Tramonti, Barcelona's first Italian restaurant, is looking for a new owner

BarcelonaTramonti, the Barcelona restaurant (Av. Diagonal, 501), opened in 1980 and considered the city's first Italian restaurant, is looking for a new owner. The business is for sale, although there's no sign indicating it's open and it's not closed, as Giuliano Lombardo's wife confirms. It's operating as usual, serving the excellent Italian cuisine that has always been a draw, but these days Giuliano Lombardo (75 years old) is temporarily absent from the dining room. Sadly, his brother, Franco Lombardo, the restaurant's chef, passed away last April.

The Lombardo brothers arrived in Barcelona in 1973 and worked together at the Sausolito pub-restaurant, where the comedian Eugenio performed. "It was wonderful because we served pizzas and pasta dishes, and depending on which door you went through, it could become either a pub or a restaurant," Giuliano Lombardo recalled. Years later, the business was sold, and the two brothers stayed at the premises on Diagonal Avenue, which they named Tramonti. "I've always worked as a waiter; my brother as a cook, and from day one we attracted Italians because there was a large Italian population in Barcelona back then," says Giuliano, who believes there aren't as many Italians in Barcelona anymore. He explains that they don't get many Italian tourists either, "because they don't come all the way to Diagonal." "Diagonal isn't what it used to be, when bars and restaurants did good business every day, including weekends," he says. However, Tramonti has a loyal clientele who adore the dishes named after artists and other signature creations, keeping the restaurant's dining room and private rooms vibrant. In fact, Tramonti's private rooms are renowned for their art collections, offering the tranquility and anonymity sought after in such spaces.

To continue, Giuliano Lombardo, who has lived in Catalonia for fifty years, has two children, but, he says, neither of them wants to follow in his footsteps. He has maintained his active retirement by working a few hours during service, as does his sister, with whom he also works in the dining room, which is perhaps one of the restaurants with the most artwork. "The artist Jaume Plensa designed our menu, and in return, we dedicated a dish to him that bears his name." It's a light pasta dish, one that Plensa himself enjoys. The dish has been on the menu for fifteen years, and they've never changed it.

Because of its connection to art, Tramonti (named after the brothers' home region of Liguria) is a welcoming place steeped in history. Artists who have visited have left paintings and signed the restaurant's guestbooks, and the owners have always shared anecdotes about their visits. "One day the American creator of The Pink Panther came in, and Antoni Tàpies also used to come for lunch, which is why we have some of his paintings as well."

A pioneering Italian restaurant

The Tramonti has twenty-three tables, capacity for sixty-five people, and is currently considered a mythical restaurant because in its origin, in the early 1980s, "there were no Italian restaurants in Barcelona, nor was it easy to buy Italian products because imports were by quota," says Giuliano.

Regarding current Italian restaurants in Barcelona, ​​the owner claims to be unaware of them. We asked him about Lombo, from chef Eugeni de Diego, one of the most prestigious Italiansand also through the Colombo brothers' restaurantsBut he says no. "I don't know them, no, even though they tell me Barcelona is one of the cities with the largest Italian population, but I always think they're people with Italian surnames who are actually Argentinian," he remarks.

Finally, Giuliano mentions his favorite dishes: tiramisu, of course, giant macaroni, and linguine with pesto, a dish from his native Liguria. And to drink, the Remigio Rosso Secco Lambrusco, which is priced at 26 euros on the menu. He says it was a hit from the first day he put it on the menu. "A wine with a different kind of effervescence," he adds, noting that it was also "the first" he brought to Barcelona. "Back then, there wasn't any Lambrusco in any Barcelona restaurant." A pioneering restaurant that is now looking for a new owner to begin a new chapter.