Quick Bites: El Canalla
The Josper oven, an ingenious combination of a traditional oven and a charcoal grill, steals the show at El Canalla, which has become one of the most popular and welcoming restaurants in the neighbourhood of Sarrià since it opened in 2011. A Josper oven can be heated with any kind of fuel, from various hardwood charcoals to coconut shells, offering chefs the tantalising sear and smokey flavour of a traditional grill, while occupying no more space than a typical restaurant oven.
Every night of the week, the charcoal embers glow in the kitchen of El Canalla, tucked in the most privileged of locations in the corner of the Plaça de Sarrià on the Carrer Major de Sarrià. Diners at El Canalla enjoy superb food that is never over-complicated, yet always packed with flavour and cooked with finesse. The Josper-grilled Pluma Ibérica with caramelised shallots and roasted potatoes may be the most tender and unctuous cut of grilled pork I have ever tasted; the deboned pig’s feet with boniato purée and citrus were pure, porky, sticky pleasure.
Though grill-centric cuisine is most commonly associated with meat, El Canalla embraces the treasures of the sea and the garden as well, with garlicky grilled sardines and simple-yet-perfect, whole grilled El Prat artichokes, to be eaten leisurely, leaf by leaf. Though the service and ambience of El Canalla are lovely, the pristine quality of their ingredients is lovelier still, effortlessly carrying these classic dishes to great heights.
The Josper grill is lit at dinner time from Monday to Friday, and all day on the weekends. Seven days a week, from 1pm until midnight, El Canalla also offers a tempting menu of vermouth and tapas, including quintessential dishes like croquettes, aubergine with honey, and fried squid, as well as some recipes that venture east into Asian-fusion territory like Fried Rabbit Ribs with Vietnamese ‘Ho Chi Minh’ sauce and Thai-style Confit Chicken Drumettes. The cosy bar area and intimate upstairs dining room of this 17th-century building invite you to stay for hours and savour every bite in the company of good friends, and that’s exactly what you should do.
El Canalla. Mayor de Sarriá 95. Opening times: Monday - Sunday, 1pm - 12am.