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Chef Rafa Zafra’s elegant hodgepodge of a menu features contemporary Catalan fare, French classics like sole meuniere, and dishes inspired by his alma mater, El Bulli. The prices are as jaw-dropping as the dining room, which features soaring ceilings, towering marble columns, ornate chandeliers, and gilded accents galore.
Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, 668, 08010, Spain
Known For
- Fresh seafood from the Costa Brava
- Caviar menu
- Dramatic dining space
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon., No lunch Tues., No dinner Sun.
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This restaurant takes contemporary decor and fine-dining style and adds the pizzazz of open-kitchen cooking. It's known for its decadent tastings menus, and the star dish is a rich mar i muntanya macaroni with lobster, foie gras, and artichoke. The contemporary decor combines gleaming traditional copper with retro-cool mid-century modern furniture. Wine selections can be added at a surcharge per person.
Via Laietana 49, 08003, Spain
Known For
- Lunchtime menu option
- Tasting menus for carnivores and vegetarians
- Michelin star
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun.–Tues.
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With two tasting menus priced at just €39 and €56, for seven and 10 courses respectively, Cruix is the fine-dining restaurant for people who don't want to spend hundreds of euros on a meal. Everything here is laid-back and unpretentious, including the exposed-brick interior, but the quality speaks to the Chef Miquel Pardo's pedigree: he worked under Spanish superstar chefs like Albert Adrià and Jordi Cruz before opening Cruix in 2017.
Known For
- Fine dining on a budget
- Creative food
- Excellent rice dishes
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon. and Tues., No dinner Sun., No lunch Wed. and Thurs.
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Three former head chefs from the now-closed "World's Best Restaurant" El Bulli combined their considerable talents to create this roller-coaster ride of culinary fun (the word "disfrutar" is Spanish for "to enjoy") spotlighting tasting menus of dazzling inventiveness and good taste. Bowls are swirled to reveal beetroot meringues emerging from sesame-seed "earth" (the seeds are made to look like soil), and jellied truffle-and-egg tempura hit the bull's-eye of pure pleasure; desserts are otherworldly.
Villarroel 163, 08036, Spain
Known For
- Inventive food
- Tasting menus only
- Surprisingly accessible wine list
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sat.–Sun., 2 wks in Aug., and 1 wk after Christmas, Reservations essential
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$$$$ | | Spanish
Diners who can plan far enough ahead to deal with the waiting list for tables at this multiple-time winner of Restaurant magazine's World's Best Restaurant crown) are rewarded with an all-encompassing feast for the senses. Fine dining doesn't get any better than this. Brothers Joan, Josep and Jordi Roca deliver a one-of-a-kind "freestyle cooking" experience that blends classical cooking with cutting-edge techniques.
Can Sunyer 48, Girona, Catalonia, 17007, Spain
Known For
- One of the world's greatest restaurants
- Outstanding wine list
- Dazzling creativity and perfectionism
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun. and Mon. No lunch Tues. Closed Dec. 20–Jan. 11, Mar. 20–28 and Aug. 1–Sept. 12, Closed Sun. and Mon. No lunch Tues. Closed Dec. 23–Jan. 18, Apr. 9–17, and Aug. 20–28, Closed Sun. and Mon. No lunch Tues. Closed 1 wk at Easter, 2 wks in Aug., and 2 wks at Christmas
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Recommended Fodor’s Video
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The sleek white-on-white dining room sets the tone for chef Pérez's contemporary take on Mediterranean cuisine. Tasting menus present around a dozen courses, most with a seasonal, seafood-centric focus, like a sea cucumber pasta with bone marrow and young artichokes. If your wallet allows, indulge in a wine pairing, which includes some wonderful surprises like a Spanish-made sake. Exemplary service and a posh location, inside the swanky Hotel Arts, make this a true two-Michelin-star experience.
Carrer de la Marina 19-21, 08005, Spain
Known For
- Two-Michelin-starred cuisine
- Tasting menus
- Sunday €98 lunch menu
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon. and Tues., No dinner Sun.–Tues.
