Trü: the new Catalan cuisine tavern by chef Artur Martínez

BarcelonaFrom Aürt to Trü. It sounds like a play on words, but it's all like playing Scrabble with the letters of the name. ArthurThe fact is, chef Artur Martínez can't sit still. He's temporarily closed his Michelin-starred restaurant, Aürt, to find a better, more central location in Barcelona. While that's happening, which is expected by the middle of next year, he's created a new piece of his culinary universe: Trü, a more "informal, dynamic, and less academic" restaurant, according to the chef. Right now, while awaiting the opening of Aürt 2.0, the team working there is the same one that worked at the fine-dining establishment.

It occupies the space formerly occupied by Palo Verde, on Carrer Còrsega in Barcelona. It remains a comfortable restaurant. It's been given a facelift, and warmer colors now predominate. They serve dishes to share, as well as some individual options, like the thyme consommé, which is the perfect start to a meal. A bowl to drink from with your hands, feeling the warmth of the broth as it runs down your neck. Martínez says that when you've had a bad day, it's the best thing you can do. You drink the broth and immediately feel better. The chef, who's always tinkering, says he misses breakfasts with broth. A new business idea? You never know.

Let's get back to the business at hand. Besides the consommé, we have meatball skewers, tongue skewers, and waffles with pork rinds, a country-style omelet in capipota juice, suckling veal with Catalan chicory, or the green xatonada with espigalls sprouts and anchovies. Many dishes feature ingredients prepared by Martínez himself, such as the beetroot salad and trupí. He trupí It's a lighter version of the Tupí cheese that the chef has created. "A neo-Tupí, less powerful and more elegant," he says. He also ventures into making olive oil, fermented drinks, and reviving varieties like pigeon-heart cherries, preserving them in liqueur. He also makes a vermouth and a version of mulled wine called Rar, made with Macabeo grapes. He produces only a few bottles, and it can only be tasted at his restaurant. He even makes a kind of anchovy garum with the help of Can Morral del Molí. He's up for anything.

Tradition and product

Martínez says that at Trü, he champions local cuisine from two perspectives. On the one hand, traditional recipes, and on the other, local products used to create dishes. He describes the new restaurant as a "Catalan tavern." The menu is short; they've launched with a solid selection of dishes and will expand it from there. In any case, with what's currently available, there's plenty to choose from. The desserts are extraordinary, as they usually are in this world, because they're the work of Mar Ibáñez. The warm cream-filled pastry or the cold pork rind cake are sure to impress and make a fantastic end to dinner. I say dinner because, for now, they only serve dinner every day except Sundays. They offer two seatings with staggered appetizers, allowing plenty of time for lunch. The average bill is estimated to be around 60 euros per person.

I've saved the humble but perfect toasted bread with tomato for the end of the article. A generous slice, moistened with tomato on both sides and drenched in Olvido olive oil, made from the recovered becaruda variety. It's a perfect example of what this restaurant aims for, as it has its own dedicated space on the menu. Comfort food made by expert hands.