Contemporary Catalan restaurants

When you come visit Barcelona, don’t settle for trying only traditional Catalan cuisine. There are a number of excellent chefs that are revolutionizing Catalan gastronomy with their take on contemporary food. Here are some of the best contemporary Catalan restaurants in Barcelona.

Restaurante Gaig

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Founded in 2013 after the merger of Gaig and Fonda Gaig, Restaurante Gaig is an establishment by chef Carles Gaig. An important name in Catalan gastronomy, Gaig has received a number of awards during his career, including a Michelin Star for his first restaurant, and the Best Restaurant award for the three other restaurants he opened after that. Restaurante Gaig serves dishes that mix avant-garde and market cuisine, such as cava marinated oysters, seared sea bass with eggplant textures, and charcoal-grilled foie-grass with spiced bread, licorice and grapefruit. Visitors can choose dishes à la carte or try one of the two tasting menus offered by the restaurant, the traditional menu, which costs 68€ and the Gran Àpat menu, which costs 120€.

Restaurante Gaig is located at Carrer de Còrsega, 200. It is open from Tuesday to Saturday from 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm and then from 8:30 pm to 11:00 pm. The restaurant is only open until 3:30 pm on Sundays and holidays and it is closed on Mondays.

Related article: Ecological restaurants in Barcelona

Cinc Sentits

Cinc Sentits is a restaurant owned by chef Jordi Artal, who has helped the establishment receive a Michelin Star in 2008, shortly after it was founded. The chef believes that to prepare exquisite food, you need the best and freshest ingredients, so in his restaurant, they only use those which have been produced in Catalonia and Spain. Organic beef, dairy, and vegetables, sustainable caviar, and line-caught fish from small fishing villages along the Mediterranean coast are only some of the quality ingredients that pass by Cinc Sentits’ kitchen. Visitors to this elegant restaurant will have the option to choose between a 4-course meal, which includes tapas, 2 starters, one main dish and dessert, for 100€, or a 6-course meal which includes tapas, 3 starters, 1 seafood dish, 1 meat dish and dessert, for 120€. Alternatively, there is a business menu which is served only at lunch during workdays, which includes 1 starter, 1 main dish and one dessert, for 55€. Cinc Sentits has been voted Zagat’s #1 Restaurant in Barcelona.

Cinc Sentits is located at Carrer d’Aribau 58. It is open from Tuesday to Saturday from 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm and then from 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm.

Roca Moo

Another Michelin Star winner is Roca Moo, a luxurious restaurant located inside Hotel Omm. The establishment is headed by chef Juan Pretel who offers a very interesting and personal take on Catalan food. For those who are true fans of gastronomy, they can take a seat by the counter, where they can not only enjoy their meal but also see how the dishes are prepared. The restaurant offers three different menus to choose from: the first one, Menu Joan Roca, costs 120€ and contains dishes such as white asparagus gazpacho soup, calçots, and oysters with mushroom sauce; the second menu, Los Classicos, costs 105€ and offers dishes such as peas with smoked eel, truffled beef, and Mediterranean sea bass. The third menu, Moo, costs 49€ and it includes dishes like Catalan chicken payés, low-temperature egg with mushroom sauce, and asparagus soup. The Moo menu is served exclusively for lunch from Tuesday to Friday. The dishes served in each menu change according to the ingredients available each season.

Roca Moo is located at Carrer de Rosselló, 265, as part of Hotel Omm. The restaurant is open from Tuesday to Saturday from 1.30 pm to 3:30 pm  and then from 8 pm to 10:30 pm.

Related article: The best restaurants on Avenida Diagonal

Hisop

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Named by some as Barcelona’s best restaurant, Hisop serves creative contemporary Catalan cuisine prepared with seasonal products, which means the menu changes a couple of times a year. The restaurant has been awarded a Michelin Star, the Grand Prix Le Fooding, and the Itentitá Golose, among others. At Hisop, visitors can have dishes like pigeon with roasted onions and rocket, sea bass with chanterelles, olives and yogurt, ox tail with almonds and fennel, and desserts like pistachio with kaffir lime, and white chocolate with basil and passion fruit. They also offer a tasting menu for 63€, which includes dishes like morels with cat shark and tonka beans, hake with elder flowers and parsnips, and lamb ossuco with scotch bonnet and oyster.

Hisop is located at Passatge del Marimon, 9. It is open from Monday to Friday from 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm and then from 8:30 pm to 11 pm. The restaurant also opens Saturday nights.

Gresca

Gresca is a restaurant by up and coming Rafa Peña, one of the most exciting chefs of his generation. Peña uses the best and freshest ingredients to come up with a surprising combination of flavors and textures that will leave you begging for more. At Gresca, visitors can try dishes such as duck with pears, cod “esqueixada” with spinach and egg yolk, and octopus with black “butifarra”. They also offer a tasting menu for 45€. Each dish is exquisitely prepared, offering a treat not only for the mouth but also to the eyes.

You can find Gresca at Carrer de Provença, 230. The restaurant is open from Monday to Saturday from 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm and then from 8:30 pm to 10:30 pm.

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