It is appreciated to find a restaurant that contributes something new among the many that are sold in Barcelona as Mediterranean cuisine. This is the case of Albé (my heart, in Levantine), which three years ago opened in the also heart of the Eixample under the direction of the Lebanese Joey Attieh.
Attieh, who studied Culinary Arts at the Sant Pol de Mar University School of Hospitality and Tourism, did not hesitate to call his colleague, the Bolivian Pachi Rodriguez, to run the kitchen at this restaurant. They had met studying together and, later, they worked in the kitchens of the two-star Moments, in the Mandarin Oriental hotel. They always had great chemistry, so why not join forces, even knowing how difficult it would be to start a business in the middle of a pandemic?
In Albé, this tandem offers local and seasonal cuisine with a Lebanese touch. Do not confuse it with fusion cuisine, although on the menu you will find dishes originating from the Near East such as labneh or kebbeh, since the idea is rather to give a twist to the Catalan product to turn it into something different. They achieve this, for example, with the red shrimp from Palamós that they use for their baklava, or with the acorn-fed duck breast from the Pyrenees that mature for three weeks to be served with freekeh (Lebanese green wheat), bimi and bigarade sauce. Also with the delicious lacquered eggplant that they prepare with pomegranate reduction, one of the most traditional fermentations in Lebanon. There is also garum and other ancestral flavors that recall the connection between the two Mediterranean countries, as does the taste for slow cooking.
To explore their proposal, they offer two options: order à la carte or let yourself be guided by the tasting menu (60 euros per person, 30 euros more if you choose the wine pairing), which consists of a tour of the essential dishes of the restaurant served in smaller portions. This starts with a delicious labneh smoked in olive wood with zaatar and aubergine powder that is accompanied by Lebanese bread and, among the dishes that follow, the lemon fish tiradito that they prepare with a Lebanese ‘tiger’s milk’ aniseed or the Iberian cheek on French toast, with demi glace, smoked sour cream and pickled turnip; to which you can see the hours of cooking.
The high-altitude Lebanese wines they serve (a real discovery!), very mineral, made with French methodology and grape varieties such as chardonnay or savignon blanc, deserve special mention.
During our visit to the restaurant, Attieh reveals to us that they are preparing a new opening that will have little to do with Albé, but he does not give us any further details. Have to wait.
