I tried for about 3 years to get a reservation at El Bulli. Sadly Ferran Adria closed the place down before I could be successful.
The follow-up ventures 41 Degrees and Tickets in Barcelona are subsequently well regarded and sought out. 41 Degrees has a 41 course menu that can only be booked for specifically 4 people - sadly there were only 3 of us visiting Barcelona. Tickets reservations can only be made 60 days in advance (which I missed out) but they do have tables for walk-ins.
Even though this trip was on a weekday in the midst of winter, I couldn't be sure how long the queue would be. For that reason we started queuing 30mins prior to opening and managed to be right at the front. Opening time came and we were the first seated. Coincidentally it happened to be a quiet night with about half the seating place empty while we were there.
There are many a la carte tapas options to pick from or alternatively you can ask the waiter to create a tasting menu comprised of the a la carte items. They predict 15-18 courses. Given it was our first visit, we allowed a tasting menu, but I would certainly choose myself next time knowing what I liked. Especially as I also noticed the tasting menu neglected all the items under Tapas from the Sea or Tapas from the Land which did have some good sounding options.
- Fish Crackers topped with Nori (fish and potato cracker with seaweed sprinkle) €5 - like paperthin fish-flavoured chips;
- Tickets' Olives (green marinated in olive oil, cinnamon, star anise, peppercorns, lemon peel) €7.8 - famous from El Bulli, creamy green olive-flavoured liquid inside a thin shell;
- Crostini with Tomato Seeds & Cantabrian Anchovie (with sprinkles of silver paper) €4.3pp - tomato "caviar", soft salty anchovy on bread, like an upmarket version of a typical Basque tapas;
- Tickets' Olives (kalamata marinated in olive oil, rosemary, peppercorns, orange peel) €7.8 - black version of the olives with an incredibly strong kalamata flavour;
- Slices of Tuna Belly with Sea Urchin (with wasabi, ginger, nori) €12.5 - delicate tuna belly, slight hint of pepper, soft creamy with only a subtle salty sea urchin after taste;
- Mini-Airbags stuffed with Manchego Cheese (topped with cheese slice, hazelnut caviar & powder) €8.9 - creative cheese bags and hazelnut caviar although not sure they added much together;
- Airbaguette of Joselito's Iberian Pancetta €3.9pp - dry flaky hollow baguetta with minimal pancetta flavour, a waste of time;
- Steamed Brioche with Truffled Cheese (Provolone, Mozzarella, black truffle) €4.4pp - soft bread with minimal cheese flavour and no truffle flavour;
- Smoked marinated beef, smoked cream cheese, onion, thyme, vinegar powder (off menu item) €4.1pp - heavily smoked ingredients in an unusual combination. More creative than good per se but worth trying;
- Orange Salad with Gordal Olive Nectar, Mint & Cumin €8.2 - orange slices in a soup of olives, mint, orange, lemon & cumin. Refreshing intermission in the menu;
- Slightly Spicy Tuna Belly Cone with Lime Zest €4.8pp - nice tuna pieces mixed with apple topped with flyfish roe & wrapped in crispy nori paper;
- Artichokes with Idiazabal Cream & Moroccan Lemon €8.65 - crunchy soft artichoke, rich cheese cream & slices;
- Avocado Cannelloni with Crab & Romesco Sauce €12.6 - mild crab & sour cream filling avocado roll;
- Razor Clams in Escabeche, Saffron Pearls & Soy Sauce Shards (45sec cooked, olive oil caviar, vinegar, paprika, soy crisp) €14.8 - tender clams in a mix of flavours;
- Oysters No.2 with its Pearl & Sea Lettuce Water (smoked sea water, pearl of silver filled with wakame water) €4.6pp - pretty decoration of a pearl. I think I ate this too quickly to appreciate it other than the water was very heavily smoked & brined;
- Oysters No.2 Tepid with Chicken Jus & Truffled Duck Fat (& gold dust) €4.3pp - sounded creative & tasted like a Cantonese cooked oyster with some chicken broth. Good but I can get it elsewhere;
- Steamed Brioche filled with roasted pork & cheese (off menu item) €3.9pp - better than the plain version above simply due to the additional of stronger flavours with pork & cheese;
- Tickets' Tiramisu (with coffee, mascarpone, almond biscuit) €8.4 - stunning deconstruction with a mix of warm & ice cold ingredients, coffee, chocolate & mascarpone. Real winner;
- Warm Lava Cake of "Turron de Jijona" with Raspberry & Thyme Sorbet €9.7 - almond cake filled with nutty caramel with a refreshing sorbet.
The meal was creative and different although I have to admit I wasn't excited by the flavours as much as anticipated. Next time I'd be specific with my menu so hopefully I'd be more satisfied in the end.
Next time I would order definitely Olives, Crostini, Tuna Belly Cone and Tiramisu. I would likely order the Tuna Belly & Sea Urchin, Orange Salad, and Artichokes. But I'd be more interested in the Tapas from the Sea/Land items such as Confit Tuna Belly, Grilled Unilateral Cooking Lobster or "High Level" Sirloin Steak.