What happened to fine dining in Barcelona?
Barcelona’s restaurant scene is the most exciting it’s ever been, thanks to an ever-expanding roster of innovative chefs. Leaving aside, for the moment, the tapas bars, market counters and family eateries that feed the city, the culinary elite of the city is thriving. Diners will find examples of two related yet distinct kinds of restaurants in the city.
Creative Catalan Dining in Barcelona
The first exciting category is that of “casual” fine dining and elevated bars born of Barcelona’s casual ethos and market cuisine. For years, some of Catalonia’s best chefs have been serving diners at the bar, no tablecloth, and by now names like Gresca and Dos Palillos are legendary in Spain.
Barcelona might also be the center of hyper-creative cuisine in Spain today. Otherworldly tasting menus draw pilgrims to fine-dining restaurants all across the city. The city that didn’t have a single 3 Michelin star restaurant during the rise of Spanish cuisine on the global stage in the 1990s and 2000s now boasts four. And in 2024 Disfrutar restaurant came in at number one on World’s 50 Best list. It’s seems that today may be the most exciting time to eat in the Ciudad Condal (City of the Counts) in years.
Origins: The Era of El Bulli
Barcelona’s current form might be surprising to long-time lovers of modern Spanish cuisine, who will remember El Bulli and its Catalan peers as the world’s most sought-after tables a decade or two ago. Yet the movement Ferran Adrià led was focused not on the capital, but emanated from the countryside and small towns of Catalonia. El Bulli was in Roses on the northern Catalan coast, El Celler de Can Roca (3 Michelin stars) lies in sleepy Girona, the late Santi Santamaria’s Can Fabes (3 Michelin stars) was in Sant Celoni, a town famous only because of him. The chefs of Adrià’s milieu tended towards a more pastoral life during Catalonia’s culinary rise in the 1990s and 2000s. In fact, during these heady days, Barcelona didn’t manage to nab a third Michelin star at any point.
El Bulli’s closing, in 2011, marked the end of an era for the Spanish food world. But in Catalonia, it was also a new beginning. This restaurant had attracted top talent from around the world, and now they were adrift. Many of these young chefs headed to Barcelona, the eternally attractive seaside capital full of possibility, and many who might have left for Northern European capitals stayed on. A slow fermentation began.
Changing times: Casual Fine Dining in Barcelona
Name after name with El Bulli on their resume came to the capital. The famous today among them include Rafa Zafra of Estimar, the trio behind Disfrutar and Compartir, Albert Raurich of Dos Palillos and Dos Pebrots, Antonio Romero of Suculent and many more. The most important alumnus in Barcelona, however, was Ferran’s own brother Albert Adrià. His constellation of restaurants included Tickets, Bodega 1900, Pakta and Enigma. The pandemic knocked all of these stars out of the sky except for Enigma, which has turned out to be the jewel in the crown for Albert, garnering a Michelin star and considered by many the most radical restaurant in Spain today.
These newcomers arrived in a city filled with market bars, vermouth taverns and conscious spenders. In the long slog of the European financial crisis, many chefs opted to lean into casual dining and open tapas bars, or something like them. Three digit tasting menus became lower priced lists of creative plates that anyone could afford at least a few of. As the world evolved and money began to flow again, these became the standard-bearers of a distinctly Barcelona phenomenon.
Modernity Reborn: The Wild Spark of Catalan Kitchens
Slowly and patiently, the most radical chefs in Catalonia built up to what would become the new El Bullis, in a sense. There’s a certain wild spark in Catalan kitchens that brings out creativity. Perhaps, like Lyon in France, the hearty traditional recipes push chefs to rebel, or perhaps it’s simply the wealth of products available in this Mediterranean enclave. The radical menus served at places like Disfrutar, ABaC and Enigma represent something new, a phase shift on the scale of what San Sebastian created with the new Basque cuisine in the 1990s. New Catalan cuisine has been born again in Barcelona.
Here’s our list, not exhaustive, of some of today’s leading restaurants. Not tapas bars, not gastrobars. Fairly fine dining regardless of any apparent casualness.
