Burgers and cocktails beside the beach at Barcelona’s W Hotel.
Bite-Sized Review: Salt Restaurant and Beach Club
There’s no shortage of good places to eat in and around the 5* W Hotel. Bravo 24 offers outstanding tapas and traditional Catalan cuisine, while the beachfront Pez Vela serves rice and seafood in a laid-back, beachfront setting. Salt Restaurant and Beach club also opts for an upmarket but dressed-down xiringuito vibe by limiting its menu to starters, burgers and desserts and letting the location take centre stage.
The inside of the restaurant is vast and, unless there’s bad weather or an event being hosted, mainly empty. The action takes place on a terrace dominated by a long bar, which overlooks the hotel’s private beach. There’s also a lounge on the beach itself, where you can get sand between your toes as you watch the sea, with a roster of resident DJs.
It’s not, as you’d expect, cheap. Starters range from €9-€14, burgers from €15-€19. The specialist cocktails and gin & tonics cost €12-€14. What you get, however, is very good. A peach salad, attractively presented, with creamy goat’s cheese, dark salad leaves and dehydrated berries.
A fresh and zingy ceviche, nicely balanced, with ripe avocado and quality prawns.
The ‘Beef Worshipper’ burger was more of a beef agnostic. The burger, taken as a whole, was good but there simply wasn’t enough meat in the middle of it, especially for the price. The same couldn’t be said of the ‘Salt Icon’ burger, which takes a more-is-more approach and doubles the patties, adds bacon, onion rings, the works. It’s actually very, very good. Potatoes are crispy, condiments and ketchups are from Wilkins & Sons, the bread is top quality… no complaints.
We skipped dessert and went onto drinks. My G&T went down with the sun, and as the music pounded (top marks to the playlist compiler) we reflected that it’s worth paying a burger premium to enjoy the location.
Conclusion:
Salt is exactly as advertised: Quality burgers and cocktails, in a spectacular spot, with good service and a relaxed beach-side atmosphere. If that’s what you’re looking for, Salt is highly recommended.
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