El Amor por la Comida - Cachitos

Cachitos is located at Rambla de Catalunya and Carrer de la Diputació

"A love for food" is the recurring message that resonates in Cachitos, an elegant restaurant with delicious food located at Rambla Catalunya and Carrer de la Dipuatció near the Passeig de Gracia metro stop. Cachitos, which opened in 2011, is a restaurant in the Eixample district of Barclona growing in popularity with local, international and even celebrity clients who love great food, great service and a comfortable and classy aimbience. Jose Miguel Manzanal, the head chef at Cachitos, has created a traditional Catalonian menu with top quality locally sourced ingredients which are delivered to the restaurant daily. Cachitos is part of the Costa Este Group, which also includes Opium, Sotavento, Nuba, Astoria, Baritimo and Nuba Ibiza owned by the Bordas brothers. The restaurant is open from 8:00 am to start with a variety of breakfast, including catalan, continental and American. The kitchen opens at 12:30 pm for lunch and the restaurant fills with clients eager for an enjoyable dining experience. Cachitos, which translates into "taste" in English, has a wonderful menu of traditional à la carte Spanish Tapas which are great for sharing with friends and family. There is also a lunchtime Menu del dia which has multiple options for appetizer, main and dessert.

Berenjanas con queso de 
cabra y miel de cana

In the Winter, the Cachitos clientele is mainly local, in Summer, the tides turn and the clientele is switches to a more international crowd. International clients can be assisted by one of the servers who speak Catalan, Spanish, English, French, Russian or Italian. The comfortable atmosphere is conducive to a variety of settings including business lunches, family get togethers and romantic dinners. Areas of the restaurant can be reserved for large personal and corporate events. Examples of past events include the premier party for the film El Hijo de Cain and a private event for Maserati. Some of the past celebrity clients include the FC Barcelona player Andrés Iniesta , and singer Pablo Alborán.

Jose Miguel Manzanal,
head chef at Cachitos

Jose Miguel Manzanal, the head chef at Cachitos passionately created the menu with simple and healthy recipes which pack great taste. Manzanal only uses the best and freshest ingredients. The fish is delivered from the sea every day and is prepared using traditional methods. Manzanal, who has trained at the famous Viridiana in Madrid, Akelarre in San Sebastian and Echaurran in Rioja works with extreme passion and care every day and is dedicated to making the best food in order to make pretty girls happy, he says with a wink.

The decor in Cachitos is simple and elegant with traditional Catalan influences, without a hint of pretentiousness. The interior, designed by Estrella Salietti, has a simple and contrasting colour scheme consisting mainly of black, white, red and green and a variety of different textures and natural woods. There are a variety of witty quotes on the wall by authors, like Bernard Shaw for example, which give the restaurant a fun and relaxed atmosphere. Much of the artwork in the restaurant was done by the owner, Ramon Bordas' grandfather and glamorously reflects the elegant style of Southern Spain. Enter the restaurant and be greeted by one of the friendly bartenders at and sit at one of the two bars or long wooden table. Upstairs, there is a wonderful naturally lit area at the back with natural greens entailing outside. Downstairs is the very intimate cocktail area with a long bar as well as a private room in the back. If there is space under the lovely  tented outdoor patio, you can relax and watch the busy life go by.  Inside the restaurant, the background music is the perfect volume for conversation and features talented Spanish artists such as Joaquin Sabina, Julio iglesias, La Oreja de Van Gogh. On Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings, there is a live DJ who plays international music as the bar and restaurant areas fill up with the educated, international clientele looking to relax after their week at work.

Cachitos patio is a great place to watch life go by

The servers at Cachitos provide an experience which cannot be found at many restaurants in Barcelona. Attentive, friendly and educated about their product, the servers here want to make sure you leave the restaurant with a smile on your face. The managers will stop in with guests at their tables for a chat and to ensure the guests are enjoying their meals. You may even be lucky enough to get a visit from the head chef to your table. The teamwork at the restaurant is wonderful to see - servers help each other out to make sure the guests have everything they need. The friendly waitstaff are non-intrusive, but will give you an entertaining experience if that is what you are seeking. Manager Dimas, who specialized in tourism, hotelerie and restaurants in the CETT program, at the University of Barcelona, claims to love his job making clients happy and working with the prestigious chef.

