucha saved thee, my lover.
A great debt I doth owe to it.

ARTHUR:

We must spread thy word to all
Of the powers of the Boocha.
For my life is one,
Yet I shall dedicate myself
To the health of mine countrymen.
They shall all know the powers
This potion doth undertake.

 MARGARET:

A life together shared,
Full of love and full of drink.
To save thine with bacteria
Our health, we are sure to thank.

They embrace and curtains close.

And thus, Arthur and Margaret spent the rest of their lives spreading the good word of Kombucha, and a few years later Updog Kombucha is born.

Haar Restaurant: Dean Banks' St. Andrews Star

Background:
Dean Banks traveled the world for years working in Michelin starred restaurants, private chefing, and learning how to be awesome (my words not his) before he landed his big break on MasterChef UK in 2018, where he made it to the finals. He didn’t win, but his talent was made apparent to the UK. He landed his own restaurant in the 5 Star Kinnettles Hotel in St Andrews, which opened in early April 2019.

Of course, being stupid Americans, we didn’t know any of this. So, when we happened to be staying at the Kinnettles Hotel on our trip to St. Andrews in May and stumbled upon Haar, we had no background on Banks, or the restaurant. St Andrews is a small town with not a lot of restaurants, and we were tired the first night, so we decided we’d try the hotel’s restaurant on a whim, more out of convenience than anything else. Most restaurants we go to or review we’ve done research on before, so we at least know a little bit of what we’re getting into. This one we were flying blind, so there were literally no expectations. Oh, we were also with our parents on this trip, whom we affectionately termed “The Olds” about halfway through our week together. “The Olds are telling weird jokes again,” “The Olds can’t walk anymore,” you get the idea.

You know the feeling you get when you’re surprised, happy, and just kind of in awe of your luck for wandering into a magical place you had no idea existed 3 minutes ago? That’s the way we felt during and after the meals we had at Haar. Every dish, whether it was a side, entree, or dessert, were perfectly executed and full of flavor. Each dish left you wanting more and more (and more and more). This place is going to blow up, and we’re just happy that we were able to walk in and experience Chef Banks’ magic before there is a two- month long waiting list to get a reservation.

Eat This:
There were two options when we dined at Haar. You could do a chef’s tasting for £65 or you could do à la carte Both times we did à la carte, which was a nice way to meander through the menu and share with the table, especially since we were with our parents. Literally everything we had was incredible, so I don’t think you could go wrong if you tried.

Oyster, jalapeño, & Cucumber

We knew we were at a special place when the oysters came out in dry ice. The jalapeño added a nice spicy kick to the briny oyster.

Spiced Octopus, Citrus Barley, Burnt Tomato

This was the best octopus dish I think I’ve ever had. The octopus was cooked perfectly and served over a spicy tomato sauce with a nice helping of barley. The flavor of the octopus mixed with the tomato and barley was just incredible. This is the dish I think about the most and want again so badly that I’m considering a quick weekend trip to St. Andrews.

Scottish Grass Fed Beef, Black Garlic

Every sauce on every dish was a 12 out of 10. This black garlic sauce paired with the beef so perfectly it begged the question: “why don’t we always eat steak with a black garlic sauce?” Just incredible.

Fife Rare Breed Pork belly, Kimchi Puree

Chef Banks doesn’t have any “throw away” menu items. There is so much thought put into every dish. We were talking to Chef Banks and asked how he got inspired by his dishes. He said that most are inspired by his travel and watching street food vendors cook. This dish must have been inspired by a trip to Asia, but what is amazing about Banks is he puts a Scottish spin on everything (hence the Fife pork).

Lamb Rump, Café de Paris

Lamb and duck are my two favorite and go-to meats. The best part about Scotland is there is lamb everywhere (shout out Dolly), and Banks’ take of turning the lamb into a classic French steak dish was top notch. Besides the octopus, this was a favorite for me. What made it extra special? The potato straws, which soaked up the Café de Paris sauce and became soft and delicious.

Wild Halibut, Tomato Beurre Blanc, Sea Kale

My dad, aka Bernard, loves fish, but he normally stays away from Halibut because, in his words, “Halibut has no flavor.” I was interested to get his opinion on Haar’s take on the Halibut, and even he admitted that this was the best halibut he’s ever had. The Halibut was cooked perfectly and the tomato/kale sauce paired with the fish was just delightful.

Desserts

Rhubarb

This was a giant rhubarb ball that we poured whiskey over, which caused the ball to melt and turn everything into a kind of dessert soup. Normally i’m against a whiskey shot in a dessert, because all you can taste is the whiskey. But the whiskey merely added a nice edge to the dessert and definitely enhanced the experience.

Banofee

Banana seems to be a polarizing dessert. Olivia of Updog Kombucha throws up if she’s within 100 feet of a banana. I personally love them, and I loved this dessert, which mixed toffee, banana, chocolate, and whiskey together into a magical experience.

Drink:
Haar has a its own amazing bar in the back, with a wide variety of Scottish gins and whiskeys. Alex, the main bartender, let us try a variety of the best Scottish libations. The Ackermans’ new favorite Scottish Whiskey (they don’t call it Scotch in Scotland, FYI - don’t embarrass yourself America) is Dalwhinnie, a brewery located about two hours north of St Andrews. It’s a mild whiskey that went down smooth. We also discovered Aelder, which is a wild elderberry elixir made right in Scotland. It’s meant to be mixed with other drinks, but we drank it straight up and enjoyed the s*@t out of it.

Atmosphere:
Haar is easy to pass by, and is unassuming since it sits on the first floor of a hotel. But it has a very nice, casual vibe that makes you feel comfortable and really highlights the exceptional food. No frills, no bullshit –  just really freaking amazing food. St. Andrews is a golf town after all, so most people were wearing golf attire and that seemed to be the appropriate dress.

Scottish Hospitality:
Haar is located on the main floor of the Kinnettles Hotel, which only has 9 rooms. We were staying here so we got to know everyone working there, including all of the staff of Haar. Everyone could not have been nicer, especially to our parents who don’t understand that Old People American humor doesn’t necessarily translate well into Scottish. God bless them. Chef Banks himself came out to talk to us and ask how everything was (all of the Olds immediately said we had a food blog and embarrassed us), and spent about ten minutes talking with us about his story.

Frankie’s Notes:
It would be remiss to mention that Jason made a 60 foot birdie putt on the 18th hole of the Old Course and got a very large round of applause. He says this was one of the greatest moments of his life; The Olds would be a great TV show and would star George Clooney and Martin Sheen; Scotland’s food is underrated - don’t believe the myth that UK food is bad – it is if you go to a pub and eat there everyday, but if you seek out the good stuff, you’ll eat at restaurants that rival any other great food culture around the world.

The moment before the putt: The 60 foot make on the 18th hole at the Old Course.

Ranking: 5 out of 5 with 1 Michigan Pug
Haar deserves a Michelin Star. Every dish is incredible. It’s worth a trip to St Andrews just to visit Haar. Drink a whiskey at the bar and, of course, eat Chef Banks’ amazing food. If you’re planning a trip to Scotland in the near future, don’t miss out on Scotland’s newest star restaurant.