What remains of Can Lluís after the investment fund: triumph of Catalan cuisine but more expensive

BarcelonaCan Lluís, in the Raval neighbourhood of Barcelona, is a symbol of the change the city is undergoing. So we visit it to see the state of the establishment, as the series Ravalejar, by Isaki Lacuesta and Pol Rodríguez on HBO Max, has just premiered, and in November it will arrive on 3Cat. It so happens that Can Lluís was the restaurant of Rodríguez's family, a historic venue from 1929 from which Peret spread Catalan rumba, where Vázquez Montalbán used to dine, or where Leo Messi stopped by during his first years in Barcelona.

Can Lluís was originally called Can Mosques, due to the swarm of insects that surrounded the boots full of cod. In 1946, some anarchists set off a bomb there, which left three dead and a story worthy of a film. But the weapon that would finally destroy Can Lluís came later: speculation. After being sold to a fund that ended up making the family that ran it, the Rodríguez-Vilaplana, leave, the venue now has a new life. Who are they? How is the food?

The here and now

in the Catalan style for the first course, and a sautéed botifarra sausage and escalivada or gratinated cod for the second) does not justify the price, in my opinion. Of course, the portions are generous. Perhaps the technique can be refined a bit, it does not reach the excellence of Despite the goodwill of the current owners, the place has lost a bit of authenticity, of course. This year, with Barcelona being the European Capital of Local Commerce, news about the closure of historic businesses has been a constant trickle. Every wash loses a sheet. Little by little, until the Barcelona of the neighborhoods becomes unrecognizable, a city without a face or identity, like the fund that bought the original restaurant and brought about the abrupt end of the original Can Lluís.