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.

More fresh seafood

French rock oysters

Clams cooked in garlic oil

We order a mixture of seafood to share between the whole table, rock oysters from the Southern French coast was meaty and fresh, at just over 1 Euro an oyster, it was a steal. The grilled Mediterranean red prawns might look fairly standard, but the taste was exceptional, naturally sweet with a melting texture, lightly seasoned with salt and olive oil, it was heavenly. Whole BBQ turbot was a touch overcooked, but taste-wise was lovely, the pulling of hot garlic oil added bags of umami to the fresh turbot. The house special lobster soup rice was indeed special, perfectly cooked lobster with the rice absorbed all the beautiful tastes from the shellfish and cuttlefish, it was easily the best seafood rice dish I have encountered in Spain.

Mediterranean red prawns 

BBQ turbot

Lobster and cuttlefish soup rice...

...just pure joy

The seafood feast was very enjoyable at Arròs i Peix, everything was really fresh and some were even still alive when I was ordering at the seafood market. I really enjoyed the informal setting while having a proper sit-down service at the same time, for example, the waiter would prepare the turbot for you so you won't need to get your hands dirty. The wine was also amazing value for money, with the most expensive bottle costing just under £40. For the similar quality seafood plus wine back in the UK, it would easily cost more than £100 per person. Arròs i Peix is built for seafood lovers like myself, and there is also one in Barcelona for those who are not willing to travel that far to Girona. 


Food 3.5/5

What I paid: 
£45 per head with wine

Average cost without drinks and services:
£30

Carrer dels Ciutadans, 20, 17004 Girona, Spain

http://arrosipeix.cat/