Gat Blau
C/ Comte Borrell, 122, 08015 Barcelona, Eixample Esquerra
Tue-Wed: 13h – 16h
Thu-Sat: 13h – 16h / 21h – 23h
Marco gave Gat Blau his blessing and handed us their card. As we hold Quinoa (Marco’s vegetarian/vegan bar in Gràcia, not the grain) in the highest regard, off we went for a menú del día. But what we were met with was nothing like Quinoa. First of all Gat Blau is about 25 times larger (keeping in mind Quinoa is maybe the smallest restaurant in Barcelona). The decor is nowhere near as punk-rock; the opposite, really. The furniture is more mature, finer –let’s say– and the walls are painted with conservative two-tone white and sea-foam green, anything to make the long local as light as possible. The average customer is probably about 45-years-old, the kitchen is serious (compared to what Quinoa has to work with), and meat is on the menu. So, wtf is Marco doing eating there?
The answer lies in the culinary philosophy. Gat Blau is Slow Food®, ecological, local, socially conscious eating, from farm to table. There may be meat on the menu, but it’s the best meat money can buy (for the world, for the local economy and for you). And there is a special text box dedicated to the reduïm la petjada dish of the day for those interested in reducing their footprint even more. A thoughtful note from the chef accompanies some statistics you need to read: the ecological footprint measures the hectares per person needed to produce that which they consume. The average in Barcelona is 5.4 hectares. To make Earth a sustainable planet given the land available and the current population, that number should be 1.8. So, if everyone on the planet consumed like the average barceloní we would need two more planets.
By the way, the food is outstanding, as you can imagine given the amount of thought behind the materia prima. And, if you still think eating well requires your wallet die a thousand deaths, think again; their menú is plentiful with a caña de Cervesa de Montseny, a carafe of water and dessert or coffee for €12.50.
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