Mimolet -- Pou Rodó, 12, Girona; tel. 972202124
This is a restaurant in Girona, a small city northeast in Catalonia with around 95,000 inhabitants. It is situated in the Barri Vell, which means the old city which most of the time is the most interesting part of a town or city in Spain. In there old buildings are preserved and traffic is restricted. Usually the streets are stone-paved and are littered with little enchanting shops.There are interesting suggestions for a day trip to this historic city.
I went recently for lunch in one of the restaurants there, called Mimolet. It is tucked at a corner with an unassuming store front. The decoration was dominated by wooden mannequins in different postures. The restaurant names after the French cheese mimolette.
We were able to start lunch at 1 p.m. while many restaurants in Catalonia are not open until 1:30 or 2 p.m.
The service was cordial. Although we were quite early, the first in fact, and obviously the staff were not quite ready. However, we were received cheerfully, not like other places I went to where the staff showed you quite clearly you were not very welcomed at such early hours.
The tables were set comfortably apart, though a little more space in between would have been ideal.
We were offered choices as to tables. There are seats at the back of the room and seats near the big glass window which gave a view of the quiet street lined with stone houses and a characteristic white church. We went for one near the window and the traffic was scarse that we did not feel oppressed by inquisitive passers -by.
Besides the full menu there was a set lunch also, which looked very attractive and with a very good price, less than 20 euros. We did not take it because it was a special celebration.
The menu was interesting without being extraordinary. There was one dish that sounded very attractive, pig's trotters with espardenyas, which is a delicious local seafood, very similar to razor clams but different, without shells and with a crispy and delicate taste. I did not choose it though because there were other more seasonal dishes: game.
Now is the season for game, as a visit to the big wet market, La Boquería, in Barcelona will tell. Hares, partridges and wild pigeons are hanged with their full coat which make a macabre still life. The menu featured wild boar, venison and partridge.
The waiters were helpful and friendly, and they did not hesitate to give advice and suggest combinations. For dessert when we could not decide, they offered to combine two different choices so we could try both.
We were served an appetizer of the house: cream of squash with blood sausage, chicken croquette and almond stick. It was a delicious combination; and the almond stick was exquisite, with a slight sweetness highlighed by a touch of sea salt that made the contrast stand out.
For first dish, we both had a fish soup with a rice timbal and deep fried sardine fillets. The soup was strong and tasty, which mixed well with the short grained rice al dente. The fried sardin was a surprise but it proved to be a pleasant one.
For second, I had venison steak with blue berry sauce. The steak was well prepared, mediumly rare. The slightly grilled vegetables combined very well with the other ingredients. The young leek was fastly done and acted as a fresh contrast. The carrots must have been fastly boiled preserving its crispiness and raw taste.
My partner had a go for the partridge cooked in two ways with mashed potatoes. It was presented in an attractive way.
For dessert I had peanut ice-cream and chirimoya sorbet. Surprisingly the peanut ice-cream stood out, and the chirimoya sorbet, which I had high hopes, was a little bit disappointing.
The other dessert was bizcocho, biscuit, soaked in ratafia, an alcoholic drink, with rosemary sorbet and caramelized walnut. The sorbet had a stringent taste that refreshed the mouth after the meal.
To go with the meal we had the house cava, a Spanish sparkling wine similar to champaigne, El Xamfrà 2007, from Sant Sadurni d'Anoia.
Another thing that I like to check out in restaurants is their bathroom. The one in Mimolet is simple and pleasant with green paint and matching waste baskets. Cloth towels are provided for drying your hands. I was told that the men's bathroom was decorated with purple.
It is a place that I would visit again, especially to try their set lunch.
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