“Haute cuisine can be done in a different way”: the secret of Ultrapaninos Marín’s unique sandwiches”

BarcelonaIf you've ever visited Ultramarinos Marín, on Balmes Street in Barcelona, ​​you already know what kind of bread they serve. Everything we found there was made by the restaurant team: cured meats, anchovies, pickles, romesco sauce, and one of the best aioli sauces in our Catalan land. It's a restaurant for food lovers who understand that what they offer can't be found anywhere else. But until now, there was only one thing they served that they didn't make: bread.

Borja García, the chef and owner of Ultramarinos, couldn't accept that the bread wasn't also homegrown. Besides, he saw that the bakery space they had was getting too small, so a few meters further up, on the same Balmes Street, they opened Ultrapaninos Marín, where we'll find delicious sandwiches, the famous cured meats, desserts, and a small cooler where you can buy many of the delicacies that only exist.

"I thought we could take the leap to continue growing. I needed a place nearby to generate synergies. I don't just want the pork tenderloin, I want the whole pig and then use each part for different things. I couldn't do this with just one restaurant," says Borja García, who tells me that the leftover whey from making Ultrapaninos is used. For him, solving the sudoku puzzle to make the most of every element is an obsession, and with the new location, everything will be much more profitable. He explains that they need 1,000 kilos of anchovies to make anchovies and 500 kilos of pickles to pickle. On the wall, you can see the jars of preserves, shiny and neatly lined up. His team works like clockwork and must live up to his standards, always striving for perfection. Things will be repeated as many times as necessary because they must be perfect. He won't spend money on tableware or accessories. Only on glasses, because, as he explains, they do make a difference. And enough.

At Ultrapaninos, the order is served on a tray. He believes the product speaks for itself and that it is a format like the one available in delis that we know from other countries. "We sell the truth, we don't need flowers or fireworks," he says. He's fed up with the rhetoric in haute cuisine restaurants, an environment he knows well. Speeches, for whoever wants them. There's plenty of storytelling in his house, but he believes that if the bread is really good, the diner himself will ask where it's from. "What's more luxurious, going to a place where everything is straitjacketed and you're interrupted, or going to a place with the family and the dog and a bottle of champagne?" he asks me.

"Haute cuisine can be done in a different way," he asserts. And he proves it. So far, he's been very successful despite his discreet approach. The media spotlight hasn't been necessary to keep Ultramarinos always full. People have often questioned his prices. In this regard, he's very clear about the path he's followed. He says you can eat at the bar for four reales, but if you get carried away, the bill goes up, of course. "For me, it's very important to be artisans. Luxury has changed a lot. Now you don't know who's rich. And for me, it was important to offer exclusivity. It's not about who makes the most obscene mountain of caviar. It's about making something with a lot of love. If you like my sausage, you won't find it anywhere else. It's ours. We're tailors."

A tailored suit that had become too small and that we can now enjoy in the form of a sandwich. They have several and are constantly creating new offerings. This establishment will be Borja García's new battleground, allowing him to grow even further and close the loop on his other restaurant, now with his own bread. He has many more ideas, as his mind is constantly spinning. Processes, new dishes, ways of achieving excellence typical of the most demanding chefs. He believes in teams and what they can do. He went to Noma before Noma became what it is today. He speaks of the energy there. "Twenty motivated people can lift anything," says the chef. Now he wants to create a sustainable universe from every perspective. A world that this Basque chef established in Barcelona 10 years ago. "I am in love with Catalan cuisine. It is the best there is on the Iberian Peninsula," says Borja García with conviction. And precisely for that reason, this is the place where he wants to win. Now, with excellence in the form of a sandwich.