Click here to read the Spanish version.
From 27 February to 2 March, Barcelona will host the Mobile World Congress (MWC), the most important professional event in the Catalan capital, where 80,000 congress attendees are expected to meet to find out about the latest technological innovations from around 2,000 companies. The Fira de Barcelona will become a technological meeting point, but it will also be possible to enjoy gastronomic experiences such as those prepared by the Roca brothers: chocolates that can be tasted by mixing virtual and real experience.
For its part, the MWC organisers have set up 68 catering outlets distributed throughout the pavilions of the exhibition centre. But if you want to go one step further and enjoy some of the best places in the city, we have made a selection of 10 restaurants in Barcelona that you can’t miss this week. Take note!
Besta (Aribau, 106)
It is Tapas Magazine’s T de Oro restaurant in Catalonia. Surprising and unclassifiable, Besta is that place where the smallest detail rarely fails. The menu is simple, based on the Galician cuisine of chef Manu Núñez and the Catalan cuisine of his partner, Carles Ramon. The menu is mainly based on fish, always cooked with great care and with some surprising garnishes. We can find anything from a permit accompanied by sea urchin on a corn toast, a scallop with Iberian ham juice or a grilled red mullet with beetroot juice and pickled carrot. If we fall madly in love with a dish, we are lost: the menu is so changeable that we will probably not find it on our second visit.
By: Laura Conde
Barcelona. Aribau, 106
930 19 82 94 / Web
Menu: 40-50 €
Gallega
Creative
Teatro Kitchen & Bar (Avda. Paral·lel, 164)
It is no easy task to reopen the premises once occupied by Tickets. The restaurant has changed ownership, but has kept a large part of the Tickets team, which is immediately noticeable in the impeccable circus-inspired staging and undeniably playful vocation. There is no shortage of classics such as that old historic spherified olive. Molletes, pizzeta, palomitas bravas or hibiscus profiteroles, everything in the Teatro invites us to enter into that unique imaginary of the old Tickets which, in some way, will never cease to be present among gastronomy lovers.
By: Laura Conde
936 83 69 98 / Web
Menu: 60-70 €
De Mercado / Creative
Enigma (Sepúlveda, 38)
Chef Albert Adrià has once again reinvented himself in this restaurant. Here he offers a cuisine inspired by seasonal products, but applying the knowledge and baggage of more than 35 years of experience. Here tradition and innovation go hand in hand for the benefit of the product itself. Its gastronomic proposal changes according to the cycle of the products. The aim is not only the quality of the product but also the quality of the idea. From 6 March, Enigma will no longer have an à la carte menu and will offer a Tasting Menu of about 25 courses at a price of 220 € (without drinks).
616 69 63 22 / Web
Tasting Menu: 220 €
De Mercado
Albé (Mallorca, 196)
Albé in Arabic means ‘heart’ and that’s what they put into this Lebanese cuisine restaurant. Here, every ingredient, cooking technique and interaction is meticulously selected in order to offer an unforgettable dining experience. They define themselves as “a gastrobar offering Catalan dishes with a genuine Lebanese touch”, which they make their own interpretations and combine with carefully selected wines. Their menu has mainly dishes to share.
930 117 316 / Web
Menu: 45 €
Libanese / Mediterranean
COME (Avda. Mistral, 54)
It was once Albert Adrià’s Hoja Santa. After its closure, Adrià handed the restaurant over to Paco Méndez, his long-time head chef, who has just reopened it under the name COME. The new restaurant is one of those places where everything changes so that everything stays the same: it is, in the chef’s words, “a meeting between Mexican cuisine, Mediterranean produce and the legacy of elBulli”. The menu is brief and straightforward, with dishes ranging from the wagyu tenderloin taco to the Vuelve a la Vida shrimp ceviche. The tasting menus, called Festival Selection, are as appetising as they are changeable.
By: Laura Conde
627 56 87 68 / Web
Menu: 45 €
Mexican / Current
Estimar (Sant Antoni dels Sombrerers, 3)
Located in the Borne district, behind the church of Santa María del Mar, Estimar restaurant is an intimate and somewhat hidden place, characterised by its love of the sea and its grilled cuisine and produce. Run by chef Rafa Zafra, ex-Bulli and current executive chef of Heart Ibiza, it serves a very basic cuisine but with an excellent innovative proposal, based on the purity and quality of the seafood and fish. Estimar also has another restaurant in the centre of Madrid. It was one of the restaurants chosen by Leo Messi for his last visit to the capital.
932 68 91 97 / Web
Menu: 120 €
Seafood / Mediterranean
Cocina Hermanos Torres (Taquígraf Serra, 20)
Whether at the Hotel Melià, in their television appearances, in gastronomic competitions or in any project they have in hand, everything these charismatic twins touch turns to gold. This is also true of their restaurant in Les Corts, which is now on its third Michelin star thanks to a menu that mixes childhood memories, nods to their favourite chefs and touches of their travels. All this, combined with a deep knowledge of the market and technique.
By: Laura Conde
934 10 00 20 / Web
Tasting Menu: 225 €
De mercado
Gresca (Provença, 230)
It was one of the restaurants chosen by singer Dua Lipa or her recent gastronomic tour of Barcelona. Rafa Peña is in charge of the kitchen. The fact that the chef is always left out of the Michelin awards is a recurring complaint in the sector that seems to matter very little to the chef. His is the ineffable hamburger at Bar Torpedo and the now legendary bikini of Iberian pork loin and Comté cheese at Gresca Bar. At Gresca, Peña offers market cuisine with just the right amount of finesse, so as not to overshadow a great product at its best. If we go at lunchtime, the best option is their menu, one of the best in the city in terms of value for money. Of course, leave room for dessert: the torrija is legendary.
By: Laura Conde
934 51 61 93 / Web
Menu: 50-60 € / Daily Menu: 23 €
De mercado
Batea (Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, 605)
New project by the Besta Barcelona restaurant team (Marta Morales, Carles Ramon and Manuel Núñez) who have created Batea. This restaurant is a new concept of bistro seafood restaurant halfway between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, with quality products that pay homage to their roots without falling into folklorism. It is informal and simple, but not simple. Its aim is to offer a genuine experience for the palate.
932 68 91 97 / Web
Menu: 50-60 €
Seafood
Bandini’s (Manso, 42)
It is a cosy tavern located in the Sant Antoni neighbourhood. It offers delicious dishes to share with Scandinavian touches and seasonal local produce, accompanied by excellent wines. All this in an exceptional atmosphere, thanks to the good work of Carmen and Povel, Andalusian and Swedish respectively, who make a winning tandem.
934 24 06 28 / Web
Menu: 50 €
De mercado
