Restaurant reviews

Ruby was on holiday from Washington. She found herself here after her friend suddenly pulled out of the trip and she checked out singles-friendly happenings in Barcelona on meetup.com. Juan had done the same thing when he decided to extend a business trip from Madrid. Valerie had heard about it through a friend.

You could expect that things might be a little awkward. But the night began by admiring the views from the terrace and chatting over ice-breaking ginger mojitos served with tender rolls of slowly roasted pork rubbed with Southern spices and skewered together with melted Swiss cheese and a gherkin. It wasn’t particularly speedy —we didn’t sit down to eat much before 10.30pm—but nobody cared, because, unlike restaurants, much of the thrill of the ‘pop up’ comes in the social potential. The room filled with relaxed chatter as Kathleen Engelhardt, our host, chef and creator of Jezebels, pottered about the kitchen putting the final touches on dinner.

A former model and actress, Kathleen traded California for Catalunya a couple of years ago and used the move to focus on food full time. She worked for Roger Auberts of Food & Mambo for a while, learning about molecular gastronomy, but decided to go it alone recently with the staging of the first ‘Jezebels’.

“It gives me the opportunity to express myself creatively, to play but still be in control serving who and what I want,” she said.

For someone who is just playing, the food is deadly serious. First up is a martini glass of black bean soup carefully spiked with jalapeño, mellowed with sour cream and served with a crunchy rice croquette for dipping. Two small shot glasses of ceviche follow: oily mackerel chunks soured with lime juice and perfectly partnered with soothing sweet potato, buttery scallops with creamy avocado and crunchy cilantro shoots. A dazzling start that just got better and better.