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The sumptuous glory of this restored late-19th-century Moderniste dining room has food to match, courtesy of chef German Espinosa, who spent many years working under superstar Martín Berasategui. Catalan cuisine is interpreted with a French influence—set menus start at €35 (for lunch) and go to €79 for the full tasting menu, a relative bargain considering the presentation, the knowledgeable staff, and the historic setting.
Known For
- Moderniste decor
- Satisfying traditional dishes
- Tasting menus
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun.--Tues. and Aug.
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While Martin Berasategui, one of San Sebastián's corps of master chefs, no longer runs the day-to-day operations of this Barcelona kitchen (it's in the capable hands of chef Paolo Casagrande) the restaurant continues to be a culinary triumph. Expect an eclectic selection of Basque, Mediterranean, and off-the-map creations, a hefty bill, and fierce perfectionism apparent in every dish.
Mallorca 259, 08008, Spain
Known For
- Inventive cuisine at one of the best restaurants in Barcelona
- Magnificent tasting menu
- Heavenly grilled pigeon
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun., Mon., Tues., 2 wks in Jan., 1 wk at Easter, and 3 wks in Aug./Sept., Reservations essential
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Inside the ultrasleek Mandarin Oriental hotel, this restaurant, with food by Raül Balam and his mother—the legendary Carme Ruscalleda—lives up to its stellar pedigree, with original preparations that draw on deep wells of Catalan culinary traditions. Dishes on the tasting menus display a masterful lightness of touch and come to the table so exquisitely presented that putting a fork into them feels almost like wanton vandalism; the reward, however, is sublime, with treasures of taste revealed in every astonishing bite.
Passeig de Gràcia 38–40, 08007, Spain
Known For
- Inventive themed tasting menus
- Two Michelin stars
- Outstanding wine list
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun. and Mon. and 2 wks in Jan., No lunch Tue.--Fri., Reservations essential
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The energetic young team behind Slow & Low is a blend of many different cultures and it shows in the 15- and 17-course tasting menus, which combine Mediterranean, Mexican, Peruvian, and even some Southeast Asian influences.
Comte Borrell, 119, 08015, Spain
Known For
- Creative tasting menus
- Fresh seafood and seasonal veggies
- Young, international team
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun. and Mon.
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Open since 1967, this elegant, family-owned temple of fine Catalan dining was a favorite of Salvador Dalí and now attracts local sports stars and politicians. The menu is a mix of contemporary offerings punctuated by old-school classics, and you can trust the expert sommelier to guide you through the daunting 10,000-bottle-strong wine list. The starter of squid stew with Iberian ham and piparra chilis threatens to be a showstopper, but the theatrical presentation of roast baby duck, deboned and pressed at the table, provides a memorable second act. Looking for a romantic venue for a special occasion? This is it.
Ganduxer 10, 08021, Spain
Known For
- Celebrity clientele
- Tasting menu
- Theatrical presentation of roast baby duck
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun., Mon. and Aug., Reservations essential
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Much of Xerta's menu is the expected swanky fine-dining fare, but stand-out options use unique produce from the deltas and rivers of the Terres de l'Ebre region, such as sweet miniature canyuts (razor clams), oysters, and fresh eel. The superb weekday four-course lunch menu is a steal at €45.
Còrsega 289, 08008, Spain
Known For
- Regional produce
- Outstanding seafood and rice dishes
- Midweek lunch menu
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun. and Mon.
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Chef Jordi Cruz is a celebrity in Spain, and pulls out all the stops with a panoply of artfully-presented dishes that vary from season to season; no expense or effort is ever spared. ABaC is open only for dinner, and serves only a set tasting menu, which you can request with or without paired wines. There are tables only for two or four; the coveted seating looks out on a lovely garden.
Av. del Tibidabo 1–7, 08022, Spain
Known For
- Celebrity chef
- Creative in-season dishes
- Elegant setting in a boutique hotel
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Reservations essential
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$$$$ | Eixample |
ABaC may hog the spotlight, but chef Jordi Cruz's second restaurant, the relatively humble Angle, is an oft-overlooked star in its own right. Eschewing the gonzo creativity of the mothership, it instead focuses on a greatest hits menu of Cruz's dishes that have proven their appeal over the years. The result is a more coherent menu with fewer stylistic lurches that really shows off the chef's ability to breathe new life into traditional flavor combinations. The tasting menus cost €85 and €110, respectively, with the option of wine pairing if required. The weekday set lunch menu is a bargain at €45.
