Brothy rice for the main festival in Barceloneta

What a discovery, dear readers. I arrived there because a restorer expert in spoon cooking recommended it on Instagram. I thought: "If he says so, it must be tasted". It is a small, simple, and charming place in Barceloneta. Finally, I have a favorite spot to go eat rice in the maritime neighborhood. A new establishment, since it is only a year and a half old, but it feels like a restaurant that has always been there. Ideal for those who like to dip bread, for those who slurp shells and don't mind getting their fingers dirty, and for people who know that eating is so important that one must dedicate time to it. This week I present to you Casa Maians.

They cook Catalan and market-style cuisine. To know which fish they have, you have to ask, since the menu says: "Fresh fish and shellfish: depending on the season and the grace of the Virgin of Carmen". Because yes, fish has a season. And if you eat it when it's in season, it's cheaper and better. But don't worry about that, because Roger Soteras, the chef, is an expert in it. In fact, he is the one who takes care of buying it every morning at the fish market. At Casa Maians they don't follow trends, they don't look for fashions. "La Barceloneta is very battered in this sense", says Soteras. And he adds: "We don't have tatakis, or ceviches or tiraditos". But, on the other hand, they have dishes that warm the soul. They cook Sunday and holiday food. Good portions and casseroles that are placed in the center of the table, like at home. "Well-dressed", he says. And what does that mean? Great stocks, fish and shellfish. Joy and Mare Nostrum.

Roger Soteras is half of the restaurant, the other half is Fuensanta Hernández, the person in charge of the dining room. The neighborhood has welcomed them with open arms. Firstly, because she lived there for nine years. Secondly, because they gave it a very fitting name: Maians was the island that became integrated into the city. A piece of land reclaimed from the sea thanks to which Barceloneta was born. They cook Barcelonan cuisine for Barcelonans, with the door open to everyone. "We knew that if we won over the people of Barceloneta, the rest of the city would follow," they say.

Dishes with identity

Let's go to the eatery. They have a fixed menu and then dishes that change every day. They like casseroles, legumes, offal, and above all, rice dishes. The flagship is the soupy sailor-style rice. Watch out, because it takes work: there is blue crab, mantis shrimp, squid, cuttlefish, Norway lobster, red shrimp, mussels, conger eel, and monkfish. They don't hold back on anything. Recently, it appeared somewhere in Japan and a whole bunch of Japanese people go there to taste it (and they freak out, of course). Mind you, they go early in the morning. Another rice dish they almost always have on the blackboard is the casserole rice with gratin pig's trotters and garlic mayo. Or, now that the cold has arrived, the 'matances' rice, typical of Ibiza. Roger Soteras worked on the island for a long time and gives a nod to the rich gastronomy of the Balearic Islands.

Another dish that should be highlighted is the ham bomb. "La Cova Fumada will always make the best meat bomb and everything else is a copy", says Soteras. His is different and is at the same time a tribute, since he spent many years working at Bar El Jabalí, on the Paral·lel. A bar-deli that had a wonderful Iberian bomb that many locals in Barcelona remember with nostalgia and that you can now taste at Casa Maians. Both Roger and Fuensanta have traveled a lot, and the sediment of what they have experienced has shaped this restaurant, which they were able to buy thanks to the drop in prices post-pandemic. They serve lunch, from Wednesday to Sunday, and also fork breakfasts on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. At breakfast you will find fuel to start the day in the form of pork cheek with garlic mayonnaise, cod omelet, or calf's head stew. For lunch you have to book, and if you want to go on the weekend, call more than a week in advance. There is room for 27 diners and they do not do shifts. "We don't want people to leave", they say. No, we don't want to leave either.

Declaration of intent

This text is not advertising content. I have visited all the places as a customer and paid the bill like any other person.