Barcelona’s culinary landscape is experiencing a significant shift. Classic steak frites emerges as the city’s newest dining trend. Restaurants across the Catalan capital are increasingly featuring the simple yet satisfying bistro dish on their menus. It captivates both residents and visitors. This resurgence highlights a return to well-executed, comforting cuisine.
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The popular dish typically features a thin cut of red meat. This includes steak or entrecôte, expertly grilled or pan-fried. Chefs serve it on a traditional silver platter, generously covered with an intense sauce, and accompanied by a substantial portion of crispy chips. This straightforward yet effective formula allows for variations. These include the specific cut of meat, the accompanying sauce, and additional garnishes.
The Rise of a Classic Dish
The phenomenon gained significant traction. This followed the 2019 arrival of L’Entrecôte, a renowned French restaurant, at Pau Claris, 142. This establishment built its reputation on a singular menu. It offers a simple salad, grilled sirloin steak with a secret sauce, and unlimited chips. The concept proved successful in France since the 1960s. It continues to draw long queues outside its Barcelona location. Its success has inspired other local eateries to adopt and adapt the steak frites model.
Chef Martín Pimentel of Sr. Antúnez, located at Neptú, 18, observes the dish’s popularity. He states, “It is a dish that people order a lot.” He adds, “The Café de Paris sauce is complex to make well. It has many ingredients, and each establishment interprets it in its own way.” His restaurant offers Frisian cow sirloin, raised in Catalonia, served with Café de Paris sauce and chips.
The Swiss Origin of Café de Paris Sauce
A common misconception suggests the famous entrecôte with Café de Paris sauce is French. However, the recipe originated in Switzerland during the 1930s. The Boubier couple created it at Le Coq d’Or restaurant in Geneva. It later gained widespread recognition at the Café de Paris restaurant, also in the Swiss city. The sauce’s secret lies in its compound butter, a blend of spices, herbs, and other ingredients. These include capers, mustard, shallots, anchovies, and curry. This aromatic butter melts over the freshly cooked meat. Restaurants traditionally serve a pan-fried entrecôte alongside chips. This format eventually conquered French brasseries and became an international classic.
Barcelona’s Culinary Adaptations
Several prominent Barcelona restaurants have embraced this trend, each offering their unique interpretation. Parking Sótano, situated at Passatge de Marimon, 5, presents an elegant version. They serve a grilled Galician beef fillet steak, sliced, with a choice of sauces. Options include Béarnaise, blue cheese and onion, chimichurri, or Café de Paris. Diners can also select various accompaniments such as chips, seasonal vegetables, purée, or mushrooms.
Chef Dani García’s restaurant Leña, at Plaça de Pius XII, 4, has also found success. It offers its popular Steak Menu. This menu features a green salad and steak frites with green pepper sauce. It also includes unlimited chips and toffee ice cream for dessert. Additionally, chef Romain Fornell offers his version at Café Pablo. This restaurant is inside the Picasso Museum at Montcada, 15. It features entrecôte Café de Paris and chips.
Diverse Interpretations Across the City
Other notable establishments further showcase the trend’s versatility. Casa Tejada, located at Tenor Viñas, 3, serves a 500-gram tagliata-style entrecôte. It comes with chips and Café de Paris sauce. Solomillo, on Mallorca, 251, allows customers to customise their experience. Here, patrons choose the beef breed, the weight of the cut, and the accompanying sauce. It is always paired with chips. Even more informal venues have joined the movement. Superauto, at Rosselló, 182, offers an entrecôte carpaccio flambéed with Café de Paris sauce and straw potatoes.
This culinary phenomenon extends beyond Barcelona. In Madrid, La Fonda Bistró, at Génova, 27, has expanded the concept with its Bistec Bar. This experience allows each diner to select their cut, sauce, and garnish. All items are served on classic sharing platters. The selection includes various grilled meats. It also features classic sauces like Béarnaise or Roquefort, alongside chips or salad.
Ultimately, the enduring appeal of this new trend lies in its simplicity. It does not invent anything new but rather revisits a straightforward pleasure that consistently delivers satisfaction. Well-prepared meat, a powerful sauce, and unpretentious chips prove this. Sometimes the next big gastronomic fashion is simply a classic returning at the opportune moment.
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Originally published by El Periódico Barcelona. Read original article.
