Cera 23: Dining In Good Company
Just before my 4pm time slot to tour the Passion façade of La Sagrada Familia, I took a quick detour to El Raval for lunch. This neighborhood is famous for its strong immigrant community, nightlife, crime, and prostitution, which means that it is home to many interesting bars and restaurants.
For lunch, I decided to make a reservation at Cera 23. This restaurant started as a project among friends to share their appreciation for good food. Today, Cera 23 is home to some really captivating Modern European dishes. Here, you'll find crunchy king prawns with mango sauce and mirin, Iberian pork sirloin, and even foie gras ravioli with almond cream and quince. Sounds compelling, right?
Cera 23 is also a popular spot for dinner. I'd recommend eating here for dinner so you can situate yourself in one of Barcelona's prime nightlife districts. The drinks here are quite good and Cera 23 gets a lot of buzz thanks to its fruity mojitos. Start your night with a couple of these drinks.
The service here is great. At the end of my meal, I was offered two shots of Crema de Orujo as a digestif or maybe simply for the sake of taking shots at 2pm in the afternoon. This stuff tastes pretty good so it's meant to be sipped and enjoyed.
I sat at the bar and enjoyed the extra natural lighting and the fresh air.
The Buffalo Burrata, or Burratina, came with Arugula, Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Nuts, and a Basil Pesto Vinaigrette. Very refreshing! And, the cheese itself was so creamy and fresh. [8 Euros]
The Ceraviche was delightful and just what I needed to cool off after walking around Montserrat all morning. Their ceviche was made with Sea Bass, Onions, Peppers, and Yuca Chips. Yuca is the root of the Cassava plant. The flavor is starchy and a little bit sweet. [12 Euros]
For my main course, I got the Diced Sesame Tuna. The tuna was really nicely seared and the meat had great color to it. The center was still raw and tender. The edges of the tuna were lightly seared so the exterior was firm and smoky. The tuna came with Sweet Potato Purée and Honey. [17 Euros]
I also got the Honeyed Beef Cheek with White Truffle Parmentier (i.e. mashed, baked potato). The meat was crazy tender but not overly rich/fatty. [16.2 Euros]
For dessert, I ordered their Blackberry Mojito Mousse. For 5 Euros, this was a steal. It tasted like a smoothie but it had chunks of blackberry. This was perfect for cooling us down in this summer weather.
I got some beer to reward myself for all that hiking in Montserrat.
As I mentioned earlier, Cera 23 ended our meal with complimentary Crema de Orujo. Orujo is similar to Italian grappa, in that it is a pomace brandy. It's spirit forward with slightly herbal characteristics. Crema de Orujo is a mixed drink that tastes like a less sweet version of Baileys.