There are very few Spanish restaurants in Hangzhou, and "La pedrera" is one of the most prestigious Spanish restaurants. Founded in 2011 by an overseas Chinese couple who have lived in Spain for more than ten years, the store was originally located in the Baisha Spring area, but was later closed due to municipal renovation, and moved to the Huanglong Hotel in Hangzhou several times, and now has a branch in Binjiang Longhu Heavenly Street.
As the first Spanish restaurant in Hangzhou, Batlló has always attracted much attention. During the G20 in Hangzhou, former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, former Argentine President Mauricio Macri, and the Argentine Ambassador to China all visited the restaurant and gave a very high evaluation of the restaurant. Batlló has always had a habit of hiring Spanish chefs, which brings a rare amount of authentic flavor and a certain amount of creativity to the restaurant, but the frequent change of chefs also makes Batlló's production quite problematic. Currently, the head chef of Batlló is Juan Francisco from the Basque Country, Spain, who has worked for a long time in the group of restaurants of the three-Michelin-starred restaurant ARZAK in Spain.
The two locations in Batlló are slightly different, with Huanglong favoring fine dining and Longfor Tianjie offering more tapas, but classic Spanish dishes can be found at both locations. Batlló's pre-dinner bread is the common Chapata in northern Spain, this white bread made with olive oil is small, dense, dry, light, slightly garlicy, and served with a tomato sauce made from fresh tomato cubes and crumbled tomatoes. The wine list of Batlló is relatively rich, mainly Spanish red wines, and the service level of the wine service is decent; For an aperitif, we recommend trying Sangria, the national wine of Spain, which is fruity and full of energy, and the sparkling wine Cava also has a distinctly Spanish color. Huanglong store gives free snacks before the meal, and the production is quite sincere.
Tapas are an important part of Spanish cuisine, usually small portions, diverse in form, rich in variety, and occupy the vast majority of the menu at Longfor Tianjie store. Tapas garlic olive oil fried shrimp is the most classic, Batlló's fried shrimp is properly seasoned, the oil is fragrant and pesto, oily but not greasy, the shrimp used are full of heads, but the quality of the shrimp is average. The Iberian ham cream ball is also a classic tapas, which is made by cheese wrapped in ham and sausage and fried in a pan, which is creamy and oily. Salmon tartar has a light taste and can be dipped in sauce, and the tartar contains pineapple grains to reconcile the texture and taste. The performance of low-temperature beef face meat is average, the rough fiber is stewed until the taste is soft and rotten, and although the spinach is smooth and fresh, the taste of beef face meat is still not pleasant, and the greasy feeling is too heavy. Spicy potatoes, fried squid rings, pickled olives, and pan-fried straw mushrooms with parsley and garlic are all classic national snacks. Batlló's Tapas are about 150g per serving, so you can order more and try more, the Tapas menu of the two branches is not exactly the same, and the Tapas price of the Longfor Tianjie branch is slightly lower than that of the Huanglong store, for diners who try Tapas for the first time, the Longfor Tianjie store is obviously more cost-effective.
Ham is also a masterpiece of Spanish cuisine, and Batlló serves 48-month-old and 36-month-old Iberian ham. Batlló's ham is made from Montaraz, one of the two major ham producing regions in Spain, and the quality is of a high level in Spanish restaurants, among which the 48-month ham is the highest grade "Jamon Iberico bellota", that is, pure acorn black pork hind leg, thin and tough, fat tight, crimson color, sweet flavor, moderate saltiness. For first-time diners, the 36-month ham "Jamon Iberico Recebo", which has a shorter harvest time, is also worth trying. Both are freshly cut by the ham master to ensure the best taste and taste. In addition, Batlló's sausage meat platter also chooses Montaraz, which contains Spanish air-dried sausages such as Chorizo, Lomo, Salchichon, etc., for a pure and authentic taste.
Paella, one of Spain's national dishes, is a rice dish cooked in a large iron pan Paellera, commonly referred to as "paella" in China. Paella rice is usually made to be crisp and tough, and when ordering in Batlló, the waiter will ask for the doneness you want to taste, and the rice will still retain a certain amount of toughness under normal doneness. Batlló's Paella is a signature paella, with a saffron flavor and a salty cuttlefish juice paella. The rice used is the Northeast short japonica rice, which is similar to the Spanish Bomba rice, and the Argentine red shrimp, prawns, mussels, cuttlefish, clams and other seafood materials are abundant, and the seasoning is moderate. In addition to paella, the restaurant also has mushroom black truffle rice and pork rice with bamboo shoots. It should be noted that Batlló's Paella is listed on the menu for "per person", and the actual price per Paella is a two-digit starting point.
The Bartlló Huanglong store is in the same vein as the original Baisha Spring store, with a more formal positioning, the iconic colorful lizard at the entrance, the interior decoration is light and simple, the lines are smart, and the tableware is full of Spanish style, which can be used for both business banquets and private occasions. Longfor Tianjie store is positioned as a Tapas restaurant, which is more fashionable and has a more fashionable look. The restaurant service is polite and friendly, professional and well-presented, but slightly understaffed. Spanish restaurants in Hangzhou are scarce, and Batlló is not perfect, but it is worth trying, making it a safe choice for Spanish cuisine in Hangzhou.
