Christina R.
Yelp
I want to give 5* for ambience, because it felt so special, cozy, beautiful, and exclusive. I watched at least 30 people get turned away after we sat down. The place is so charming in the Gothic quarter with stained glass and art nouveau decor. They are almost 100% reservation only- even lunch. It just happened that our tour guide Filipa recommended it. The very second her tour ended, we made a beeline for the restaurant. Others in the tour group also followed us, but too late, they wouldn't take anyone else and actually shut the beautiful stained glass front doors to keep the AC in and people without reservations out. Petra had the feel of a secret neighborhood favorite, but the food we had was lacking in flavor. They have a daily set menu which includes a drink desert appetizer and entrée as well as bread for only €16 which seems like a very good deal. To start, I ordered a glass of the house red. It was sour, astringent and not tasty at all. We also tried to order an orange Fanta, but had to settle for a Nestea because they were out of all soda. For our appetizer, I ordered the scrambled eggs with leeks and cod. Although everything was cooked perfectly, the seasoning was very, very mild. Alex didn't like it at all. His appetizer was the beet and tomato gazpacho, which he ate, but didn't really enjoy. I tasted it, and felt it was bland. It was nothing like the tart Mexican and Caribbean gazpacho I have tasted. Then we ordered the rigatoni with hazelnut and I chose fish (i forget which kind because I only overheard the waiter tell someone else and it wasn't printed on the menu) with potatoes. My fish had quite a few tiny bones, and again, while cooking time was perfect, there was very little flavor. Alex had the rigatoni, and just like with the appetizer, he finished it, but didn't enjoy it. I tasted it too- pasta was cooked perfectly, but the sauce was almost nonexistent and the crunch of the hazelnuts clashed awkwardly with the pasta. The choices for dessert were coconut/pineapple ice cream with pineapple soup, melon fruit and one other that didn't sound appealing,( I forget). Alex ate the coconut/pineapple ice cream, but he couldn't stomach the soup. I finished mine, but it was not something I would ever order again. I deeply regret not ordering à la cart. They had foie gras on the menu for €18 which probably would've been much more satisfying. I had high expectation and was really disappointed with the food we ate. The salad we saw people eating around us didn't look interesting at all, though the meat dishes we saw may have been a better choice. Service was really sweet by the waiter, but the busser was not as refined and a little intimidating when he took our order for dessert. During our meal, I paid close attention to other people eating at the restaurant, and most seem to be locals. There was one Asian woman, eating alone, who clearly had scoped the place out as a foodie, but she didn't appear to be thrilled with her food. Also, she may have struggled a bit because she didn't speak Spanish. Our Spanish was much better than their English. I may have forgotten a lot- it was a very hot uncomfortable day and an exhausting 2 hr walk. But I would have remembered more if it had been remotely interesting. Although all the food was beautifully prepared with care, nothing was even close to being as flavorful as the pinxos and vermouth we sampled along Carrer de Blai or that over-priced but tasty tourist trap, Mercat de Boqueria. So many options to eat in this amazing city, I don't think we will be back.
