Tasting Menu (2013)

Having eaten at Pakta, Albert Adria's restaurant in Barcelona a year or so ago, I was prepared for the type of food that was served at the restaurant depicted in this movie.  Mar is a chef who makes food that is typical of the ultra high end restaurant market--small portions, lots of them, lots to look at, little to eat, with the emphasis on the intensity of the flavor more than anything else.  It is not the way I would eat every day, but it is definitely an immersion in food and flavor experience that is very pleasurable.

This movie does not focus quite enough on the cuisine to be a truly food oriented movie, but that backdrop does make it fun.  Mar is closing her restaurant in the Girona area and she is not sure what she is going to do next.  Her lover and co-partner is clearly angling for a deal with two competing Japanese businessmen, but Mar is not enthusiastic.  There is restlessness afoot with her.  The various restaurant guests have various dramas going on, but all in all the focus of the movie is a superficial one, being happy with light entertainment and the occasional thing to think about.  Very entertaining, with enough restaurant based action for a foodie, and streaming on Netflix.