The term ‘Fondo’ in restaurant-speak generally makes me think of a tavernesque place with lots of wood and a bar buckling under the weight of tapas. This place had the sex appeal of a hospital, too white and bright by far, but the smells of fish stock and saffron on entering were mightily encouraging. We sat down, further buoyed by the discovery that of the two waiters who attended us, one was a dead-ringer for John Cleese, the other for Lou Reed. You could argue that they are as much a reason to come as any.

Fondo do Mar gets plenty of hits on websites like salir.com and a fair amount of gushing praise, yet a furtive survey of other diners told me nearly all were of Asian extraction, Korean and Chinese, perhaps on work jollies. Who else is working in August after all? It was a bit like not being in Barcelona at all.

Still, we ordered from a menu that offered stacks and stacks of seafood: the usual offerings of crab and lobster, langoustines and prawns, mussels and cockles and clams and navajas, chipirones and rabas (squid rings), baked fish and suquets and somewhere at the back a token meat menu of goat kid shoulder and steak in various guises. Clearly, Fondo del Mar’s direction is with creatures of the deep, and from what we could see around us it all looked rather promising. Even the prices were fair—€28 for a mariscada de la casa (the raw stuff on ice) and €33 for a parrillada (grilled).

It was a shame then that possibly the biggest rip-off on the menu, and the most poorly executed, was a single scallop for €7.50. My best guess is it was an attempt at a deconstructed marmitako (a Basque stew of peppers, pimentón, onions and garlic to which tuna is added); whatever it was it has no business being anywhere near a scallop, although in this case I fear there was no saving them.