Specialties include fresh-off-the-boat squid in a chilly garlic, batter-fried prawns and pomfret grilled with black pepper.
They sit you down, pour you some Torello cava, and bring you plate after plate of appetizers - pan amb tomaquet (bread rubbed with tomato and garlic), then sea snails, clams with sherry and garlic, batter-fried baby sardines, shrimp, crayfish, Palam s prawns and grilled squid.
Alberto covers the fish in a garlic and beer batter, then fries them and tops them with shreds of cabbage, chopped tomato and his own special ST sauce — it's a creamy, spicy sauce made with dill cream and his secret spice blend.
Most powerful to Cohen are spinach leaves, thinly sliced pumpkin and garlic cloves, which are fried in an egg batter and dipped in honey or a sugar syrup.
We also nibbled on chiles rellenos made with both fresh jalapeños and chipotles, each stuffed with a luscious picadillo of pork, raisins, chopped almonds, onions, tomatoes, garlic and parsley, then battered and fried.
Adding a little garlic and cayenne to the batter makes them even better.
Another worthy gambit was the cauliflower Manchurian, deep-fried florets dipped in a batter spiked with garlic, ginger and chili — guaranteed to disappear from the table in a flash.
Calamari cloaked in a gossamer batter and paired with garlic sauce came next, then good, simply grilled sea bass and bluefish.
The batter, seasoned with cumin, garlic and parsley, was delightful when I sampled a tiny bit raw, but once it hit the oil, my carefully formed orbs disintegrated into crumbs.
Add some finely chopped onion, ginger, garlic,and green chilies to the batter.
They have been replaced by creative selections like garlic-crusted shrimp dipped in tempura batter and fresh crumbs, and hand-rolled shrimp and sea scallop cannelloni broccolini and tomato confit in a porcini champagne sauce.
