190 years of Los Caracoles, the restaurant that unites Àngel Guimerà and Pep Guardiola

BarcelonaThe artists and spectators came on foot from the Liceu, and as soon as they crossed the door, they were already ordering snails. Thus was born the legend of Los Caracoles, the second oldest restaurant in Barcelona, always in the hands of the Bofarull family since the first glass of wine was served in 1835. A special place, since the first time you enter, you have no idea what awaits you inside. First, you find a bar that might make you think it's a small place, but it isn't. Then you go through the last charcoal stove in Barcelona, walking past the pots full of snails sizzling and sizzling, which fascinate foreigners. And then the rooms open up, to the right and left, upstairs and downstairs, in a journey where you can spend hours and hours just gazing at the hundreds of photographs that tell us about almost two centuries of Barcelona life. "We'll have to digitize and document them, the photos, because we have so many that over time it's hard to remember them all," admits Aurora Bofarull, the fifth generation to run the restaurant. A woman who knows by heart many of the stories of the most famous clients who have passed through. However, Aurora is moved by other details: "We have a couple whose husband is 101 years old. And they never miss their appointment with us. The nice thing is always the repeat customers. Sometimes an elderly foreign couple comes to us with a printed photo of themselves from 30 years ago. And I try to have them sit at the same table. It's important, the treatment," she says. And COVID-19 helped her see that she was right: treatment matters. "The pandemic left its mark on us. Before, we were open every day of the week and at all hours. You could come for lunch at four, five, or six. We always served you. And suddenly we had to close. But once we started doing takeout, customers could always open one," she recalls. "Before, we had 82 employees, and some of them had been with us for 40 years. We've always valued having employees who love their jobs."

Only the historic Can Culleretes is older, founded in 1786, which is a five-minute walk from the corner of Nou de Sant Francesc and Escudellers streets, where Agustí Bofarull opened his business in 1835, two years before the Liceu opened. It was then called Can Bofarull Task and it was a twenty-square-meter space where they sold bulk wine. "But everything came. Fish, brooms, oil, soap, and petrol," explains Aurora. The revolution came with Agustí's first cousin, Felicià, who had become mayor of Vila de Gràcia. A widower with seven children, he was the first to start serving "snacks to people who bought wine, which they could eat using wineskins as tables. Anchovies, pickled sardines, olives... and of course, snails," explains Aurora. If the clientele was initially sailors, little by little more people began to come. With Gothic Quarter still the economic heart of the city, Los Caracoles was in the ideal location to be discovered by artists from the Liceu, who could dine here until late. "The best thing of all is that many people from the Liceu still visit us. Sometimes they get inspired to sing and the customers are left speechless," explains Aurora. This is a lively restaurant where not all the stories that have happened can be told, such as meetings with politicians or celebrities who came with lovers. "What story can I tell you? Lola Flores was in love with our restaurant and came often. And as it was, more than once she ended up dancing between the tables," says Aurora.

The history of Barcelona could be told to the youngest by having them sit at a table at Los Caracoles, a restaurant that officially took that name in 1915 by popular acclaim, when it was already visited by people such as Àngel Guimerà, Santiago Rusiñol, Antoni Gaudí or the anarchist journalists ofWorkers' Solidarity, They had a printing press just around the corner. Everyone was welcome to a business that was constantly growing. They acquired the tobacco shop next door so they could build more rooms, with the decor designed by the patriarch, Felicià Bofarull, who was gradually making way for his sons, Ramón and Antoni. The brothers set up a griddle on the street to cook "little birds, lamb heads, and head and leg casseroles," until the City Council forced them to move the kitchen inside, as curious onlookers were blocking the access to the public street. By then, the menu already included suquets, seafood, and bouillabaisse, which is still on the menu just as it was served a century ago. The City Police had to speak to the Bofarulls again when they had a new idea: the first roast chicken in Barcelona, the work of a French engineer named Dardé, which they placed on the corner so it could be seen from the street. People were mesmerized by the twirling chickens at a time when it was a novelty. "During the First World War, bohemians and journalists came. Many painters came who would become famous, but who didn't have any money when they were young. And they were invited to eat in exchange for drawings. Picasso and Ramon Casas came through. My grandmother didn't approve of drawings on the tablecloth or napkins, and I didn't survive. La Aurora–. During the Civil War, the anarchists controlled the restaurant, but they left my grandfather in charge. Then, during the Second World War, spies from all sides ate there," he says. La Monyos also came, a popular figure from that Barcelona that no longer exists, from whom the Bofarulls didn't charge, since she didn't have a single real.

