Joan Junyent: "Working in a restaurant is a great job because we cater to people who want to be happy and want to relax."

BarcelonaI interview Joan Junyent (Sitges, 1973) at his restaurant, Windsor (c. Córcega, 286). Customers who have just enjoyed the Catalunya menu congratulate him on the idea and leave enthusiastically through the automatically opening door. The warm reception of the menu, which he launched last September, has led him to extend it for several more months into 2026; in fact, he's considering keeping it available year-round. He conceived it to coincide with World Gastronomy Region, but as a staunch advocate of Catalan cuisine, Joan intends to keep it going. Considering the number of dishes prepared with high-quality ingredients, the value for money is unbeatable: it costs €69.

I had the Catalunya menu last January, and I was surprised by the number of dishes. All different. Good.

— There are a total of twenty-nine dishes, or twenty-nine Catalan culinary experiences, as I like to call them. We start with vermouth, a very traditional Catalan snack, which we serve to whet the appetite. We put out some cockles, olives, anchovies, potato chips, toasted bread with hanging tomato, and a bottle of extra virgin olive oil of the Arbequina variety. Oh! And a siphon and a jar of Espinaler sauce, so everyone can add it to their liking. From there, we begin a journey through the region.

Tell me about the trip.

— To design the menu, I thought that Catalonia has three distinct realities: the coast, the inland plains, and the Pyrenees. If Catalan gastronomy were a play, it would have three acts: the coast, the plains, and the Pyrenees, as well as a prologue (vermouth) and an epilogue (dessert).

How did you fill out each act?

— On the coast, I chose the most representative dishes: fried, raw, boiled, grilled, stewed, and baked. So there are fritters, xató (a salad of almond, garlic, and olive oil), spicy snails, salt-baked red prawns, meatballs with cuttlefish, and, to finish this part, rice. When we start serving the fritters, we also bring out a bowl of aioli and another of romesco sauce, and both stay on the table until dessert arrives.

We continue with the second act.

— We head inland. Then come the cured meats, the escalivada and smoked sardine torta, the cod with tomato and garlic mousseline, and a pickled mushroom omelet. This last dish connects with the final part, the cuisine of the Pyrenees, which we present with an Aranese stew, a Cerdanya-style trimming with bread, and a venison cannelloni with mushrooms.

A complete trip. And dessert?

— We removed all the dishes, and took, on one side, a porrón of muscatel wine, and on the other, a crema catalana, honey and requesón, carquiñoles and cataneas.

All for €69.

— Yes, drinks are separate, but there are two that are included in the menu, which are vermouth and muscatel.

I would say that the menu has an educational purpose.

— I agree. It's there, yes. I created it imagining that foreigners would come and, over a meal, discover the full diversity of our cuisine, but I've found that 99% of the customers who order it are Catalan. If no foreigners have come, it's because a Catalan brought it.

What reaction does the menu provoke when they eat it?

— They're delighted. And I realize it makes people proud of Catalan cuisine. They congratulate me, and I really feel the warmth of the people, because they tell me that Barcelona has a high level of gastronomy but lacks Catalan identity. That's what they tell me. It makes me happy that they like it, even though at first I was a little embarrassed, because I thought: if someone from Catalonia comes, what should I explain to them if they already know these dishes and where they come from? And no, I find that Catalans want to eat these dishes.

Windsor's menu, in general, has always featured Catalan cuisine.

— I've been painstakingly promoting Catalan cuisine for many years. It's the cuisine that defines Windsor, and yet it hasn't garnered the interest of either the Michelin Guide or the... foodiesSome go to Asian cuisine or to the more technologically advanced, but not to Catalan cuisine. I've stuck to my guns, and I'm currently more of a purist than ever. This month, I'll be redesigning the menu and adding logos to the traditional Catalan dishes so they can be easily identified.

Will you be adding new dishes?

— Yes, fricandó. Until now, I hadn't had it, despite having worried people about it on occasion. On the other hand, there are many other traditional dishes that I've had on the menu for up to nine years, such as escudella and carne de olla, which we prepare every Thursday and Friday. This year marks the ninth year we've continued the tradition of serving them on these two days. When people tell me that escudella is all the rage in restaurants, I'm delighted. There's even a brotherhood dedicated to escudella!

Would you say that Catalan cuisine is in fashion?

— More than ever, yes, but I also think that the population has not realized that in 2025 Catalonia was the World Region of Gastronomy.

You started as a waiter.

— As a waiter's assistant. It was 1997, and I combined it with my studies at the hospitality school on Muntaner Street. During the week, I worked as a waiter's assistant; on weekends, I worked at the Barcelona Casino.

Do you remember what you were paid?

— 65,000 pesetas for a half-day shift. When they offered me a full-time position, it was 120,000. And when they made me head waiter, it was 200,000 pesetas. They told me I'd stay on full-time when I finished my studies. And one day the head waiter was absent, and while they were looking for one, they told me to fill in.

You went from head of the room to owner of Windsor.

— The opportunity arose, and I bought the restaurant, yes. Before that, I had been the manager for a while due to specific circumstances. In 2012, I considered becoming a co-owner because I realized I had been working at the restaurant for fifteen years and wanted to make it my future project. Also, as manager, I couldn't implement the changes I wanted to make. So, in 2012, I joined the partnership, made the changes I envisioned, which bore fruit immediately, and a few years later, I became the sole owner.

Can you tell me what changes you made?

— In 2012, we installed new lighting, background music, and opened the terrace. In 2017, I introduced the cheese trolley. Between those years, we updated the furniture: artwork, chairs, and the waiters' uniforms. This past August, we did even more interior design renovations, and this month we debuted new uniforms. The waiters will no longer wear ties; they'll be wearing navy blue suits and different shoes. The waitresses will wear trousers, with a very elegant style. I think the uniforms we've had until now are too formal.

Do you agree with the widespread idea in the restaurant industry that there is a shortage of vocations in the field?

— I wouldn't say that crisis but a new reality. A crisis would imply that it will pass and everything will go back to the way it was, but we are living in a new reality. The world has changed, the restaurant industry has adapted to new schedules, and perhaps today it is more worthwhile than ever to work. The profession seeks to balance work and life, so schedules are adapted to it, and we close on holidays. We ourselves close on Sundays. We take all the long weekends. We close in August, during Easter week, and the first week of January. In total, we take 50 days of vacation.

Whenever I talk to you, I feel that you are in love with your work.

— I'm positive. I'll be 53 on February 14th, and I think the profession I've chosen uplifts me. Let me tell you why: working in a restaurant is a wonderful job because we serve people when they want to be happy and relax. We see the kindest side of it because they come to the restaurant when they're feeling good, not when they're sad or angry. People come to the restaurant and smile at me, and share with me the joy they felt from what they ate. In how many other professions do you notice the joy of the people around you?