Alkimia (1 Michelin star)
Jordi Vilà’s Alkimia is one of Barcelona’s long-standing fine-dining restaurants, serving creative Catalan cuisine to savvy diners for over two decades. To access the restaurant, you have to ring the bell at a nondescript door next to local brewery Moritz’s brewpub. Head upstairs and you’re in the one-time home of brewery owners, built above the former beer factory. The space has been reimagined as a beautiful restaurant, combining modern design with the preserved frescos from the building’s former life.
Sit down and you’re ready to enjoy the best of Catalan cuisine. Vilà is a “chef’s chef”, focused on flavor and quality ingredients rather than artifice and show. A single seasonal tasting menu offers elegant, balanced dishes that show off the best of the Catalan countryside and the nearby Mediterranean. Impeccable Catalan cooking at its best. The expert sommeliers can recommend wines for your meal from a cellar filled with over 1,000 wines from Spain and other countries, including an especially strong selection of artisan wines from the regions of the Mediterranean.
Al Kostat
Jordi Vilà, Alkimia’s star chef, has opened Al Kostat in the same space as Alkimia, his one Michelin star restaurant. Even the kitchen is shared, but the concept here is very different. There’s no tasting menu, only a long and complete list of classic Catalan dishes and inspired creations of Vilà. You can try everything from tapas to mar i montanya (Catalan surf and turf) to grilled fish, seafood and game. Seasonal daily specials showcase the rich Catalan countryside and coast. Real food prepared by specialists is the concept, but with world-class service, wine and atmosphere. Al Kostat has been a well-kept secret of Barcelona’s food elite, but now the rest of the world can join in the fun.
Caelis (1 Michelin star)
Chef Romain Fornell’s Caelis sits inside the eye-catching Ohla Hotel in the heart of Barcelona’s old town. It’s tasting menus only here, but the vibe is comfortable and the service friendly and fast. Toulouse native Fornell brings a French touch to a creative menu that focuses on the best product from Catalonia and its surroundings. The presentations might surprise, while the flavors bring together sauces and techniques from both sides of the Pyrenees. The wine list is carefully chosen and features plenty of small producers whose wines pair perfectly with the subtle flavors of the dishes. Caelis is a perfect spot to enjoy a tasting menu that doesn’t drag for a minute.
Cinc Sentits (2 Michelin stars)
Chef Jordi Artal’s Cinc Sentits is a benchmark for modern Catalan cuisine in Barcelona. After growing up in Canada and working in Silicon Valley, Artal moved to Barcelona and opened Cinc Sentits with little more than the flavors of his mother’s cooking and his talent to work with. Today, in a spacious restaurant in the Eixample district, he creates tasting menus that showcase the flavors and recipes of Cataluña with vision and without regard for trends. Each dish showcases an ingredient and takes it to its maximum expression. In the pairing department, carefully chosen drinks including Artal’s own artisan vermouth, Catalan wines and other small-production bottlings enhance the dishes.
Cocina Hermanos Torres (3 Michelin stars)
The twin Torres brothers, the chefs behind Cocina Hermanos Torres, are the faces of ultra-creative cuisine coming out of Barcelona. The camera-magnet twins have been cooking up a storm in the city for over two decades now, establishing their spot with two Michelin stars at Dos Cielos. Its closure proved to be the turning point from excellence to world domination. Cocina Hermanos Torres was born as a restaurant, but also a massive research lab on fine dining. Nearly 10,000 square feet in the off-the-radar Les Corts district means there’s plenty of space for experimentation to complement the restaurant itself.
Meals here take you through the different areas that make up the restaurant, but the nerve center is the open kitchen in the middle of the dining room. Here, the twins and their team prepare some of the most stunningly creative and technically challenging dishes available anywhere. Though the brothers trace their culinary origins to their mother’s kitchen, this is a world away from home cooking. Catalan product, Catalan flavors, futuristic machines and sculptural dishes. In a region known above all for innovation in fine dining, Cocina Hermanos Torres still stands apart technically while retaining a spirit of joy that seems to emanate from the chefs at the top.
