Some restaurants are enjoyable because they continually offer surprising, innovative creations, while others we like for the opposite reason: because they are reliable in their simplicity and homey traditional preparations. Envalira belongs to the latter. Fried items are cooked in pans, using fresh olive oil each day, not in an electric fryer; everything is made from scratch, in-house, using products, meats, seafood and fish from the neighborhood market. This is the kind of food that makes you feel good.
Envalira was opened in 1972 in Gràcia’s Plaza del Sol by Gerardo Herbella, a Galician immigrant who arrived in Barcelona in the 1950s. These days it’s run by his daughters, Elena and Gloria, who take care of the front of the house, along with Elena’s husband, Sindo, and Herbella’s son, Gerardo, who is in charge of the kitchen. The restaurant offers a great number of dishes with many regional and historic influences – Galician and Catalan, of course, but also Basque, Andalusian, Italian and French. Gerardo even continues to make a few old dishes that were once popular but are nowadays hard to find. The owners have mindfully kept the interior in 1970s style, with simple, sober décor, and a comfortable, professional atmosphere – all the better to enjoy the kind of food our mother or grandmother might make, but in Gerardo’s somewhat more formal style.
Envalira is well known for its rice preparations and paellas – they’ve even been recommended by some well-known culinary professionals. There are four kinds: black ink rice; seafood rice with cuttlefish, langoustines, clams and fish (monkfish or turbot, for example); the “special” paella, which is a surf-and-turf; and the iconic arroz a la milanesa, an unusual baked rice dish with chicken, pork steak and ham, made with a sofrito and with cheese on top (a bit of modern Italian influence). Many people mistakenly call it a risotto, but whatever it is, lots of customers love it.
One of our favorites dishes here is the sopa al cuarto de hora (“quarter-hour soup”). This seafood soup can be traced back to 19th-century Andalusia, and it became very popular in the 20th century in Madrid and Barcelona restaurants. It gets its name from the fact that once the seafood and stock are ready, the soup only needs 15 minutes to cook after rice is added. Gerardo makes his version with Atlantic clams, chopped Mediterranean prawns, grated boiled eggs, parsley and just a touch of Pernod, which leaves a faint anise scent. It’s a deeply comforting, delicious dish.
Envalira’s Basque dishes include hake in salsa verde and pisto a la bilbaína, a mix of zucchini, tomato, onion, green and red peppers that is similar to ratatouille but with whipped egg. Served with some picatostes, or fried bread, it’s the perfect light and flavorful spring and summer starter. Among the Galician options there’s shellfish, such as oven-baked scallops with cheese – an unorthodox addition that makes the dish creamier. French inspiration can be found in such dishes as tournedó, another favorite, a beef chop cooked to perfect rosy doneness and served with a rich sauce made from cognac and mushrooms.
The last time we were there we concluded a great lunch with homemade licorcafé, coffee liqueur made by infusing orujo (Galician grappa) with coffee beans for several months. It’s one of the best, little-known secrets of the Galician gastronomical tradition and the perfect digestif after yet another excellent meal at Envalira.
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