The Michelin-starred restaurant in the last town on the Costa Brava where the whole family works

PortbouIn Portbou, the last town on the Costa Brava before crossing the border into Northern Catalonia, stands out one of the most unique and stimulating fine dining experiences in the Girona region. It's Voramar, a small, meticulously maintained restaurant by the sea, entirely managed by the Jamàs i Garbí family. which in 2025 earned its first Michelin starA recognition that They have renewed their contracts for 2026 this week.consolidating its position at the forefront of the Catalan gourmet scene. The restaurant is run by the parents, their two sons, and their son-in-law, all fully committed—with only occasional extra help during the summer season—to running the business with the utmost excellence and dedication. The team is comprised of the Portbouelo-born couple Domingo Jamàs and María José Garbí, two tireless veterans of the hospitality industry, who ensure that the Voramar dining room is ready and the service runs smoothly every day. Their daughter, Miriam Jamàs, is also deeply involved in the front-of-house duties, while her partner, chef Guillem Gavilán, originally from La Pobla de Claramunt, whom they met in 2011, is the mastermind behind the kitchen. Completing the lineup is the couple's second son, Pau Jamàs, trained in pastry, who lends a hand in the kitchen and specializes in desserts. One autumn morning, before the midday service, which brings together about fifteen diners, the five of them iron the tablecloth, clean the glasses, and get everything ready in the kitchen, while passing around Miriam and Guillem's youngest daughter, who has recently joined the family.

The coffee and sandwich bar of 1988

Voramar has been making a name for itself among fine dining enthusiasts in recent years, but its origins go back much further, to 1988, when Domingo and María José opened a café serving coffee and snacks every day, from early morning until late at night. Gradually, they added tapas, combination plates, and pizzas, until around 2013, their children and son-in-law became involved in the business and began to change its direction. They offered lunch menus at affordable prices and gradually evolved their offerings: "At first, we competed on price, making menus for €11, which is what the other restaurants on the promenade were charging, but with much higher quality, and the numbers just didn't add up. But one day we dared to stand out with a proposal of two tasting menus, which people increasingly requested, while we continued training ourselves, with books, trial and error, and courses, until we consolidated the offering we have today," recalls Miriam Jamàs.

"When we were working from 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. and everyone was working, it was very stressful and demanding; we'd throw dishes at each other and lose money, but now it's a source of satisfaction. We feel very comfortable here, and we understand each other with just a look," she adds.

Slow-cooked cuisine and surf and turf

Currently, Voramar offers two tasting menu options: a shorter one, priced at €98, with approximately 15 courses, and a longer one, with around 20 courses, priced at €148. Now, with winter approaching, it's the perfect time to update the menu and add new dishes, but the core principle remains the same: "The main requirement is taste; you have to be able to appreciate both the savory and sweet flavors," explains chef Guillermo Gavilán. He continues: "The new menu will include a dish of prawns, and, for example, we also have desserts with oysters and others with mushrooms. I come from the mountains and work by the sea, which gives me a very broad range of tastes and allows me to experiment with many combinations." The blue lobster with nougat and sobrasada is also a good example of this and, among the essentials, the olive stands out, crispy on the outside, liquid on the inside, common in the starters of several restaurants of this style, but which many diners ask please never to remove.

The olive, for now, remains a staple, but in general, Voramar's cuisine is fluid, ephemeral, and changes at least twice a year depending on the season and the chef's creative interests. "Ninety percent of the dishes have an expiration date: I don't want to have things on the menu just because a particular customer likes them. It's limited-edition cuisine; otherwise, it would be a snail factory always making the same thing. We'd get bored," admits pastry chef Pau Jamàs.

Portbou, a unique enclave

Beyond the quality of the dishes, an added value of Voramar is its location. Portbou is a very small town, removed from the glamour and spotlight of other municipalities on the Costa Brava, seemingly frozen in time, with an old train station and buildings that hark back to the last century. A town steeped in history, of border crossers, truckers, and travelers, where Walter Benjamin took his own life in 1940 while fleeing the Nazis.Without much tourist appeal, many of the restaurant's customers travel specifically for the occasion, from all over Catalonia or southern France. "We're in Portbou because we're from here and we want to promote the town, but we'd like the town to benefit a bit more from our recognition. However, several locals come to eat here every year, and that makes us very happy," explains the father. Working in an environment like this is also reflected, in one way or another, in every dish: the crystal-clear water, the tramontana wind, the seaweed, the currents, or the four pine trees on the rocks visible from the dining room; it's all part of daily life and, therefore, also part of the work of everyone in the Jamàs and Garbí family.