Cachitos has a great wine selection suitable for every price range

The drink menu has bottles wines ranging from 13 € upwards, and glasses of wines starting at 4€. If you have a higher price range, try the Vega Sicilia, a red wine from the Ribera de Duero region of Spain, at 310€. If your budget is more modest, some excellent options are the Alión at 57€, the PSI at 48€, the Predicador at 32€ and Allende at 28€. The restaurant also boasts a huge variety of Sangria options - there are five bases to choose from and eleven fruit options which makes for a total of fifty five combinations. The glasses range from 2,50€ for a non-alcoholic sangria to 15€ for sangria with Moet & Chandon, a liter ranges from 15€ to 50€. The most popular options are the Red wine sangria with mixed fruits (strawberry, apple, orange, lemon and kiwi) and Cava sangria with berries.

Since the restaurant's tag line is el amor por la comida - "the love of food", you can be sure that anything you choose to eat here will exceed your expectations. The food is carefully prepared daily by the team of 15 chefs. All of the ingredients come directly from the source and the ingredients are natural and healthy. If you are fan of salads, try the Ensalada variada at 9.90 €. It is a light and simple salad with freshly shredded lettuce, handpicked tomatoes, a healthy portion of tuna, flavourful olives, and a light dressing of olive oil and salt. The ingredients contain no preservatives - they are fresh, simple and completely natural.

Upstairs at Cachitos

There are many delicious tapas options including the Croqueta de jabugo   - a delicious and simple dish with traditional thin-sliced ham. The Canelones con foie y trufa at 9.70€ are melt in your mouth good - the entire dish is soft and sweet. The liver-stuffed cannelloni is topped with truffle sauce and grated truffle. The Montaditos con pan de cristal are delicious - the two most popular being Jamon iberico at 1.95€, crunchy pan de cristal rubbed with crushed tomatoes, soft ham and olive oil - and Queso de cabra, trufa y miel  at 2.00€ - soft goat cheese spread on the crispy pan de cristal with sweet honey and truffle oil on top. Try the Tartar con atún y guacamole at 19€- a healthy serving of specially hand-cut raw tuna layered on top of fresh-made slightly salty guacamole with a light salad on the side. The fresh taste of the tuna is complemented perfectly by the salty guacamole.  Another dish perfect for sharing is the Berenjanas con queso de cabra y miel de cana which is lightly fried aubergine, topped with goat cheese and drizzled in sugar cane honey. 

Paella de marisco

Since you are in Spain the home of paella, you must try the Paella de marisco at 13.70 € per person. It is prepared in the Catalan tradition with shrimp, lobster and octopus. As with all the seafood from Cachitos, the ingredients are brought in fresh from the sea every day. The simplicity of this dish makes it a treat to eat, and it is perfect to share. The Paella de pollo, butifarra y lomo at 9.90€ per person is another extremely popular option. You will be sad when you scrape the last bit of paella onto your plate, so savour every bite.

Fresas, crema de yogurt y 
espuma de frambuesas

If you enjoy a treat at the end of your meal, Cachitos has many fantastic dessert options. The fresas, crema de yogurt y espuma de frambuesas for example is a perfect blend between the sweet yogurt, the crisp hand-cut strawberries and the slighly sour raspberry froth. The restaurant serves Illy brand coffee and tea and offers house-made black chocolate truffles to cleanse the palate. Some more dessert options recommended by Manzanal are the Crema Catalana - which is a caramalized sugar and cream dish and the Torrija caramelized con helado, a delicious Catalonian classic.

Despite the economic recession in Spain, Cachitos has managed to grow busier due to the staff's dedication to providing the best food, great customer service, and a comfortable ambience. Cachitos' doors are open to anyone and everyone and the staff strive to make all the customers feel at home.  One gentleman proudly spoke of spending every morning in Cachitos because he enjoys the delicious food and relaxed atmosphere so much.  Cachitos has plans to open a new restaurant in New York in the future. Cachitos has been featured many magazines and articles including in LifeStyle HOGARES n350, elPeriodico, Mujer Hoy, TimeOut, Bcn Cool Hunter. According to Cachitos manager Ignacio Ramos, good price, good product and a desire for clients to leave happy is why the majority of Cachitos clientele comes from word of mouth. 

Come to Cachitos today to see why it is such a beloved restaurant for local and international visitors alike!

Rambla Catalunya, 33

08007 Barcelona (Spain)

Telefono: 93 215 27 18

info@cachitosbcn.com

http://www.cachitosbcn.com

Contact marketing@barcelona-sir.com for more information about the blog.

Article and photos (unless otherwise cited) by Roberta Lindal.