With a menu spanning salmon caviar blinis, beetroot borscht soup, pelmeni ear-shaped dumplings and layered honey Medovik cake, Ekaterina is one of few restaurants in Barcelona offering an under-represented cuisine here: that of Russia and the countries of the former Soviet-bloc.
Named after Francophile Russian queen Catherine the Great, owners Genya Petrova and Eddie Arola use local ingredients and imported Russian produce to provide a culinary journey that introduces us to Belarusian potato draniki and Ukrainian cheese syrniki pancakes, paprika-laced beef stroganoff and the wonderfully named “herring under a fur coat” – a colorful timbale of potato, herring, carrot and beetroot.
While smaller diners can entertain themselves in their dedicated play area, adults can sip on Russian beers, liquors and vodkas and graze on starters of homemade crisps, dark rye bread with spring onions, or salo cured pork fat and fermented tomatoes and pickles.