Compartir Barcelona
Compartir Barcelona’s opening drew plenty of attention. It’s the latest from a trio of chefs who have established themselves as the new stars of the Spanish food world. They worked together at 3 Michelin star El Bulli when it was the best restaurant in the world, and then created its spiritual successor Disfrutar (2024 Best Restaurant in the World per the World’s 50 Best) in Barcelona. Compartir Barcelona shares its name and inspiration with the team’s first restaurant on the Costa Brava in northern Cataluña.
While Disfrutar is as modern as Catalan cuisine can be, Compartir is seafood-focused casual fine dining. The space certainly has a bistro feel, and the plates are generally designed to share (Compartir means to share in Spanish). Perfect plating and pure flavors are on the menu, along with touches of extreme creativity. Compartir Barcelona is the perfect place for an excellent meal and a taste of Catalan haute cuisine in a relaxed environment.
Cruix
Cruix is one of Barcelona’s new generation of creative restaurants, where inspired dishes are served in a casual environment. Young chef Miquel Pardo worked in some of Spain’s finest kitchens before opening Cruix, including ABaC and Ricard Camarena. At Cruix, Pardo wanted to create a restaurant that he and his friends would want to eat at. The result is a varied, fun series of dishes served in tasting menus without the theater these usually imply. Pardo’s roots near Valencia mean that paella is always a fixture here, but the other parts of the menu take inspiration from tapas and traditional dishes with visionary twists. The wine list has something for everyone, from surprising artisan and natural wines to classic bottles from Spain’s great wine regions.
Disfrutar (3 Michelin stars)
Disfrutar is the spiritual heir to the legacy of El Bulli, Ferrán Adriá’s legendary restaurant on the Costa Brava. The three men behind Disfrutar all worked there, and have tirelessly continued to innovate and surprise diners. They’ve succeeded impressively, gaining three Michelin stars and a spot among the world’s best restaurants in just a few years. The restaurant was voted the #1 best restaurant in the world by the 2024 World’s 50 Best. The dining room is creatively decorated, making you feel excited rather than intimidated. The cuisine here is all about creativity, surprise and enjoyment. The chefs turn the highest quality product into elegant dishes that look stunning on the plate and come together beautifully in your mouth. It’s an experience that has to be had to be believed, the cutting edge of modern cuisine at its best. It’s tasting menu only here, and it’s an extensive one, so come prepared. Whether you choose from the extensive wine list or opt for the wine pairing, Disfrutar treats the liquid part of the meal with as much respect and creativity as they do the food. This is a completely unique restaurant, a once-in-a-lifetime dining experience.
Dos Pebrots
Down a side street in the upper part of Barcelona’s historic Raval district, Dos Pebrots is a surprising find. An open-kitchen bar and a smattering of tables across two floors lie through the doorway. This is the second restaurant of Albert Raurich, one-time chef at Ferran Adrià’s El Bulli. While Michelin starred Dos Palillos (just around the corner inside the Casa Camper hotel) serves Raurich’s interpretation of Asian cuisine, Dos Pebrots takes on the history of Mediterranean cooking. The tasting menus and à la carte menu are full of flavorful creations, from versions of classic Catalan dishes to archaeological dishes like Etruscan pasta. Sit at the bar if you can to see the dishes being prepared before your eyes. A wine list full of small-production wines from Catalonia, Spain and beyond gives the expert staff a wealth of pairing options for an utterly unique experience.
Gresca
One of Barcelona’s first and most successful exemplars of the “bistronomía” movement of casual fine dining, Gresca remains one of the city’s temples to good eating and drinking. The bar and the tables offer a view of the open kitchen, where the best seasonal products turn into creative, delicious dishes. Chef Rafa Peña combines Catalan products and recipes with influences from abroad and his own creativity. Wine is also key at Gresca. The wine list is extensive, with rare bottlings from small producers in Spain and France a notable strength. Whether it’s Catalan sparkling, Jura, Priorat or Riesling, you’ll find something new and amazing to try here. Gresca is the perfect place to eat and drink incredibly well in an informal environment in Barcelona.
