Ham Session

Ham and cheese heaven

It's "ham"mer time;)

Without a doubt, Spain produces the best pork in the world, and I got nothing but love for finely aged Spanish ham and cured meat. Ham Session by Don Jamon came to my raider while I was doing my research for my holiday trip to Girona, as you can tell by the restaurant's name, it is all about the ham. Simply put, you pay 22 Euro and you have yourself an all you can eat ham and cheese buffet, ranging from hand slice Iberico ham to aged cheese from France and Spain. It sounds almost too good to be true, considering the fact that a 100g plate of decent Spanish ham in London at a restaurant would cost you around £15. I got to say Ham Session is the "Ham and Cheese Heaven" to me.   

El Celler de Can Roca

Worth the hype?

Squab civet and parfait

The name El Celler de Can Roca really needs no introduction if you are a serious foodie, besides the prestige 3 Michelin stars status, it was also listed as the top 3 best restaurants in the last 5 years by the popular and influential World 50 Best restaurants awards. Founded by the Roca brothers in1986, El Celler de Can Roca is now a world renown fine dining restaurant and booking a table could be a real mission. The cooking approach is very avant-garde, taking influences from around the world using prime local ingredients. It offers 2 tasting menus, a shorter "classic menu" containing some of the best dishes from the restaurant over the years and the longer "feast" menu with its latest creations, which is what I opted for.  

Massana

Fine dining in Girona

Foie gras, crunchy sweet bread and corn textures

Massana is a fine dining Catalan restaurant in Girona, it is considered to be the best restaurant in Girona alongside with El Celler de Can Roca. The restaurant was founded by Pere Massana back in 1986 and it is still going strong these days with its creative plus forward-thinking approach in Catalan cuisine. The restaurant was awarded a Michelin star in 2007 and has retained such status for over 10 years, an achievement that many restaurants would be dreaming of. For my dinner at Massana, we opted for the tasting menu, containing 9 dishes plus 6 canapes with some very top ingredients used such as lobster and truffle, which I got to say for 105 Euro, it is fairly decent value for money.

Arròs i Peix

Seafood market

The seafood market at Arròs i Peix

When you visit Spain, sampling fresh seafood is one the must do if you are a serious foodie. If you ever visit Girona, which is a charming old town north of Barcelona and not too far from the French border, Arròs i Peix appears to be the best answer. The seafood restaurant concept is located right in the heart of the town center, what set it apart to other seafood restaurants is its in-house fresh seafood market. Once you step in, you are given a welcoming glass of cava on the house and guided to its seafood market, where a waiter would explain to you what is on offer. In a nutshell, you pick what you want from the seafood selection and decide how you would like it to be done, from ceviche, deep fried to BBQ etc.

Occi

Modern Catalan cuisine 

Soup rice of lobster, cuttlefish and dried fruit

For my trip to Girona, trying out popular local restaurants was high on my to-do list. From my extended research, Occi appears to be one of the top local restaurants in Girona's town center. Labeled as a Catalan restaurant offering classic dishes with a creative touch, Occi is highly regarded by the locals and also listed in the Michelin Guide. Located right in the heart of the old town, the interior of Occi is actually very modern with glass tables and dark walls that won't look out of place inside an edgy contemporary hotel. The menu is fairly big with 12 starters and 12 mains. Everything sounded very appealing and I ended up pretty much ordering everything from the mains session and shared between the whole table.