In the 1950s, the restaurant took off thanks to Ramon and Antoni. Ramon, known as Marquesito Caracoles, worked in the kitchen, and Antoni, who had a flair for artistry and played a supporting actor, "acted as public relations." A photograph of the two brothers sitting at the table still dominates one of the rooms. Thanks to Antoni, film buffs began to come. The waiters learned English words to serve Ava Gardner, Charlton Heston, Burt Lancaster, Errol Flynn, Gary Cooper, and John Wayne. They also learned to speak to the members of the American Sixth Fleet, who revolutionized the city starting in 1951 by bringing tobacco, chewing gum, and new musical styles. "The sailors really liked shrimp and a good sirloin," says Aurora. On the walls, you can still see photographs of the ships that were based in Barcelona until the 1980s, signed by admirals, many of whom returned to the restaurant after retirement. Jimmy Carter also passed through there, bringing such security that the workers put up pine trees to make it clear who could approach the president and who could not, based on their color. The fame of Los Caracoles crossed borders thanks to people like photographer Irving Penn, who made a report published in Vogue that the bouillabaisse shone, which he portrayed as if it were a work of art.

The people from the Liceu kept coming, like a young Montserrat Caballé, for whom Antoni rightly predicted a great future. Donkeys seek peace Barça players began to arrive, such as the Hungarian Kubala, the Galician Luis Suárez, and Ramallets. And other footballers, such as the Soviet Lev Yashin. The bullfighter and wine producer Álvaro Domecq gave Antoni a white horse because he was very pleased with the treatment he received when he was in Barcelona. And Antoni decided, for a few years, to go down to work at the producer's house in Bonanova in a carriage he drove himself, stopping at La Boqueria to buy wine. An image that many Barcelona residents remember, since there were few horses left in the city at that time.

The restaurant was so famous that in the 1960s, a young Filipina woman, daughter of the Manila police chief, arrived on a trip with two main objectives: to visit the Sagrada Família and to meet Los Caracoles. And she must have known the place well, since she married Agustí Bofarull, the fourth generation of the family along with Feliciano, who died a few weeks ago.

A list of VIPs that impresses

Aurora Bofarull was the first of the fifth generation to take over the business, which she now runs with her brother Ramon and two cousins, Cristina and Yolanda. They all inherited a place full of memories, as their grandfather Ramón had papers printed with a caricature of himself in the background so celebrities could sign the photographs they took. That's why it's a good idea to spend some time wandering around the rooms, looking for stories and discovering that the Gothenburg squad ate here unaware that Barça would eliminate them from the Champions League with three goals from Pichi Alonso in 1986. Capri, a personal friend of the Bofarulls, and the ever-missed Mary Santpere have all passed through. Musicians of all styles have also passed through, such as Mark Knopfler, Antonio Machín, Charles Aznavour, Julio Iglesias, Joséphine Baker, Carmen Amaya, Lenny Kravitz, and Eric Clapton. And even actors and other celebrities like Alain Delon, Catherine Deneuve, Giorgio Armani, Jacques Chirac, Roberto de Niro, and Joan Miró. It's no legend that Salvador Dalí enjoyed snails, as a photo of him with the Gala and Christian Dior reveals. A place that survived the difficult 1980s, when drugs plagued the neighborhood, but was reborn with the 1992 Olympic Games. Many athletes celebrated their medals here, at a time when Johan Cruyff and Dream Team players, Jordi Villacampa and Joventut, and the mayor also sold snails.

At Los Caracoles, the menu is constantly being updated but the classics are maintained, such as these snails with tomato and onion sauce, pork and spices, following the recipe that Felicià Bofarull made in the 19th century. Or the cardinal's macaroni, the paella, and for dessert, pajamas. And of course, the roast chickens, one of the pride of the house, as they continue to rotate as they did a century ago. As Aurora says, "some dishes have been on a menu for 100 years, changing according to demand, without abandoning the idea of local and Catalan cuisine," valued by chefs like Ferran Adrià, who returns whenever he can.

Los Caracoles has reached 190 years of age with a sixth generation that is still not working. "Now let them get their training and work elsewhere," explains Aurora, who kicked off the celebrations with a message on social media from a customer who yearns for snails now that he lives far away: Pep Guardiola.