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SPANISH TAPAS / PINXU @ EL PINXUS

Barcelona, Spain - November 2019

On a cycling tour at the Iberian Peninsula and Barcelona was one of our main destinations.
Spain is renown for it's tapas, and we had our fair share of very good tapas at the different towns and cities we visited. And here in Barcelona, we will get to savor pinxu (or pinchos), they are sort of a kind of tapas but are called pinchos because many of them have a pincho (Spanish for spike), typically a toothpick —or a skewer for the larger varieties— through them. Pinchos are usually a small snack, typically eaten in bars, traditionally in northern Spain and especially popular in La Rioja, Cantabria, Asturias, the Basque country and Navarra.

At most restaurants, pinchos are served as an appetizers but here in Barcelona; a place has made them into an art-form; beautifully crafted and appealing to both the eyes and the palate. The place is called Els Pinxus, a tapas bar that is a class of its own - bright and decorated with a touch of class .....

Seating is cozy and at the far end is a private room called the "Liberia Catlonia" (Catalan for Catalonia Bookstore) with larger tables for bigger groups..... but it does look like a bookstore or even a library; perhaps it's both and a restaurant too!

On one of their wall was a simplified pictorial guide to help us tourists understand the pinchos and make it easier for us to order. The board played on their name PinXus with the X in a different color thus hinting that we should Pin them.
Basically, it list some of the pinchos and states in Catalan that now these can be taken away too.
From left the pinchos are:
1. Tartar de fuet - Fuet (thin Spanish pork sausages) with tartar sauce.
2. Foie, higos y pato - Foie, figs and duck.
3. Salmo fumat - Smoked salmon.
4. Mini burger
5. Secret Iberic - Iberian Secret (okay, I guess have to order this in order to find out the secret).
6. Txangurro - That's Basque for Crab.
7. Formatge de cabro - Goat cheese.
8. Formatge blau - Blue cheese, this was our favorite.
9. Xistorra - Chistorra, a type of Basque fast-cure sausage from Aragon.
10. Ou de guatlla - Quail eggs.
I guess this ten would be a quick introduction to their wide range of pinchos.

Ok let's kick off our meal.
The best part is, the cool looking Sangria seen above was only at €1/- per glass!
In front of the Sangria are pinchos from their their tasting menu, from left: shrimp, mince meat, and on far right is goat cheese.

Each of the pinchos was finely crafted like a work of art, often the main item lies on a carpet of tomato and topped of with green or red chillis. For the above, from left; ham, bacon, Chistorra, minced meat and Fuet.

A close up look of the above.

More lovely creations, including one of a lovely shrimp hugging a combo of something (Sorry, I can't recall the names of the different types, but they were delicious 😄).

A close up look of the shrimp pinchos, with some caviar rolling down. Yes, this is definitely a work of art..... too bad it will be going down my mouth soon.

(Photo from Els Pinxus Facebook Page)

Let's pop over to their bar, it's a long counter with two or three glass cases that displayed the different types of wonderful creations. One can see (while drooling) and choose the pinchos to one personal liking; one can eat at the bar counter too, too bad there's no moving carousel/conveyor like those in Japanese shushi bars.

Bacon with green and red chili pepper.

Ou de guatlla i Xistorra, i.e. sunny-side up Quail eggs and Chistorra sausage.

Hmmm.... I think this was Goat cheese sitting on a slice of pork.

Formatge blau - Blue cheese, don't look like much, but it's our favorite!

For those who love sausages, this was a double barrel of Chistorra sausages.

This is some kind of meat loaf with a dollop of cheese cream above, sprinkle with chili powder.

A closer view of the bacon with green and red chili pepper.

Txangurro (Basque for Crab) patties with the renown Spanish Padrón green chili pepper.

Salmo fumat (Smoked salmon), another of our favorite!

Other than the pinchos, we had several other good dishes such as egg plant Cannoli (stuffed with beef and with light truffle sauce), squid legs, and these succulent mussels steamed with olive oil, garlic and lemon.

For desserts: Chocolate with green tea cream.

..... and glasses of La Sueca Sangria.

BON GANA!

Els Pinxus is highly recommend and not to be missed when in Barcelona.
Take a virtual walk-through of Els Pinxus.
Els Pinxus Menus & Promotions (at time of our visit)

Pinchos @ €2.05, Pichos + Canyeta @ €3.60, Assortment of 5 pinchos + Canya + glass of wine @ €12.00.

Today's Special @ €15-90:

"Aperitivo + primero + segundo + postre o cafe, Bebida incluida"
Aperitif + first + second + dessert or coffee, Drinks included.

Els Pinxus Starters, salad, fish & seafood, and Meat Menu.

Els Pinxus Fried Eggs With Potato, Bread, Dessedrts, Omelets, and Tasting Menu.

Els Pinxus Wine List, this is the first page of their extensive wine list.

Els Pinxus

Carrer de Marià Cubí, 81, 08006 Barcelona, Spain.

Phone: +34 932 52 75 45

Hours: 12:00pm to 1:00am

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elspinxus

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/elspinxus/
GPS & Direction Map : 41.39750, 2.14850

(Click here for Google Street View)

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