Armando Alvarez has a restaurant called Capet and a horse that responds to ‘Gorgeous’. “My passions are cooking and horses,” she says, in this riding order. Capet is the name of a Mediterranean fish (‘Lepidotrigla cavillone’) whose sound he liked when it opened in Gràcia in 2014 – where his brother Gonzalo’s Morralet is now – and which he moved in 2018 to Ciutat Vella, to a narrow street with luminous trail: Comet.
The Alvarez Melchor They arrived from Venezuela, there are nine brothers, most of them, with kitchen tasks: “We are a tribe.” They often meet on a piece of land they bought and Armando rides ‘Esplendido’. In Venezuela, where he left when he was 22 years old, he was already holding onto his mane and also raising the shotgun in raids.
Capet
Comet, 5. Barcelona
Tel: 937 20 44 21
Average price (without wine): €50
Tasting menus: €75 and €90
Capet is one of the few restaurants in Barcelona where hunting finds a table starting in October together with Topik, Succulent, nairod, Maleducat either Al Kostat. Cautious and skittish diners prefer domesticated cuisine, that of the Alcatraz chicken and the obese farm pigeonwhile the one that comes from the persecution, silence and shadow It arouses rejection, a surprising noun among those who recognize themselves as ‘fudis’, gourmets or another term of laughable ambiguity. The wild is scary because it reminds us of the elements.
The hunting dishes They are an antidote to that vulgarity that chronicles the cards and makes them all look like one egg to another egg. So I sit in Capet looking for good shots, without even looking at the tame dishes.
Wild meats handled by the Tiberisfood company, large game and small game, hair and feathers; and I provide the pen.
Restaurant with loft, tables and bars and an open kitchen from which to hunt the hunter: Armando is a cook who cooks and if that were so common it would not be necessary to review it. I only ask for a proper napkin.
The waitress Carla Muñoz, busy and fast, serves me a glass of Maria Ganxa 2021 and another of Finca San Martin 2019 and the bread they make, as well as kneading pasta and ricotta. I like restaurants that do things.
Boom: the roll of boneless partridge and stuffed with thighs and interiors, sauced with a bone broth and a orange pickle, pickled onion and fennel. Order pickle, with vinegar at bay.
Bum Bum: he wild rabbit, also boned, until forming layers with farce and meats; above, a fermented strawberry veilacid contrast and superhero captain.
Bum Bum bum: the Hareboned!, and stewed and inside a ‘tortello’ and in the company of ‘rossinyols’ and ‘llengua de bou’ cream. On top, some slices of raw loin highlighted with salt and pepper and I say: no, Armando, that is a dish in itself, a first-class carpaccio!
Boom-bum-bum-bum: the loin of deer rolled and marked and breaded with charcoal, venison/boar sauce, celeriac/vanilla puree and an unnecessary freeze-dried raspberry.
Boom-bum-bum-bum-bum: the wild boar cheek, Pickled cauliflower, red pepper and lentil caviar. I am interested in working with lentils, with the right amount of broth and juice.
No shots: he Biscuit hazelnut with ricotta, ricotta ice cream, figs and honey.
Related news
Armando wanted to be a veterinarian, he was a precocious father and he made a living as a cook. He hunts it as a hobby, and as a challenge: “It’s not easy, it’s not simple, not everyone plays it”. When he was in Coure he learned to prepare the hare ‘royal’ and later he made his own surgeries.
‘Splendid’ is the name of the horse and the food summary.
The team
Habranna Pérez, Carla Muñoz, Anna León, Victoria Álvarez, Francesc Amdo, Esther Álvarez, Roberto Cacchiarelli, Miguel de la Osa and Singh Rajinder.