Bar Mut

Bar Mut is a tapas bar in central Barcelona. It has simple decor, with a few tables as well as bar stools, and a blackboard listing the menu of the day. The bottles of Krug and Cristal behind the bar seem slightly out of place given the otherwise casual feel, though apparently two hundred different wines are available here.

A scallop had nice sweetness, covered in a dollop of creamy sauce, but in the cooking they had singed the edge of the scallop, and a slightly burnt taste was duly imparted to what would otherwise have been a very enjoyable scallop (9/20). Jamon Iberico was nicely cut, a bellota grade ham; of course this is just bought in, but at least it was sourced well.

Croquetta of cheese was pleasant, with liquid cheese filling and a little spinach, the outside coating cooked capably enough (12/20). The signature dish of the restaurant is heuvos fritos, poached egg with pieces of prawn and thin fried potatoes, and supposedly some chorizo sauce. The prawns were of good quality, the potato giving some crunch to offset the egg, though the chorizo flavour was missing in action: an enjoyable, if hardly a difficult dish to make (12/20).

Service was friendly. The bill for one came to €46 (£39) for lunch with just soft drinks, which seems an awful lot of money for what appeared on the plate. This place seems to be popular, and perhaps there are better dishes that I did not try, but I worry about anywhere that actually manages to burn, and then happily serve, a scallop. Bar Mut is a decent tapas bar, but there are many better and cheaper ones in Spain, as a short walk around the old town of San Sebastian will quickly demonstrate.