Barcelona recovers La Font del Gat to go for vermouth and ronso

BarcelonaYou only have to sing the song to know that La Font del Gat is one of Barcelona's iconic spaces. Since the pandemic, this popular spot hasn't been open to the public, and only private events were held. Until now. Just a few days ago, it was launched by the Confiteria Group, specialists in restoring historic sites and polishing them. The owners' desire is to maintain its spirit while updating it. Lito Baldovinos, founder of the Confiteria Group, tells me that together they've done everything. Just a day before opening, his mother was still painting boards. I ask him what offer they have in mind, and he's crystal clear. He wants this to be—in his words—"one of the best." picnic area".

But another term that we can recover in La Font del Gat is that of fountainedWithout overcomplicating things, the IEC defines a fontada as "a gathering of people around a fountain to eat and have fun." It's exactly that: a bar that provides us with an enviable space now that the good weather is coming. And what have they planned for us to have fun? A lot of things.

First of all, remember that we're in a restaurant located within the Laribal Gardens, in Montjuïc. And the building, opened in 1925, was designed by Puig i Cadafalch. "It's our second Puig i Cadafalch," says Baldovinos. He's referring to the fact that the group's offices are located in the Casa de les Punxes (or Casa Terrades). Don't let the name of the great architect fool you into thinking that what we'll find will be "elevated"—quite the opposite. The new phase of La Font del Gat will focus on serving rice dishes on Sundays with a ticket-based menu priced at 21 euros. Grilled meat on other days, prepared by its chef, Cristina Pérez, who comes from the Sagardi Group and, therefore, has a great talent for handling fire and protein. The menu of the skewers It will cost 23. The menu will always coexist with conciliatory dishes, such as Russian, spill, croquettes, pork rinds, recapte cake, sausages... Consensus dishes, let's go.

For Thursday nights they have a very special proposal reserved. It will be the day of the pop-ups of chefs from Barcelona. In fact, they claim it's a space made by people from Barcelona and people from Barcelona. They already have several closed. One day there will be burgers from Bar Torpedo, another day the Venetian neighbors from Xemei, the friends from Tiberi Bar, or the smokers from Rooftop Smokehouse. There will also be Pakistani cuisine from Baby Jalebi. But beyond the exceptions, what won't change and will remain constant is the background music.

As a good festive space, there's a significant musical offering planned. There will be jazz and Catalan rumba on days, and Friday nights will feature electronic music. In fact, vermouth hours will also be peak times for this terrace, which, by the way, is spectacularly popular at dusk. They've designed an offering tailored to the space. Oh, and this isn't the last adventure for this group that never stops.