Presumably, because it is hard to get into but easy enough to walk past, the main question tends to be "what do I think of the design?" Well, actually I like it. It’s quirky and fun, and does a good job of defining spaces within the space, although the majority of people with an opinion on the matter find it a bit disjointed and overblown. I suspect that’s got a lot to do with the fact that there is an element of the American theme bar about the place, and it’s not traditionally tapas-y—a fairground theme takes up half the space, and there’s a huge flat screen TV in one section, described on the website as the corner for ‘rogues’ and ‘swine’, and, coincidentally or not, was where we were seated, while the other half is occupied by an organic-looking long-bar where Albert Adrià as captain conducts his star performance. In this project Ferran is very much second in command, and more likely to appear as a patron than a cook. I also liked the ice-cream cart, the theatrical greeting, "Welcome to the show!", and the word ‘tickets’ studded onto the back of staff jackets that actually lights up. It’s all a bit cheesy, sure, but it’s also refreshing that there’s no po-facedness about it.
More to the point, the food is good—tapas that is both recognisable and desirable as something to eat, and as something that might once have come from the legendary stoves of El Bulli. Indeed, there’s lots of El Bulli past going on here, not all of it likeable. I had trouble with the raw navajas with ginger-lemon air that were bitter and a little musky (personally I think navajas needs a bit of char to bring out the sweetness and the succulence of the flesh) and the tiny, breaded rabbit ribs that were basically lumps of batter masking not wildly interesting flesh. Still, when you need to have about 12 dishes between two to stand a hope of getting full, a couple of duds isn’t catastrophic. Of the highlights, there were many.
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