El Pou de Sitges

El Pou opened in 2011 on carrer de Sant Bonaventura, a narrow street in the centre of Sitges, five minutes' walk from the promenade. It is a tapas restaurant in the sense of small dishes to order several of and share, and its cooking crosses three traditions: Catalan, Japanese and Peruvian, with a Mediterranean base. For anyone who has already eaten rice by the sea, it is the other face of Sitges.

A former malvasia cellar

The premises used to be a cellar where Sitges malvasia, the town's sweet wine, was made, and the owners wanted to keep that memory in the house. In the kitchen is Oscar Massó, from Sitges, who before opening his own restaurant worked in fine dining, Japanese and tapas kitchens in Sitges and Barcelona. The house stands for quality produce touched just enough so that it tastes of what it is.

The set tapas menu

The tapas menu the house publishes has a dozen dishes:

• From the sea: sea bass ceviche, scallop tartare with guacamole, red prawn carpaccio with tomato ice cream, sardines marinated with soy and avocado cannelloni filled with tuna tartare.
• From the land: the house steak tartare, a mini wagyu burger, chicken yakitori and seared foie gras with corn textures.
• Larger plates: yakisoba and a false mushroom risotto with seared scallop.
• To finish: pa amb oli, sal i xocolata (bread with oil, salt and chocolate), or the brie cheese flan with dulce de leche and red berries.

To drink, a selection of local wines designed to go with the tapas. The website does not publish prices; the full menu is in a PDF on its page. Count on three or four tapas per person for dinner.

Dinner only midweek

The opening hours are the thing to check most:

• Monday and Tuesday, closed.
• Wednesday and Thursday, dinner only, 20:00 to 22:30.
• Friday, Saturday and Sunday, lunch 13:30 to 15:30 and dinner 20:00 to 22:30.

So if you come on a weekday at midday, El Pou is no use to you. The place is small: book on its website or on 930 13 47 98, especially at weekends and during festival weeks.

Who it is for

For couples or small groups who want to nibble different dishes and try a lot of things in small amounts. With children who only eat rice or pasta, a place on the promenade such as Fragata, which is open every day, or Maricel is better.

Before or after

An afternoon that works: the walk around the old town and the Punta as the sun goes down and, at 20:00, your first table at El Pou. If you are staying in the centre, the Hotel Noucentista and El Xalet are a few minutes' walk away.