The butters of different colors like jewels, the bread cart, the impressive wine cellar, the exquisite service, the wrought-iron sculptures decorating the tables... If anyone wants to try a restaurant with class, elegance, and where all the dishes will be excellent, perfect, and well-rounded, what you are looking for is called Lasarte. This year it celebrates twenty years of existence, a not insignificant figure in current times when haute cuisine is suffering. The restaurant, located in the Monument Hotel, was Barcelona's first three-Michelin-starred establishment. Since 2017, when it achieved this, the city now has four.

We begin a five-week journey through Brazil with gastronomy as the common thread. If I tell you to close your eyes and imagine a restaurant in Brazil, it's possible your mind will take you to Rio de Janeiro. It's a magnetic city and a unique enclave in the world. However, despite being the most popular image, it's not representative of a large part of the country. Gastronomically (and sociologically), what does Rio have to do with the miner cuisine of Minas Gerais, the Bahian cuisine of Salvador, or the ancestral cuisine of the Amazon? Very little.

The new restaurant in Poblenou catches the eye as soon as you pass by. Located at Pujades street, 133, it occupies a single ground floor. It's part of one of those blocks of houses in the neighborhood that used to be cheap. In fact, through a side door, you access the interior of these narrow streets full of plants and their own life, away from the hustle and bustle of the main street. But let's return to the main street, we find a polished façade, cream-colored with painted letters that say: Finca Nebot 1924. The Nebot family used to be there then, hence the name, which its current owner, Leo Chechelnitskiy, wanted to revive as a tribute.

We are at the Baix Llobregat Agrarian Park, amidst tomato plants and under a blazing sun. "We have planted 540 varieties of tomatoes," says Jaume Torras, owner of SoulBlim. He grows and supplies fruits and vegetables for the restaurant industry (he previously had a market stall and sold to individuals through his website, but for several years now he has only worked for professionals) and has recently become part of the Catalan Academy of Gastronomy and Nutrition (ACGN). Today he presents his project, we taste all kinds of tomatoes, we discover things we didn't know and confirm others we suspected, like the fact that many tomatoes have tougher skins than ever. Why?

It was during the pandemic that the Ferré family realized things had to change. “Sometimes without realizing it, inertia takes you to a place you don't want to be. When we stopped, we had time to think, and that's when we realized we had lost the essence that our father had set,” explains Sílvia Ferré. She is the owner of the iconic Gothic restaurant Els 4 Gats together with her three brothers Lluís, Ivan, and Òscar. Four brothers to tame Els 4 Gats.

It is called Torre Glòries. For many Barcelonians it will always be the Torre Agbar or other popular names inspired by its shape, such as the suppository. And it is the only building that allows you to see the entire city of Barcelona, 360 degrees. The reason is that it is in the center planned by Ildefons Cerdà, in Plaça de les Glòries. Designed by the French architect Jean Nouvel, his intention was to emulate a geyser, as it was to be for the water company. Now it is an office building, but the 30th floor and the entire top cap, at 125 meters high, have been enabled as a privileged viewpoint.

“A restaurant should not be opened out of enthusiasm, nor kept open out of pity”, says Rafa Zafra, who recently closed the restaurant Per Feina in Barcelona. We are at a round table organized by The Fork on profitability in gastronomic businesses. Its participants, Nandu Jubany, Rafa Zafra, Carlota Claver, and Gary Llempén, have very different businesses, but one thing in common: they work and make money. “A restaurant that works earns between 250,000 and 300,000 euros a year,” says Zafra. All of them exercise transparency and share advice that can be useful to anyone who wants to enter the restaurant business. Let’s list some of the learnings they shared along with data from a study conducted by The Fork.

