Cinq Sentits, Barcelona

This is the restaurant that we went to that was mentioned in every guide book--which can mean several things.  The first is that it is a restaurant that has been around awhile.  You can get picked up in one, maybe two books early on, but to be essentially ubiquitous you are an established joint.  This is just that sort of place.  If you want a meal that is served with the utmost attention to the pomp and circumstance that exquisitely prepared food often warrants, this is just the place for you.  The staff take their job of creating the atmosphere of a special meal very seriously.  So seriously that there really is no room for joking around. 

I thought my husband would forbid me from using the restroom again after the waiter came over to refold my napkin using only spoons and forks to manipulate it.  It is that kind of place.  For me, the food is the main attraction and everything else comes well afterwards, but lots of people want the whole package and this place is just that.

We opted for the nine-course lunch, which ended up being more like 12 course once we got the amuse bouche and this interesting drink (pictured here).

It has salt on the bottom, then maple syrup, and it is topped with cream--I know, it sounds odd, but it is quite delicious.  The courses are all quite small--the fois gras is above and my substitute for this course, the scallops, are both examples of the size of what you are eating, and the meal is paced over a solid 2-2 1/2 hours, so you really don't emerge feeling stuffed, just that you won't need to eat for 8 hours or so.  The food is very good, and we had a wonderful meal--but I would not go back.  See my reviews of Gresca and Paxta (to come) to see where in fact I would go back--and why.  This is a great meal but once is definitely enough.