Âme – Barcelona. Incredible.

Ame is a small french / Mediterranean restaurant in the Eixample neighborhood of Barcelona run by chef Pachi Rodriguez.

TLDR and bottom line – 10/10 – the best fine dining experience and value I have ever had. Chef could have punched me in the face and I would still give this place a 10 it was so darn good.

Where to start… the food here is phenomenal, and chef Pachi and his co chefs are wonderful hosts. I had the pleasure of sharing multiple conversations with Pachi, learning about his background, the story behind each dish, and their gastronomy. Pachi is an excellent host and a really cool person, it was honestly really cool to have the opportunity to speak with him so much, I haven’t had that experience at other fine dining establishments.

This is a small shop, including Pachi, there are only 4 staff members, all chefs, no dedicated serving staff. The epicurean menu, at 98 euros, was an absolute steal, with wonderful flow and flavors. The entire ticket price goes into the food, which i appreciated as it was amazing. Where im from, the same menu would be at least $175 before tip and tax.

Now to the food. I have forgotten some details but will touch on the highlights.

Dish 1 – 10/10 – chestnut emulsion. Chef named this the “ugly duckling” but what it lacked in presentation it made up in flavor. Earthy, smooth, umami, almost tasted like a mushroom. This was fantastic.

Dish 2 – 10/10 – sea crepe (shrimp), aged bluefin tartar, onion soup, cheese profiterole. The sea crepe and tartar were incredible. In Seattle we are blessed with incredible seafood, though this was the best tuna I have ever tasted. The tartar is laced with picked veggies, and it was a wonderful bite. I could eat a full meal of these.

Dish 3 – 10/10 roasted maitake. Not sure how this mushroom was cooked so perfectly – crispy at the tendril but soft at the root, with a lovely sauce, this was simply delicious, probably the best mushroom dish of my life.

Dish 4 – 10/10 – salsifis and Beatroot. Multiple types of beats and butter come together to make a comforting, almost Mac and cheese like dish. Warm and comforting, nutty, tender, umami, this dish was just fantastic, I practically licked the plate.

Dish 5 – 7.5/10 – tomato and yellowtail. As chef explained, he wanted a more acidic and light dish to balance out the intense umami flavors of its predecessors. Still delicious, but did not stand out like the others, likely by design.

Dish 6 – 7/10 red prawn veloute. I still liked this dish quite a bit, but it was not my favorite. It’s been a few days since I dined here and I cannot remember the flavors as much.

Dish 7 – 10/10 – trout. Holy cow this was incredible, certainly one of, if not the best dish on the menu. The trout is cooked in a souvee twice to ensure an even cook. The sauce, filled with roe, was so wonderful, I lost my mind eating this. Just incredible, the flavor of the trout was perfect; tender, fresh, delicious.

Dish 8 – 7.5/10 – acorn fed Iberian pork – I thought this dish needed a touch more salt, but it was still delicious. I don’t eat very much pork as it is hard on my stomach, but this lean strip of pork almost tasted more like steak to me, it was perfectly cooked, and the accompanying sauce was very tasty.

Dish 9 – 10/10 – substituted squab for a shrimp and rice dish. I had a very bad experience at a starred establishment last year with pigeon, it ruined the entire meal, so I requested a substitution which Pachi happily accommodated. The substitute dish, a paella-like rice and shrimp dish was fantastic. The sweetness of the shrimp permeated through the rice, balanced by the hearty, perfectly al dente rice. I absolutely loved this dish, it was so comforting, i could eat a platter of this.

Dish 10 – 8/10 – assorted cheeses – chef Pachi ages his own cheese, which is pretty darn cool. The first two cheeses, a goat cheese wrapped in ash, and some sort of Brie, were just phenomenal. I typically don’t eat stinky cheese, but my gosh was that Brie phenomenal. I can’t recall the names of the final two hard cheeses, but they were also quite tasty.

Dish 11 – 9/10 – strawberry’s and champagne – a strawberry sorbet with a champagne foam. So lovely, sweetness and some acidity from both the strawberry and the champagne foam, I’ve never had something like it, wonderful.

Dish 12 – 10/10 – date pudding (cake) with olive oil center – this was delightful. Perfectly cooked warm cake with an olive oil center. Incredible way to end the meal.

Overall this was the best meal I’ve ever had. I’ve had the good fortune of dining at a couple two star establishments, many one star establishments, and many of the best establishments in Seattle (where we do not have guide presence) and I would choose Ame over all of them.

To be critical, I assume they do not have a star perhaps due to plating (less artistic than most starred spots, not a bother for me) and a lack of dedicated service staff, which led to some very minor inconveniences that did not bother me at all, for example, less regular utensil changing than a typical fine dining experience, but the result of no serving staff is that you get a very unique interaction with a truly hospitable and knowledgeable chef Pachi and his sous chef Henrique, and all of the bill goes to ingredient quality and to the hard working chefs.

My guess is that this place will eventually earn a star, if not two, and Pachi is going places. This meal was the highlight of my entire trip to Barcelona, and I am still in awe at both the flavor and hospitality of the chef. I cannot recommend this place enough, and I cannot say that about many of the other fine dining establishments I’ve been to.

If you’re reading this, thank you so much Pachi, it was such a pleasure to meet you and dine with you. If you ever find yourself in Chicago or Seattle, please let me know as I would love to show you around town!