Sorry I am being redundant, but it's true: all Italians know that in Italy we don't have Italian restaurants. Instead, each single city has its own culinary traditions, so, if you are in Verona, you will have Veronese food, if you are in Pisa you will have Pisan food and so on. Ingredients and cooking procedures vary so much across regions that it is sometimes hard to think that they belong to the cuisine of one single country. Maybe it's because in Barcelona we have a huge Italian community (we are everywhere!), but the fact is that we are seeing more and more real regional restaurants that look, feel and taste exactly the same as in the Belpaese. Xemei is one of those. Opened a few years ago by two brothers from Venice (Xemei in means twins in Venetian), the place is perhaps the best choice if you feel like having a gorgeous Italian meal in Barcelona. I love it because it's open on Sundays and it's in Poble Sec, one of the most authentic neighbourhoods in town, where you have lots of bars to have a nice vermouth and very few tourists around.
The menu includes a limited choice of starters and mains and it changes constantly, which is a guarantee of care for the quality and freshness of the ingredients, and includes a mix of traditional and revisited Venetian dishes. Sometimes burrata, a glorious product from southern Italy, is available. It's a fresh mozzarella cheese with a very soft, creamy and buttery core, served with some cherry tomatoes and olive oil. It's just gorgeous and they serve it as a starter. Another highlight is carpaccio, perhaps one of the most famous Italian starters, created by Giuseppe Cipriani at the Harry's Bar in Venice. It's thin slices of raw veal meat arranged on a layer of tender salad leafs, all dressed, according to the tradition, with a light mayonese and worchestershire sauce combination. It's a perfectly balanced combination of tastes and textures and it just drives me crazy!
The atmosphere is laid back and cool at the same time, and the crowd is mostly young professionals both from the international and catalan community. In the summer, it is great to sit outside, under the red awnings, that became the trademark of this place.
The atmosphere is laid back and cool at the same time, and the crowd is mostly young professionals both from the international and catalan community. In the summer, it is great to sit outside, under the red awnings, that became the trademark of this place.
Xemei
Passeig de la Exposició, 85 – Barcelona
Phone: +34 935 535 140
Price Range: 40-50€, depending on wines and spirits ordered.
Open on Sundays, which is not that common in Barcelona. Reservation is recommended.
