There are dreams that are pursued without knowing where or with whom they will materialize. It is the story of the German Björn Kussner and the Catalan Mireia Bigorra, a couple of 35 and 27 years respectively who, after meeting in Korea and living in Mexico and Germany, have just opened Bar Noe in Barcelona’s Eixample, a small restaurant in The one that serves signature Nordic cuisine without renouncing Japanese techniques or Mediterranean flavors.
They decided to call it Noe because that was the name of the bar that Bigorra’s great-grandparents and grandparents had run for years on a corner next to the old Els Encants market. In fact, although their proposal is completely different from that of those ancestors, as a wink they have wanted to keep the old Bar Noe sign, which for a month has been visible at the bottom of the new establishment. It doesn’t have much to do with the rest of the elements of the place, designed with a tight budget by the couple themselves with an organic and minimalist line that is quite cosy.
The menu devised by Kussner, who comes from haute cuisine and who was trained working in starred restaurants around the world, among which the Australian Attica stands out, is short because at the moment this chef is alone in the kitchen. Still, he proposes 14 courses, desserts aside, ranging from starter appetizers to larger portions to share.
We start with one of the starters that pays homage to the chef’s roots, the smoked fish to dip with homemade chips, which contrasts with the Mediterranean sourdough bread with tomato and olives that will come later. We see the Japanese technique, for example, in the shimeji mushrooms that are served in tempura accompanied by mustard and the Nordic fermentations in dishes such as peas with jalapeño and cucumber or squid with potato and chili, very tasty although their presentation could be improved.
Its star creations are, in our opinion, the fried green tomato stuffed with pâté and green peppers (delicious!) or those cavatelli that come to the table with seafood and green mustard sprouts. The desserts are also interesting, especially the black sesame ice cream with blueberry jam.
The room is attended to with a contagious joy by Bigorra, who abandoned business management and administration to feel freer in his own business. She is also in charge of guiding the diner in the selection of wines through a menu that bets 50% on natural wines and that (misguidedly) incorporates some more classic and commercial references to try to please everyone. They also have a wide selection of beers, including Caravelle from Barcelona, ??and artisan soft drinks.