Aragó 214, Barcelona, Catalonia, 08022, Spain
Known For
- Value fixed lunch
- Bloody Mary appetizer
- Celebrity chef
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Reservations essential
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$$$$ | Eixample Dreta |
Blanc's menu couples traditional Catalan cuisine with fresh, seasonal products, and the three-course lunch menu, and the ever-changing, five-course "Sundays at Blanc" tasting menu are popular. The dining room is in an airy atrium at the heart of the Mandarin Oriental and feels lively most of the day, starting when the first hotel guests come in for the (excellent) breakfast.
Passeig de Gràcia 38–40, Barcelona, Catalonia, 08007, Spain
Known For
- Classic Catalan fused with contemporary touches
- Excellent prix-fixe menu options
- Lovely atrium setting
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On Gràcia's main thoroughfare, Barcelona's best-known Galician restaurant has maritime motifs, snowy white tablecloths, and fleets of waiters in spotless white outfits serving über-fresh seafood, from raw platters to whole grilled fish to lobster paella.
Gran de Gràcia 81, 08012, Spain
Known For
- Outstanding seafood
- Excellent Galician wines
- Pricey but worth it
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Reservations essential
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Since the early 1970s, Ca l'Isidre has elevated simplicity to the level of the spectacular, with traditional Catalan dishes prepared to an extraordinarily high standard (and at a rather high price tag by Barcelona standards). Ignore the menu—just follow the recommendations and order whatever's in season. The restaurant is decorated with original works by a slew of luminaries, including Miró and Dalí, both former patrons. Spain's King Juan Carlos celebrated his wedding anniversary here, and regular guests include politicians and visiting Hollywood celebrities.
Known For
- Once frequented by Miró and Dalí, whose work is on the walls, as well as current celebrities and politicians
- Locally sourced produce
- Art collection
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Tues., No dinner Wed. and Sun., Reservations essential
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Obsessively local, scrupulously sourced, and masterfully cooked, the dishes of Catalan-Canadian chef Jordi Artal put the spotlight on the region's finest ingredients in an intimate, sophisticated setting. It's hard to believe that this garlanded restaurant is Jordi's first, but there's no arguing with the evidence of your cinc sentits (five senses). There's no à la carte option, only a tasting menu priced at €149 and €169. For your money, you will be taken on a fun run-through of reinterpretations of traditional Catalan dishes using cutting-edge techniques, matched with wines exclusive to the restaurant.
Known For
- Excellent chef
- Awarded two Michelin stars
- Tasting menu only
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun., Mon., and public holidays, Reservations essential
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Local gourmands pilgrimage to this tiny, unassuming-looking bar on the edge of the famous Boquería market, where Catalan chef Arnau Muñío flexes his culinary chops in full view of the diners at his chef's-table-style counter. There are two tasting menus, one long, one short, both of which showcase Muñío's unique approach to Catalan-Asian fusion food. Think miso scallops with pickled mushrooms and shrimp in green tea kombucha. Capacity is extremely limited and reservations (well in advance) are essential.
Known For
- Accessible fine dining
- Asian-Catalan fusion
- Need to book ahead
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun. and Mon., Reservations essential
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$$$$ | El Raval |
After 10 years as the chief cook and favored disciple of pioneering chef Ferran Adrià, Albert Raurich opened this outstanding Asian-fusion restaurant that focuses on an eclectic assortment of tastes and textures. There are several tasting menus to choose from; an à la carte menu is available at the bar.
Elisabets 9, Barcelona, Catalonia, 08001, Spain
Known For
- Creative pan-Asian cooking with interesting wine pairings
- Gin- and chocolate-filled doughnuts
- Michelin star
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun. and Mon., 3 wks Aug., and 2 wks at Christmas. No lunch Tues. and Wed., Reservations essential