Els 4 Gats: "We have returned to the essence of Catalan cuisine and we will not move from here"

BarcelonaIt was during the pandemic that the Ferré family realized things had to change. “Sometimes without realizing it, inertia takes you to a place you don't want to be. When we stopped, we had time to think, and that's when we realized we had lost the essence that our father had set,” explains Sílvia Ferré. She is the owner of the iconic Gothic restaurant Els 4 Gats together with her three brothers Lluís, Ivan, and Òscar. Four brothers to tame Els 4 Gats.

“We agree that we are in a tourist spot. And our history is an attraction. But without realizing it, we were adapting to them.” And she gives examples of the “little things” they had been doing. Removing the contrasts of sweet and salty, which many foreigners don't like, or eliminating dishes they didn't order, like rabbit, pig's trotters, or tripe. But all that has now changed. “We have returned to the essence of traditional Catalan cuisine, and we are not moving from here. The pig's trotters returned, now we make broths...”. And little by little, local customers have also responded thanks to word of mouth. Sílvia Ferré is particularly pleased to have recovered the customers who go to the Palau de la Música, who used to book after the show. "There are days when you look at the room and it's a beautiful sight".

Ferré clarifies that it's not that “nobody associates Els 4 Gats with sushi”. "But we had strayed a bit, and local customers, when there are a lot of tourists, withdraw. It's automatic, we retreat,” she says. Besides changing the menu, they stopped making other concessions. “Everyone is welcome, but we don't adapt. The hours are what they are. You don't come to eat at 11.” The establishment has the first two rooms, which they call the tavern, which functions as an informal bar, with simple dishes, and is very busy between meals. In the inner room, it operates as a restaurant.

They looked for workers who would fit into what was to be the new era. “We changed the staff. Important figures in the structure are all from here.” The director is Eugeni Escola Serrano and the head chef is Vicenç Gonzàlez. Both do a neat and efficient job. They have also made an effort to explain to the dining room staff that Catalan is key. “We try to get all the staff to understand Catalan. There are some minimums, a few words. People appreciate the effort. Service is very important.” And they conveyed to them the knowledge of the cuisine they serve. “The waiters have to be able to explain what it is,” he says.

Sílvia Ferré acknowledges that criticism would hurt them. “It hurts you when you treat a restaurant with affection and they tell you disparagingly that it is ‘for tourists’. From people who sometimes haven't set foot in the place. But the prejudice is already installed.” The family is satisfied with having made this change and believes that the culinary bar has been raised. “The cuisine is what makes many people say ‘I didn't expect it.’ We are happy to see them tell us they liked it and that they will return.” While Sílvia Ferré explains all this, we are in the imposing dining room of the restaurant, with a piano on one side, which they play every night, and a large floral arrangement. We share an esqueixada, an anglerfish tail with potatoes that are heavenly, a veal cheek, and a millefeuille with cream and chocolate. He shows me the table where Scarlett Johansson sat in Woody Allen's film Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008). “People used to ask for Scarlett's table. Bardem's, however, no one has ever asked for.”

The father's legacy

The history of Els 4 Gats begins on June 12, 1897. Pere Romeu, Santiago Rusiñol, Ramon Casas, and Miquel Utrillo inaugurate the restaurant, emulating Le Chat Noir in Paris. They predict an unpromising future for them, hence the name: “You'll be four cats.” Located in a building by Puig i Cadafalch, Casa Martí, and with a young Picasso peeking in, the restaurant takes flight. While it's true that it only lasted a few years and was then destined for other uses, such as being the headquarters of the Cercle Artístic de Sant Lluc or directly a warehouse, until 1978, when it reopened.

Despite this lapse in time, the restaurant is part of Barcelona's four historic establishments along with Can Culleretes, Los Caracoles, and 7 Portes. Josep Maria Ferrer, the father of the current owners, acquired it with partners in 1984 and then kept it alone in 1988. It was a place the city had forgotten, “very run down,” says Sílvia Ferré. Until an event appeared that would change everything: the Olympic Games. Ferran Ferrer Viana was in charge of the campaign Barcelona, get pretty and brought all the mayors who had hosted the Olympic Games to eat at Els 4 Gats. They closed the restaurant for them. “And that was the boom. In terms of publicity and journalists from all over the world who came,” explains Ferré, who declares herself a “lover of Ciutat Vella,” although she is concerned about where things are going. “Sometimes I go for a walk and I feel very sorry because it has lost its lifelong businesses. Everything is the same, nails and carcasses. It's dirty and dangerous. On weekends, a lot of local people come, but they come for lunch. In the evening, it's harder for them.” It's not just in the restaurant business that concessions have been made to the point of losing the essence. The Ferrés have taken action.