The Box Social, Bistro, Poble Sec

My typical opening picture format is usually one with the name of the restaurant in it but for this post I am starting with a picture of the dessert from the menu del dia: watermelon with greek yogurt, honey and mint. If you live in other cities and are reading this you will find nothing notable but for Barcelona residents – this dish is a pretty big deal.

Barcelona is a city thick with culture and tradition. You eat very well but you tend to eat the same kind of thing. Sometimes, people here open something different but it still ends up being familiar, easily identifiable as something spawned from Barcelona. A strong culinary heritage is something to celebrate except on days when you are longing to eat something different.

Which is why The Box Social is a great place to have on your radar. The second restaurant from the Australian chef Damien Borger (there is a nice interview with him on All Those). In the newly opened Hotel Brummell in Poble Sec. You can opt to sit in the chic courtyard (I did) with contrasting textures of cement walls and large fingered tropical plants. In the middle of it all, a copper tap soothingly tinkling an uneven stream of water into a stone basin.

The menu of the day (€15) has two options listed for each course. I have to have the salad because salad in Barcelona has not evolved much past xató.  I am delighted to receive a shredded salad of granny smith apple and kohlrabi with a spicy dressing dolloped in unexpected nooks.

The white fish on a bed of cauliflower puree and wilted chard is equally delicious.

The experience is a delight from beginning to end and I look forward to trying their brunch soon.

See this and more addresses on my Foodie in Barcelona Map

The Box Social
(inside Hotel Brummell)
Nou de la Rambla, 174
Poble Sec, Barcelona
www.theboxsocial.es