Daily TribuneFor appetizer, the chef himself recommended we try Cloïsses & Musclos, clams and mussels steamed with white wine and garlic. TasteAtlas ranked it as among the top dishes to try in Barcelona and Spain.
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A CATALAN chef offering fresh catch ‘dampa’ style.
WATCHING a bullfight in Las Ventas, Madrid.
DINNER by the Barcelona beach.
COCIDO Madrileno.
Cloisses and Musclos.
Gambas Rojas.
RABO de Toro.
MADRID seafood noodles paella.
Before football and World Cup, bullfighting was Spain’s national obsession, with fights reaching up to almost 4,000 per year during its height in the ‘90s and early 2000s, attracting around 40 million spectators all over the globe and filling the Spanish tourism industry with $1.4 billion annual income.
Today, many efforts, such has the animal rights movement, have shut down many bullrings in Spain. In Madrid, however, bullfighting still thrives in Las Ventas, the country’s biggest and the world’s third largest bullring with an almost 23,800 seating capacity.
Bullfighting, is of course, a glamorized way to butcher bulls, which Las Ventas bullring guides said are even “the luckiest animals” because they got a chance to kill their butchers before the bulls end up on restaurant plates. The bulls, after all, are raised by different Spanish family-owned companies specializing in raising different bulls mainly for bullfighting and food.
As such, meat that came from the bull that was killed from the bullring has become a delicacy in Spain, specifically in Madrid, where it has been a custom to eat Rabo de Toro before or after watching a bullfight. After a bullfight, one or two ears of the bull would go to the matador that slayed the bull as his trophies, since ears are the easiest to cut in the arena. Sometimes, the bull’s head and horns are usually preserved to be turned into wall hangings and trophies. The rest of the bull is then cooked into different dishes, but according to the Spanish, the best-tasting part is the tail, so this is the one being used in Rabo de Toro, oxtail slowly braised with red wine and herbs.
While it is almost impossible to get a reservation and/or to walk-in at Casa Toro, the restaurant nearest Las Ventas that serves Rabo de Toro and other dishes made of bull meat, especially on the day where there is a bullfight, in Madrid’s culinary and cultural center Barrio de las Letras, we were able to spot a rare Spanish restaurant that serves Rabo de Toro.
Located in Calle de las Huertas, Casa Alberto serves Rabo de Toro with fried hand-cut fries and chili peppers on the side. A restaurant server told us the oxtail in the dish is simmered for three to five hours until tender, resulting in a taste that resembles beef but richer, redder and more savory.
For a complete authentic Madrid feast, we complemented our Rabo de Toro with a Paella Negra or black rice dish with seafood.
Before Rabo de Toro, we were served appetizers like Cocido Madrileño or slow-cooked chickpea and meat stew, and Callos a la Madrileña, traditional beef tripe stew with paprika and chorizo — much like the callos we also have in Manila.
Hamon Iberico or Iberian ham is another famous appetizer that is served together with different cheeses and drinks as dinner when watching a Flamenco show in Sevilla. Like many Spanish fare, Hamon Iberico is served as either raciones (single-serve or small portion) or tapas (family-size, for sharing or big serving). Tapas, then, refers to the serving size and it’s not a kind of dish!
Catalan cuisine
Like in Madrid, dining in Barcelona is also a custom, but not after watching a bullfight since the practice has been banned by the regional Catalonia government since 2012 and no bullfights have been held in Barcelona since 2011.
Instead of bull and red meat like Iberian ham, seafood and fish are the stars of authentic Catalan fare, usually enjoyed after swimming or strolling along the Barcelona Beach. Even the arroz caldo (rice porridge) dish in Barcelona is replete with seafood instead of the usual chicken or pork meat in Manila.
By the Barcelona beach, we’re able to have dinner at Can Fisher Restaurante Playa Bogatell that offers high-end indoor and al fresco dining. Right from the entrance, aquariums with live fish greet visitors. There is also an iced showcase of raw fish, or what we call in Filipino as dampa (wet market)-style.
Besides fresh sea breeze, the warmly-lit restaurant is served by an equally warm and friendly staff, headed by their executive chef, who would go to one’s table upon request to bring to you the freshest catch of the day.
Among the fish and seafood that he showed to us, including calamari (squid), sípia (cuttlefish) and espardenyes (sea cucumbers), we ordered Llagostí (king-sized prawns), clams and bacalla (salt cod), which, within minutes, he freshly cooked himself in the kitchen and transformed them into authentic Catalan dishes – grilled Llagostí; Bacallà a la llauna (baked salt cod with paprika and garlic); and Gambas Rojas (grilled red prawns with sea salt, served with homemade bread and butter).
For appetizer, the chef himself recommended we try Cloïsses & Musclos, clams and mussels steamed with white wine and garlic. TasteAtlas ranked it as among the top dishes to try in Barcelona and Spain.
Indeed, Spain wins not only over Portugal in FIFA World Cup 2026, but also in the cups and plates of every global foodie. ¡Viva la España!
