The restaurant that 'stands up' to the Eiffel Tower in Paris with the best panoramic view of Barcelona from the sea

BarcelonetaThe Manresa brothers, Carlos (Barceloneta, 1958) and Òscar (Barceloneta, 1962), know the neighborhood where the Altamar restaurant is located very well. They were born and raised there. in Barceloneta, on the Paseo Nacional, as they and many neighbors call it, on the Paseo de Borbó.When the opportunity arose to run the Altamar restaurant, they jumped at the chance. "It has the best panoramic view of Barcelona from the sea," they say, pointing from the windows, which also overlook the swimming pools of the Club Natació Atlètic-Barceloneta. It's certainly hard to argue with that. The restaurant is located at the top of the seventy-meter tower from which the red cable car cabins depart, connecting Barceloneta with Montjuïc. To get there, you have to take an elevator that slowly ascends the hillside. The restaurant's entrance is just a few steps beyond where the cable car departs, crossing the sea and arriving in ten minutes at the other end of the city.

The brothers hold the concession for the restaurant, granted by the Barcelona Cable Car Company, which in turn is a subsidiary of the Generalitat (the Catalan government). They obtained it twenty-six years ago, and since we're on the subject of dates and facts, it's worth remembering the engineer Carles Buïgas, who built it and is also known in Barcelona for the Magic Fountain of Montjuïc. The project was part of the 1929 Barcelona International Exposition, but the cable car lines from the city to Montjuïc were inaugurated in 1931; a few years later, they were interrupted by the Spanish Civil War.

And now, to the heart of the matter. In 2000, the Manresa family rented the space and invested their savings to renovate the elliptical building that houses the restaurant. "It was a dovecote, because it had been unused for many years," they recall. They carefully planned the renovation project and even visited the Eiffel Tower in Paris to study how the Jules Verne restaurant, located on the second floor of the French landmark, manages its logistics. "We met the head waiter at Jules Verne, who was from Murcia, and he gave us all the details." With this information, they got to work, and both remember the crane they hired to lift tables, chairs, the kitchen equipment, and the glass panels that enclose the circular space.

Rice and fish cuisine

And that's how they started in 2000, with Òscar Manresa in the kitchen and Carlos's eldest son, the much-missed Alexis, in the dining room. "We've always thought that Altamar is the restaurant we'd want Barcelonans to keep in mind when taking foreign friends visiting the city," they explain. Like in great cities around the world, a viewpoint with great views that houses a restaurant serving excellent food is one of the best possible recommendations. "And with that idea, and with a menu of rice dishes and fish, we were able to fill every table." They recount that in five years they had recouped their investment and were able to reinvest to keep the restaurant thriving. "We've always respected the product, with fish being the most important element at Altamar, and we use creative preparations, because at Altamar we've always had a very good team of chefs," they say.

Today, twenty-six years later, the brothers champion a tasting menu and à la carte options for one hundred diners in single evening services. The average price per meal is 95 euros, and the Manresa brothers maintain that they "make Michelin-starred cuisine without having any stars." When they started, the idea of dining high above the city with panoramic views was unique, but now every hotel shares that vision. "They call it rooftop"And all hotels have it, but we assure you that the culinary level of our restaurant and the views from the sea to the mountains make Altamar unique."

Among the curiosities of what they have experienced at Altamar are the courtships of some couples who have had these dinners. "We would love for them to still find us," they point out. The fact is that the Manresa brothers have the concession for the restaurant until 2028, and then they don't know what might happen.