Carles Pérez de Rozas: "Quim Monzó says he's fed up with us asking for a credit card with the reservation, but he paid for his literature before consuming it."

BarcelonaI interview Carles Pérez de Rozas on a dull Wednesday at the Berbena restaurant (c. Minerva 6, Barcelona). He makes me a filter coffee and places the coffee pot on the solid, dark wood table. Today, the manufacturers confirmed to him when they will be bringing the marble for the new kitchen of the bar, which will open in April and is located twenty meters from where we are, on Sèneca Street. I was lucky because he had a quiet moment for the interview, because with the full daily services at Berbena, which start at 7 p.m., and the construction work on the new location, he is short on hours every day. I insist on knowing the name of the new restaurant, and he tells me he wants me to be surprised. He does tell me that it will be a wine bar with ten dishes, all different from those he cooks every night at Berbena. So, we can say that the cuisine of chef Carlos Pérez de Rozas, son of the great, deceased photojournalist—who dispelled the idea of becoming a war reporter—is in full swing. Carlos is a passionate cook who wears a cap that reads "Press" when he walks the streets with his dog Nora, in tribute to the reporters who have died since the outbreak of the October 7 war in Gaza. A note: the name Berbena refers to a plant in Catalan, and Carlos maintains this, but adds that the name is also a tribute. at his favorite Barcelona restaurant, El Gresca by chef Rafa Peña.

Wine bars are trendy these days, especially in Barcelona.

— We want to do it differently. To get a good wine, you can go to a Michelin-starred restaurant, where the wine cellar underpins the dishes, or to a specialized bar, like Monvínic or La Viña del Señor. Or you can go to a wine bar, which is the latest wave, and which began primarily with natural wines, and therefore presented themselves as informal places, especially aimed at the general public. In our bar, we don't label the wines; we don't set limits. We'll also have a selection of charcuterie and cheese, which won't be for takeaway, but for dine-in.

Why is this wine bar trend gaining momentum? Perhaps because it's the type of establishment that allows for the greatest difference between the cost of the product and the final bill?

— The model has emerged strongly because wine is finally beginning to be dignified. We are a country that produces good wines, but instead, we drank beer, which was the way to socialize. Now all this has changed, and wines, wine bars, are the ones taking over the space for socializing. And the ones who started it all are natural wines, which have been the gateway to wine for young people. First, they tried natural wines, and then they discovered the classics. I think we should celebrate this because it's great news for wine.

Wines are also very important at Berbena, which we can now say is its first restaurant.

— We have 600 wines on the menu, 200 of which are from Catalan wineries. I was once told I had few Catalan wines, but I don't see it that way, because our territory is small compared to the wine world, and yet I have 200. I also think that when we go out to dinner, we want to taste wines from other regions of the world. For me, the most important thing is that Berbena defends wine, we promote it.

Carlos, now I ask you about the beginnings of Berbena.

— I opened on December 29, 2018, after training at the Hofmann School and traveling the world as a chef. I've been to Lima, Japan, France, and Lausanne. When we started, we served lunch and dinner, but after Covid, we changed that. The pandemic made us more efficient, and that's how we've been to this day. We have two dinner shifts: one at 7:00 p.m. and the other at 9:30 p.m., which can last until midnight, when we close.

For the 7:00 pm shift it has been spread that you are a restaurant for tourists or expats.

— Look, I'll show you today's reservations right now. Look at the surnames. Half of them today are Catalan. Also, I make 60% of the reservations online, and the rest we make by phone or to someone who passes by and asks us for a table. I'm sorry when people tell us all the tables are for tourists, because that's not the case. The thing is, the 60% we have available online are filled by foreigners because they're the ones who plan ahead for the days they'll be in the city and want to dine. But anyone can also make reservations online. It seems to me that all of us, when we travel, also make reservations well in advance at places.

And everyone comes to fulfill their reservation?

— We've been asking for your credit card number for three years, and we offer the option of canceling your table in advance without any problem, but we kindly ask that you give six hours' notice. In any case, I'm a big advocate of asking for a commitment from the diner. I read a message from the writer Quim Monzó saying he's fed up with us asking for a credit card with the reservation, but his books are paid for before we consume them. And I'd like to give you another reason to help you understand why we do it. If one day I don't get 20% of the reservations, I won't deduct 20% from the team's paychecks so we don't have to work that percentage. The paychecks will be the same, but we won't have earned what we anticipated because people don't show up for dinner even though we reserved the table for them.

Let's change the subject. Let's move on to the dishes. He has monkfish cheeks, lamb brains...

— Ox tongue, stingray wing, grilled vegetables with a hake egg emulsion, ox cheek in wine. We have a menu based mostly on Catalan recipes, and also some of it is the result of my travels. But I would say that they are located at the top of the pyramid, that they are the most important men because for Berbena there is a solid base of basics, which are the pa –that the fem nosaltres–, the vi, the format, the cafè d'specialitat, that he buys from a neighborhood store, SlowMov, and the oli, that li I buy from a friend who makes it at Linares (Jaén) and at Pallars Jussà. I buy both varieties. Starting from the basics, there's the creativity of the dishes, the service, and the restaurant's atmosphere, which is relaxed, but not necessarily informal.

I liked the way it highlights the neighborhood businesses.

— We have a very good relationship because being here has given us the coffee, the ceramist, the graphic designer, and we all work together to preserve its identity.

Finally, I ask him about his dreams, which I think right now are to open the new bar in April.

— Yes, and provide good working conditions for employees, with a good salary that balances the hours they work with their free time, and I pay them above the collective bargaining agreement. I think going to the Berbena means going to a restaurant where the paradigm is paying suppliers and employees well. I put so much effort into it, which is why the bad Google reviews hurt me so much.

Do you read them?

— Of course. And they affect me because we put so much energy and effort into it, I feel it. And look, I constantly receive emails from companies selling me positive reviews. I mean, I know how they do it, and that it's neither ethical nor legal. On the other hand, I also think extremely positive reviews aren't good because they can generate a lot of hype, and when there's so much hype, reality can be disappointing. Oh! And my final big dream: paying off my bank loan.