Four generations of Batlló lived on the third floor of Casa Batlló, this modernist gem on Barcelona's Passeig de Gràcia designed by architect Antoni Gaudí that amazes everyone who visits it. The descendants of the Batlló family had lived in this apartment for more than a hundred years, until 2019, which is why had been preserved with an "exceptional authenticity" and now, the property has been opened to the public and you can have a meal there, after a meticulous renovation, in which all the original elements have been respected and restored – even a previously unknown handle designed by Gaudí has been discovered–. In the renovation, the talent of Italian architect and designer Paola Navone, from OTTO Studio, was chosen to make a proposal that was respectful of the place where it is located, but at the same time revised, as in the green mosaic counter that welcomes you.

Budget, time, knowledge, and experience. This is the blend that has made the Perelada winery possible, a RCR project that 22,000 people visit each year. It cost 47 million euros and took 20 years to complete. "A winery that will not go out of fashion," says Perelada's oenologist Delfí Sanahuja, who has been present in each phase of the winery's construction, inaugurated in 2022. "I knew zero about architecture, and they knew zero about wine. Now I could be an RCR intern after two decades with them," the oenologist jokes, "we understood each other very well," he affirms.

On April 20, 2024, the Banco de Boquerones group took over a historic restaurant in the city of Barcelona: Casa Leopoldo. And this Sunday they will close its doors, as communicated by the group's owner, Bruno Balbás, on the restaurant's Instagram. The iconic establishment in the Raval had been through a lot since its charismatic owner, Rosa Gil, passed away. It had a new period of splendor when chefs Òscar Manresa and Romain Fornell took over, but the project was cut short by the pandemic. Afterwards, a Chinese family took over, who served Asian food and dispensed with some of the architectural elements that had made the place very recognizable. This venture did not work out, and it was then that the Banco de Boquerones group – owner of other restaurants such as Casa Ràfols, Can Framis, and Casa Lolea – took on the challenge. Their intention was to bring back the original gastronomic proposal and serve the classic oxtail. In addition, they personalized two private rooms, one dedicated to Rosa Gil, and preserved the table dedicated to Manuel Vázquez Montalbán, accompanied by a commemorative plaque.

If people worked with half the enthusiasm and energy of Montserrat Molla, we could achieve whatever we set our minds to. The most curious thing is that I discovered the extraordinary work of this farming family from Calonge in Bilbao. I was visiting a highly recommended wine bar, Taska Beltz, and a very lively young man offered me a Catalan wine: "We only have it here and at El Celler de Can Roca," he said. I thought he was pulling my leg. But no. A few days later, I had the good fortune to meet Josep Roca. And he confirmed that at El Celler they have the wine from Mas Molla. His eyes lit up and he told me: "You have to go there! They are real farmers!" And now it is I who tell you: go to Mas Molla to buy wine and fruit. And if not, you will also find them at the Sant Antoni Market and the one in Palamós. They are surely the Catalan family that has been working the same land in the same place for the longest time, from 1338 until now, almost 7 centuries.

On the north coast of Formentera, in the center of the island, we find es Pujols. It is a tourist center, with a long beach and a promenade lined with small wooden boats and restaurants. The first of them all, located in a privileged corner spot, is called Fandango and today we will stop there.

The hosts that symbolize the body of Christ are made of wheat flour and water. And wheat has gluten. This means that a part of the population, coeliacs and those sensitive to gluten, cannot consume them. How do these people manage if they are devout? Well, the Church has not always made it easy for them.

