Racó De L'abat

I once said that if I was ever going to have a death bed meal, it was Olympic Provisions in Portland Oregon USA.  I'm amending that.  I was wrong.  So so wrong.   The meal I ate at Racó De L'abat is the finest I've ever experienced.

When visiting Spain, the one thing that my fiancee and I really wanted, more than any other was to eat somewhere that was off the tourist route, indicative of real Spain, and quietly romantic.  For us the old city of Tarragona was already a dream.  A place I hope I can return to before I die just to walk it's streets.   We arrived on our last night in the area determined to find a place that fit the list above.   There are plenty of places in Tarragona that do, quite frankly, but for some reason when when we wandered into Racó De L'abat we knew we were in for something special.  

First, walking in transports you to something out of another time.   I felt like we were Cary Grant and Grace Kelly in 'To Catch a Thief' (Yes I know that it was set in Tuscany, but it was the same feeling for me) walking into a charming secret cafe hidden among the winding streets of some classic film locale.

We were immediately greeted by Julio the owner.   Julio smiles more than any human I've ever met.  It's a genuine deep smile that displays a man who is deservedly proud of what he does.   Julio speaks very ver little English and though I know a good deal of Spanish, Catalan mystifies me.   His sister, who had stopped in for wine, however did in fact speak well, and Julio brought her over to our table and we had a lovely animated conversation.

At the end, we managed to decide that we didn't want to order from the menu and that we would have whatever Tapas Julio decided were good for us.  He was very very happy with this and essentially told us he would continue to bring us tapas until we asked him to stop.  

What followed was undoubtedly the best meal I've ever eaten.  Mussles, Potatas Bravas, Squid, Salad, Olives, fish, wine, cake... I could continue to go on but I am only making myself sad.

At the end of the night Julio wrapped up a small cake for my fiancee and told us a little about the restaurant-  which actually has an amazing history (ask).  

As someone who likes to amateurishly review food I'm generally snarky or painfully unfunny.  I do it to hide the fact that I don't really have the mind to explain how good something is without humor.  I'm not doing any justice to Racó De L'abat with this review because there are literally no words that I possess that can describe how wonderful the entire experience of eating there was.  'Magical' maybe.  'Exceptional' certainly.   All I can really say is that if you do find yourself in Tarragona, don't hesitate.   Just go.

Edit:  For some reason Yelp put this in Ohio.   It's not Ohio. -_-