I know this says something about me, but even having booked Nobu for our actual anniversary, there was still a bit of me that wanted to find a Michelin star place we could eat at whilst in Barcelona. Luckily, Mont Bar had availability for lunch, was a la carte for that sitting, and did say explicitly on the website that they could adapt for vegan diets. Let’s roll.
They really did go above and beyond to look after Alasdair, effectively improvising a menu for him based on alterations, adaptations, and even dishes from their sister restaurant next door. But what was really special was that in accommodating him, they accommodated me - noting that a lot of their menu was designed to be shared, they made sure to offer me a number of dishes as a single portion so I wouldn’t miss out.
Ideally, this number included the ones I really wanted to try on the menu, namely the tuna belly with a pine nut emulsion, coiled into a spiral and instantly overtaking the tuna from Paco Tapas in the “wake up thinking about tuna” stakes (not a pun, just good writing); and the steak tartar, even being asked to what level of spice I would prefer it at - the attention to detail was meticulous.
I get ahead of myself, though, jumping around chronologically through the meal. Before that, the amuse bouche, a cracker of some sort and a frankly stunning consommé; and a starter of a chicken skin canapé with squid, the skin itself being dried into another cracker and used to sandwich the squid meat, lightly dressed with a sprig of herbs but otherwise left for the inherent flavour to dominate.
With a glass of PX in hand, I polish off a chocolate and soy tartlet, the pastry perfectly consistent but so light and delicate; the cream topping almost unbearable to finish. But the petit fours must be eaten and reality must be returned to - it’s only lunch time after all.