Barcelona recovers Buenavista, the historic restaurant on Ronda de Sant Antoni

In 1918 Mateu Molleví and his family opened the Casa de Comidas Buenavista in the Sant Antoni district of Barcelona. There are chronicles from that time in which it was highlighted that the Buenavista and the 7 Portes were the two great reference restaurants. That year also went down in history for the defeat that the Spanish flu pandemic meant throughout the world coinciding with the end of the First World War. In Spain the Bourbon Alfonso XIII reigned and in our house the Mancomunidad became a small step towards the autonomy of Catalonia stimulating a project of Estatut, which was approved in assembly on January 25, 1919.

After many years closed even, maintaining the same corporate name of the time (San Antonio Round 84). To illustrate the current menu, drawings used during the early years of the 20th century to advertise the restaurant have been used. We are in front of a restaurant that honors the culinary history of our country and, at the same time, tries to cook and recover great Catalan dishes. Those directly responsible for the good functioning of the restaurant are Marc Amado in the dining room and Marcos Garcia in the kitchen.

We started the meal with some mussels bouchot In the marinera, a tartar steak with creamy mustard and the wonderful potato and cod omelette pil-pil. The start is promising and perfect for facing a few seconds that make us enjoy even more. We continue with some fresh squid from the beach of Blanes grilled, a sausage with beans from La Boqueria and we finish it off with a veal fricandó from the La Bassola farm in Castellterçol. La Bassola is one of the most distinguished farms for the care it takes of the animals and the quality of its meat. It was founded in 1971 by the parents of Josep and Miquel Mas Serra, the current managers.

The wine that Marc recommends is Casa Vella de Espells by Juvé & Camps, a red wine made from Cabernet Sauvignon vineyards in Mediona (Alt Penedès). Intense and very appropriate to accompany us throughout the meal. The wine list is very well thought out, realistic and with fairly reasonable prices, although we can find some references for those who do not suffer for the price. 80% of the menu is Catalan. Dessert is the perfect way to end a good meal. Egg and vanilla flan, an assortment of very well-chosen Catalan cheeses and a chocolate tile filled with truffle and apricot.

With the gin and tonic on the table and the bill paid, we sat down with Marc Amado, the visible face and great ambassador of Buenavista. "Our philosophy is based on respect for traditional Catalan cuisine, incorporating, as far as possible, quality and local products. We try to ensure that all the products that come through the door are from local producers. Our benchmark is the Sant Antoni market, our neighbourhood market."

El Buenavista is a restaurant with traditional cuisine with some local dishes and impeccable, helpful and non-intrusive service. The clientele is mostly from Barcelona, with the obvious addition of hotel guests. It is great to see how Mateu Molleví's descendants have had the courage to reopen a classic restaurant from last century Barcelona with every guarantee of success. Marc and Marcos work to keep the history of the restaurant alive just as it was more than a century ago.