Despite its brilliant path since it opened in 2012, Suculent somehow still remains a well-kept secret of Barcelona. A place without pretensions or luxuries, where chef Toni Romero has spent years renewing and giving his own twist to traditional Mediterranean dishes, with hints and influences from other cultures.
Here are ten good reasons to love Suculent.
1.The Chef
Toni Romero is the owner and chef of Suculent. He began his career with Hospitality Management studies in Costa de Azahar where he discovered very early that he had found his passion.
His hard work led him to participate in different cooking competitions, such as SpainSkills, which he won in 2007, and to deserve a valued position as an intern at elBulli upon graduation, where he stayed working until the last season.
Since then he has only been through kitchens of the highest level such as Arzak, Akelarre and Maison Pic, before settling in the Ravel Quarter of Barcelona and opening Suculent.
2. Taste over Technique.
In this restaurant there are no dishes made just to show off skills. Here it’s all about the flavour. “Technique? Each dish includes it to some level, but we don’t focus on using modern techniques, it’s not a priority. If at some point I am avant-garde, I prefer to be because of the concept of the dish rather than because I am using a modern technique,” says Toni Romero.
3. Tradition.
Sucar is the Catalan word for “soaking” and lent means “slow”. The game of words resulted in Suculent, that translates into succulent in English, a perfect way to describe the dishes that Toni Romero brings back to life from the traditional recipe books.
Since the beginning of the project the idea was simple; a rustic eatery, reminiscent of your grandma’s house, with vintage crockery, slow cooked meals and lots of sauces. A revisit to the history of Spanish and Mediterranean cuisine, redefined and refined, and it all starts with the bases.
4. The consistency.
Hotspots come and go. Barcelona is witness to new restaurants opening and closing pretty much every week and with so much good competition and incredible places to eat, you have to stand out from the crowd to survive.
Since 2012 Suculent has been a strong player in the city’s culinary scene. One of those restaurants that other chefs like to go to on their very few days off. A place that’s synonyms with good food and experience. It’s always a safe bet.
5. The Sauces.
In Spanish the word salsa has several meanings. The first is a composition or mixture of various edible substances diluted, which is made to season food. The second is something that encourages or cheers and the third is a genre of popular dance music.
Toni translates all those meanings to his dishes by mastering sauces. With them he gives flavour, encouragement and joy to his preparations. At Suculent the sauces are the soul of the dishes.
Read also: Suculent – Cooking The Soul of Barcelona.
6. Surf & Turf.
The mediterranean, more specifically Spain, is famous for dishes that combine the best of two worlds; the earth and the sea. Toni Romero loves this tradition and shows some amazing examples at Suculent.
Dishes like the sea urchin with boletus mushroom royale and caviar, the green peas with oysters and iberian jawl, or the lobster tartare with crispy chicken skin are just three of the masterpieces that display his ability to combine seafood with the best meats or vegetables in season.
7. A walk through Raval.
There’s a charm to El Raval. A certain je ne sais quoi that some people love. And even though it isn’t Barcelona’s safest neighbourhood, you can fall in love with its picturesque streets, artistic vibe and architecture.
A walk around one of the world’s most famous and vibrant areas can start with a visit to La Boqueria, continue with an amazing lunch at Suculent and end with a visit to the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art and Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona, for example.
8. The Tartare.
You might think that it’s crazy to include a steak tartar on this list as it is a pretty common dish. But in 2012, when Suculent started, this was the first tartare of its kind and has since then been an inspiration for many other chefs and a guest favourite, also known to be one of the most copied dishes in Spain.
A play of textures and temperatures achieved by placing the finely hand cut and seasoned raw meat on top of a grilled bone marrow and finished with pommes souflleé. If you visit this restaurant, you have to get this dish.
9. Thinking outside the box.
Suculent’s menu is a display of great Mediterranean food, forgotten recipes revised and dishes reminiscent of older, simpler times. But since day one chef Toni Romero included some ideas that would surprise anyone. For him, thinking outside the box means proposing interesting concepts, not only showing great technique.
He has done it by introducing hints from other cultures without losing his essence. Dishes like his famous red prawn ceviche with avocado and corn, a Peruvian flag, or his chicken comb canapé that’s finished with dots of hoisin sauce, are examples of cultures coming together to make a culinary experience even better.
The prawn ceviche has been on Suculent’s menu since day one, even against the advice of one of Toni Romero’s mentors…
“The first day that we opened Ferrán Adrià came to eat and told me: I really like the menu but what’s this ceviche doing here? I told him he was right, but I didn’t take it off the menu,” says Antonio while he laughs. “And I always pay attention and do what he tells me… But at the end of the day I knew that this one was going to be a guest favourite, and years later it still is,” Romero says.
10. The service.
It’s casual but still on point. It’s fast paced but smooth. It’s well informed without giving you lectures. Many restaurants say: This is your house. But at Suculent you actually feel at home.
Their staff is friendly and witty in the perfect Spanish amount and that rounds up a memorable meal.
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“Suculent is a paradise of taste and simplicity. In one of the most avant-garde cities in the world, meeting Antonio Romero is a return to the old tastes and rituals which offers deep-flavoured safety in a casual-contemporary venue, inclusive and open to the masses. It’s an old-fashioned project that gradually transforms into becoming a modern classic – perhaps now more than ever.”
Bon Vivant Communications is a culinary embassy representing star chefs and restaurants, chateaux and high-end wineries as well as working close together with various luxury hotels, gourmets festivals and bespoke concierges services.
The diplomacy speaks to a strong network of 600 journalists, bloggers and writers, as well as 6000+ luxury diners around the globe.
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Hungry for more? Have a look at Suculent’s website
