Gourmet Garrotxa

We had an amazing weekend in the La Garrotxa Volcanic Zone Natural Park, around two hours drive north of Barcelona. The weather was stunning - v hot, blue skies. Not only did we stay in the beautiful and charming Mas Garganta, a gorgeous Casa rural with lovely rooms and land, and visit several of the stunning nearby volcanoes, but we found what might just be the hidden restaurant jewel of Catalonia.

We stopped at Restaurant Mas Nou for a sandwich and drink after a walk on Saturday and immediately booked for Sunday lunch. What we expected was some hearty Catalan country fare; what we got was extraordinarily beautiful and exquisit cooking, heavily influenced by the 'new tapas' more often seen in Barclona.

Tiny stuffed potatoes, spoonfuls of aubergine puree, a pink martini granita and miniscule cupfulls of pumpkin soup with parmesan. They were all in the 8 course 'picar picar' starters which cost 12 euros. Or there is the full 20 course meal of this type for an astonishingly low 26 euros. and there is also the duck, rabbit, slow cooked lamb and other dishes that come from these parts.

Utterly sensational. Lunch for all four of us was under 80 euros, an astonishing price for such great food. It's a tiny room - just 24 seats - and only open on weekends in winter, so book now. Well worth a detour as M.Michelin likes to say.