Lasarte (3 Michelin stars)
Basque chef Martín Berasategui’s Barcelona outpost, Lasarte was the first restaurant in the city to achieve a third Michelin star. An embarrassment of riches for the Basque chef whose eponymous restaurant has held 3 stars for decades. How did Berasategui do it? A unique vision of Basque haute cuisine and a superstar protégé named Paulo Casagrande.
Lasarte lies just off Barcelona’s ritzy Paseo de Gràcia, in the 5-star Monument Hotel. Sit down in the elegant dining room (or at the chef’s table with views of the kitchen) and dive into some of Spain’s most innovative, complex cuisine. You can order à la carte, a rarity for 3-star restaurants in Spain, but the tasting menu remains the best way to fully experience Berasategui’s genius. It’s modern Basque cuisine, but with influences from Catalonia and Casagrande’s native Italy. Each dish is a work of art, defying expectations in appearance and flavor. The most technical cooking techniques are on full display, but ultimately Berasategui’s success is built on never allowing psychedelia to overpower the basic requirement for joy and wonder in a world-class restaurant. This is not a meal to be missed.
Nairod
Nairod is a favorite of chefs in Barcelona, and for good reason. Chef David Rustarazo cooks some of the best food in Barcelona without pretension. The short menu changes frequently with the seasons and the whims of the chef. In game season there’s game, there’s always great fish and seafood and meat and vegetables that frame them perfectly. David and his team seem to never tire of cooking, spending hours and days preparing dishes. Deep flavors, patience and personality are what draw diners to Nairod day after day.
Pur
Nandu Jubany’s product temple Pur sits next to the Concepció Market, a fitting location for a restaurant dedicated to serving fine product at its most pure. Jubany’s first restaurant in the Catalan countryside holds a Michelin star, serving elaborate Catalan dishes with Catalan product. Walk into Pur and the intention is clear: the fish and seafood of the day is visible as you enter. Sit at the comfortable low bar or one of the booth-style tables and you’ll have a view of the open kitchen. On the menu, fish and seafood and meat, much of it grilled and all of it top-notch. Look out for specialties like grilled fresh sobrasada sausage and fried sea cucumbers before diving into grilled shrimp, lobster and much more.
Suculent
Suculent, in the old town’s multicultural Raval district, can’t be absent from any list of Barcelona’s best bistro-style restaurants. Chef Antonio Romero worked in Spain’s best restaurants, including El Bulli, before starting Suculent. Here, he turns out tapas and dishes based on rustic classics but elevated to a different class. The intimate dining room puts you at ease, ready to enjoy a great meal. Go crazy with a full tasting menu or just pick a couple of dishes –one of which could be the legendary steak tartar on marrow bone – for a lighter meal. Don’t miss the chance to pair wines with the dishes, whether with a wine pairing, a glass, or a bottle. There’s plenty of good Catalan wine here, especially from small regional producers.
Ultramarinos Marín
The hottest and most surprising eating spot in Barcelona lies in Sant Gervasi district, traditional home of the city’s wealthy industrial families. At Ultramarinos Marín, two beloved Spanish food concepts come together. On the one hand, impeccable aperitivos of cured fish, cheese, charcuterie and other delicacies, the traditional tapas of an ultramarinos bar. On the other, the best product cooked on the grill. At Ultramarinos Marín you can start start off with cured fish and meat before devouring piles of grilled fish and seafood like shrimp, crab, fish. The more carnivorous can finish the job with grilled meat and game depending on the season. Don’t miss the wine list packed with everything from Champagne to small-production Catalan wines to rare French and German selections.
Xavier Pellicer
Chef Xavier Pellicer worked in Michelin starred restaurants in Spain and in France before embarking on his personal “love of vegetables” project in Barcelona. His first vegetable-focused restaurant achieved a Michelin star before closing, and at Xavier Pellicer he has gone even further into the world of healthy, vegetable-focused fine dining. There are options for vegetarian, vegan and omnivorous menus. Regardless of choice, Pellicer’s use of the grill and the wok to prepare dishes focused on seasonal produce has led to his restaurant being lauded as the best vegetable restaurant in the world. The wine list is long on natural and biodynamic wines from Spain, France and other countries.