Jet Set Bohemian: Modern Day Cabarets
Photo courtesy of Heart Ibiza
A jet-set lifestyle doesn’t have to be all private planes and decadent digs. In our Jet-Set Bohemian series, we blend the best of high and low for just the right balance … enticing everyone from backpackers to luxury boutique hotel lovers to come along for the ride.
Over the weekend, I messaged a friend from Barcelona to let her know I was coming into town for a few days. “What’s the occasion? Business or a break?” she asked. “I’m just looking to get away, eat and drink,” I said. For a Barcelonian, this was a dream response. The city places high importance on its dining scene, with 23 Michelin star restaurants that easily book out months in advance. “Do you want to go to a cool place for dinner on Saturday?” my friend, Pilar, asked. In a city with “cool” spots popping up one after the next, I figured she would know which one is the “coolest” at the moment. Of course the only reservation she could get was for the 10 p.m. seating.
After a glass of Cava in El Born, we hopped in a cab to the Sant Antoni neighborhood and got out at a pedestrian-only passage. At the end of the alley, we found the spot she recommended: El Mama. From the street, we could peer inside the floor-to-ceiling windows at the restaurant, which looked quiet, despite how late it was. The industrial-style interior could easily have been a scene out of “Rocky Horror Picture Show,” with blood red-painted beams and wire fences forming a wrap-around terrace above the wooden dance floor. I walked up to the hostess stand to give our name for the reservation and was greeted by a host who could give Dr. Frank-N-Furter a run for his money. Sporting a neon orange wig, floor-length glittering black gown and heels higher than I could ever walk in, he glided over and led us to our table, strutting as confidently and smoothly as models walking a runway. Now the name El Mama made sense.
Photo courtesy of Faena Theater
One of the newer restaurants to open in the hipster neighborhood of Sant Antoni, El Mama y La Papa (the cocktail bar portion of the restaurant that takes over come midnight) makes the experience extend beyond the cuisine, with a whimsical tapas menu inspired by global flavors (think crispy oxtail croquettes, burrata and truffle pizza, and Pekin duck steamed bao buns) and a show to match. “People, especially in this neighborhood, are looking for something different,” Pilar explained as she helped us navigate the menu. “Sure, the food here is great, but it’s the show that really makes this restaurant stand out from everything else at the moment in Barcelona.”
Just as we sat down, the room started filling up. Every 20 minutes, a new act would take over the stage, singing and dancing in corsets and cabaret attire to songs like Madonna’s “Like a Virgin” while a Mad Hatter-dressed host narrated the show. Muscular male acrobats made appearances replicating similar scenes from “Moulin Rouge,” swinging and swaying in a suspended ring in nothing but a pair of tight black boxer briefs. At the end of each act, it was the audience’s turn to get involved, joining in on a choreographed dance (that we learned at the beginning of the show) to Sister Sledge’s “We Are Family.”
Photo courtesy of El Mama’s Facebook page
Photo courtesy of El Tucan
Photo courtesy of Faena Theater-
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