After three and a half months of waiting, it was finally time to enjoy the restaurant Tickets. Although this new proposal of the Adrià brothers has been open only a short time, a waiting list appeared almost immediately, filled with people anxious to sample the delights that, until recently, have been almost off-limits for the general public.
The interior of Tickets is truly amazing; there are cooking stations dotted around the space and everything is open-plan, giving a bird’s eye view of the mysterious cooking that is going on. There is almost too much activity to take in at one go. Looking just like a fairground carnival, there are all sorts of different lighting and furniture and it seems a bit chaotic but in a good way.
I can’t possibly remember all the food we ate, (we were four in total). There is a mix of molecular cuisine and normal tapas, which was a bit of a disappointment. I was expecting absolutely everything to be molecular. The normal tapas were very normal, pimientos de Padró, confit potatoes, chicken skewers. The molecular options were based more on textures than surprising flavours which was another aspect that further dampened my excitement. The photos here are just a small selection of all that we tried.
I have to admit that I’m not that big a fan of certain textures, I prefer to be surprised with flavours. There are barely any meat options on the menu and not that much variety in general. We started to struggle towards the end, at a loss for what to order as we’d tried the range of fish and veggie tapas. The staff are very helpful but they hover incessantly. There seems to be one wait person per two tables, which is far too much. We were constantly interrupted throughout our dinner. This is not the place to go for a romantic meal.
The high point was, without a doubt, the desserts. The presentations was spectacular, the flavours amazing and the textures were inventive. The portions were a good size, which was a relief after some of the tiny dishes.
Conclusions?… We paid 55 euros per head, (without wine which was wildly over-priced), and we left feeling full. As an overall experience, Tickets is very interesting, but it doesn’t manage to achieve the spectacular. 55 euros is over-priced for what we ate, I’ve had better meals for 30 and 40 euros. It is obviously impossible to lump Tickets in with other restaurants as you are partly paying for an experience and the Adrià name. There are restaurants that I continue to go back to, time and again. I’m afraid that Tickets won’t be one of them.
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We All Love Complaining…
27/07/2011 at 21:35 Permalink
Vera, after talking about Tickets over breakfast this morning and then reading this post I am still shocked that it was such a disappointment. Those are truly beautiful looking plates of food. Despite your comments I’m dying to get stuck in and think I would enjoy being challenged by the textures. Was there no ‘fun’ element to the dishes which I’ve always had the Adria’s down for.
Shame you didn’t enjoy is, neverless I still can’t wait to go!
28/07/2011 at 02:18 Permalink
¡Yo no me llené! Hubiera comido el doble
28/07/2011 at 09:54 Permalink
Dont forget that these is a real business!! el bulli was just and “experience restaurant” where you can try really amazing stuf…
this is just a tapas restaurant with the name of the adria brothers…. ferran adria will never let to put such a big advertising in el bulli, but in tickets you can see a estrella “logo” really really big…. Time to get some easy cash!!
(i dont know if i explained myself ok, my english is shit!)
29/07/2011 at 10:00 Permalink
The photos in the post are of the most interesting dishes. There were lots more but they just weren’t such a big deal. You’d better make a reservation really soon!
29/07/2011 at 10:00 Permalink
No tienes limites… Jejejejeje.
29/07/2011 at 10:02 Permalink
Te has explicado de maravilla, Marcel. Estoy totalmente de acuerdo contigo que El Bulli es/era una experiencia y el Tickets es una forma de hacer dinero fácil. El logo de estrella aparece incluso en la parte de debajo de los toldos…
14/02/2012 at 00:37 Permalink
Vera, I wish i read your blog before!!!
I’ve been there, in the 41º, wich is the biggest experience… and was totally dissapointed for me too.
All that you describe in your post about Tickets is the same sensation we get in the 41º. Food, service jumping over your glass for make you drunk and you ask more wine I guess…
We try the 41 tapas and mini cocktails, some wine and some champagne for just 200euros each!!!
Ok, ok, I know… is expensive… but hey! is Adríá reputation… well… no!
Surprise!!! some of the mini-tapas were totally tasteless, no texture, no explosion of flavours…. nothing!
The worst was the desserts, I really don’t know how they managed to do one of the ugliest chocolate i tried ever!
15/02/2012 at 12:29 Permalink
I’m so glad I’m not the only one that had a less than excellent experience. I was starting to think I was crazy. Thankfully we live in a city that has loads of eating options so we won’t be bored! Thanks for sharing!