What's on the menu?

What's on the menu?

Sunday 8 April 2012

Restaurant 360 Arinsal, Andorra- Catalan Food Night Review

Catalan Night At Restaurant 360


Whoever came up with the phrase
"when in Rome-do as the the Roman's do"
must have known a good few things about dining out while abroad.

Some Brits like their home comforts: Sunday dinner, a Bacon Sarnie for breakfast and Heinz Ketchup. Whereas the inquisitive food tourist is always looking to try the local fayre where possible.

So when in Catalunya really there's no option of not eating Catalan food.
Restaurant 360 is the Andorran Ski Resort of Arinsal's best reviewed restaurant if you go by the reviews on the tripadvisor website and therefore had a lot to live up to but the offer of booking a Catalan Night with a 4 course meal with a glass of wine of beer for a reasonable sum of 20 Euros per person.
Despite being heralded as the best restaurant in Arinsal, Andorra the exterior of Restaurant 360 is rather unassuming and kiosk-like. Therefore it doesn't give the impression of fine dining- even the menu's are just plasticised sheets of A4 paper too so be prepared not to be blown away initially.
The unassuming exterior of Restaurant 360, Arinsal Andorra

A review of 

Catalan Night At Restaurant 360

Drinks- Catalan Red Wine

The offer in place for Catalan Night was a glass of red or white wine, beer or a soft drink. As two of our party chose red wine the restaurant fantastically gave us a full bottle of Catalan red wine to share. A very nice bonus!

Entrees- Escalivada

The Catalan equivalent of Bruscetta. Toasted bread with a topping of roasted eggplant, red peppers and onions. Drizzled with olive oil, garlic and topped with capers. I have to admit I'm not really a fan of bruscetta but the escalivada was easy to devour and very, very heavy on the garlic. Not sure I'd order it if the choice to do so existed on a menu although it was a nice entree into Catalan food.

Starter- Escudella Catalan Broth

Escudella (shortened from Escudella i carn d'olla) is a traditional Catalan Broth characterised by containing meatballs. As a meat lover this traditional Catalan Broth is my idea of food heaven as a starter. The meatballs were slightly on the spicy side while the broth itself also contained what I believe were small pieces of  veal. 

Main Course-  Grilled Catalan Sausage with White Beans and Alioli 

Catalan Sausage at Catalan Meal Night
Grilled Catalan Sausage with White Beans and Alioli at 360, Arinsal
The Catalan people love their sausages (botifara). Traditional Catalan Sausages are made of a simple combination of Pork and spices. The Catalan sausage at Restaurant 360 had a relatively dry texture with a slightly rugged spiciness which complimented the taste. It tasted fantastic when combined with a strong alioli (garlic mayonnaise) and white beans which were so soft they were like a combination between tiny white potatoes or gnocchi pasta. Well worth sampling for a meat lover. 

Dessert- Crema Catalana

Catalan Creme Brulee at Restaurant 360. Arinsal
Crema Catalana (Catalan Creme Brulee) at Restaurant 360. Arinsal
Similar to Creme Brulee, Crema Catalana features a light custard base which is often flavoured additionally with lemon or orange zest and additionally flavoured with Cinnamon. The Crema Catalana at Restaurant 360 featured a very mild creamy and heavily vanilla flavoured base which simply melted into the tongue and was a delight to sample.Main Course- Grilled Catalan Sausage with White Beans and Alioli




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