Enjoy delicious food that look as good as Gaudi's artwork.
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Half way through my 16-course meal at Enoteca Paco Perez in Barcelona, I realise my knife has gone missing. I have crystal-clear memories of using it in one of the first few courses, so what happened? Have I dropped it on the wooden floor? Surely not. You can hear a pin drop at this two-Michelin-starred establishment, where diners talk in hushed tones and suited waiters quietly glide around with the grace of a swan - dropping a hefty knife would certainly not go unnoticed here.
![Bite-sized edible artworks at Enoteca Paco Perez. Picture: Akash Arora Bite-sized edible artworks at Enoteca Paco Perez. Picture: Akash Arora](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/190394412/342a98c4-84ef-4e63-b9b9-a33e7569f1d6.jpg/r0_1124_3022_3764_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Maybe the waiter forgot to replace the used one? That's impossible, too, for this is a restaurant where - when diners take bathroom breaks - staff remove their used napkins from the table with shiny tongs and greet them upon their return with crisp new ones on a tray. So where's my knife gone?
My waiter soon solves the mystery. "Cutting represents effort," he tells me. "And chef Paco Perez believes food should be so well cooked that it shouldn't require a knife, so most of our courses don't accompany one." And the proof is in the pudding - in this case, the pigeon and mushroom pie in front of me, which is so supple, it falls apart at the mere prod of the fork.
![Enoteca Paco Perez. Picture: Akash Arora Enoteca Paco Perez. Picture: Akash Arora](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/190394412/ef079b99-efeb-4c43-9736-cfe0588e96af.jpg/r0_817_3024_3533_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Housed in Barcelona's Hotel Arts, Enoteca Paco Perez is a study in striking design - spotless white walls lined with golden-hued olive oil bottles on one side, statement pendants with oversized globes on the other - and offers panoramic views of the Mediterranean Sea. But tonight all eyes are on Perez's tasting menu, which unfolds like a poem, with courses like "A Memory from Galicia" and "Curry in a Sweet World" - bite-sized serves that look like art on a plate; we're in the city of Gaudi, after all.
The star of the show, however, is the turbot - dry-aged for a week, then basted in butter and served with pickled fennel salad in a squid wrap. Soft and silky, it's a knockout treat for the tastebuds - without a knife in sight. enotecapacoperez.com
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