The chef Rafa Zafra, from Seville and an adopted Barcelonian, has a pile of successful restaurants. But a few weeks ago he had to close the restaurant with his most popular cuisine located on Via Augusta in Barcelona. "Per Feina has been the most exciting project of my life. My mother used to punish me by sending me with my father on the truck. I didn't know that deep down I loved it. The truck bounced and then we stopped to eat a menu of three starters and three mains. And I was the happiest child. As an adult, I wanted to do the same, but updated," explains the chef on the day he presents another popular project: the Masia Tibidabo restaurant, at the top of the amusement park.The establishment was first located in Poblenou, on Ciutat de Granada street, but at the end of August last year it decided to move it to the upper part because it had many difficulties in making the nights profitable. In the new location, the restaurant gained a surname: "Per Feina / Per Plaer" (For Work / For Pleasure). In this case, in addition to an economical menu, a more substantial meal could also be had. Even so, it has not been enough to keep the business afloat. "I wanted to keep the prices, cheap, and the restaurant was working. We had two hundred people every day, but we invoiced 4,000 euros. And that's a table at Estimar. Or at Jondal [the restaurant Rafa Zafra has in Ibiza], I don't even need to say. We had a whole team working and running for that," explains the chef.

“Never leave us!”, a gentleman shouted. “Return!”, “Hospitality!”, “Main festival!”. The public shared what they thought of when they thought of Motel Empordà. We are at this pilgrimage site on its 65th anniversary. On June 4, 1961, Josep Mercader inaugurated this temple of good cuisine and culture just outside Figueres. Culture understood in a broad, generous, and deeply rooted way.

The managers of BSM, the municipal company that manages the Tibidabo amusement park, have described it as a "crazy idea" and a "dream come true". The fact is that they have wanted to reinforce the gastronomic offer of this leisure space for some time. Enrique Tomàs and Christian Escribà are already present. Soon, it will be the turn of Albert Adrià, who cannot yet specify what, but they are already working on various proposals. In fact, it was Adrià himself who recommended Rafa Zafra to take charge of La Masia Tibidabo, the project that is starting this Friday and which they presented today to authorities and civil society.

The Pedralbes Palace was dressed up to award the distinctions with which the Catalan Academy of Gastronomy and Nutrition (ACGN) each year rewards the talent of our land. More than 550 people gathered and enjoyed a dinner together offered by chefs Romain Fornell and Òscar Manresa.

The Catalan Academy of Gastronomy and Nutrition has recognized ARA journalist Trinitat Gilbert with the Néstor Luján prize for gastronomic journalism for her series of articles "The foods we eat, in detail". In these reports, Gilbert delves into lesser-known aspects of very common foods, such as cured meats, yogurts, fish, or olive oil. The jury has highlighted "its ability to combine rigorous dissemination, gastronomic culture and journalistic criteria, as well as a consolidated career in different formats and media". Two years ago, the prize also went to a collaborator of ARA, in this case to writer Empar Moliner and her eagerness to promote Catalan wine.

“From the entrance, you can tell this restaurant wasn’t built to be a three-star Michelin”, says Disfrutar’s chef Oriol Castro with his usual honesty, and Eduard Xatruch adds: “We didn’t have a dime or an investment fund behind us, we had to trick the bank and the landlord”, he jokes, because among those listening to him is the owner of the premises, Sandra Mira, who explains that this place – before the restaurant opened in 2014 and forever changed the history of Catalan gastronomy – was a warehouse for La Casa de las Mantas. “Do you know how much space was needed to store duvets, blankets, pillows...?” She quickly saw that the chefs were honest people eager to work, so she rented them the space. Perhaps she believed more in Oriol Castro, Mateu Casañas, and Eduard Xatruch than they did themselves, because in the original design, the bar at the entrance was meant to serve tapas. And in the basement below, they wanted to put a large room “for large groups and communions”, says Xatruch. They ran out of money, and they never built that room. Luckily. Because when they had to expand the cellar and build the kitchen to develop the creative part, they needed that space. “The clients wrapped us up”, they say. They explain that the first part is inspired by Miró’s mosaic; when you cross the kitchen, into the pottery kilns, and once in the large white room, in Cadaqués, where they opened their first restaurant together: Compartir.

The Tast a la Rambla 2026 is about to begin. It will start this Thursday and last until Sunday. We recommend going on Thursday or Friday, as they are the quieter days. What will we find there? Well, 30 restaurants and 6 pastry shops with small dishes that cost 6 euros each.