Anabel and Vicente opened their little refuge in El Born eight years ago: Orvay. They weren't just looking to open a restaurant, but to give shape to a way of understanding the pleasure of eating and drinking, a space where gastronomy and wine would dialogue naturally, without artifice. This idea also runs through the premises. They decided to paint the walls as a journey through the colours and times of wine: at the entrance, the beige tones of the earth, the origin of everything; in the centre, the green of the living vineyard, still full of light, and in the background the deep purple, almost violet, that recalls the ripe fruit and the wine when it reaches its final destination.

We are in front of the sea, the train tracks and the N-II. This is a very typical configuration for a large part of the towns in Maresme. On a sunny day, the light and serenity of the Mediterranean end up diluting the noise of the commuter trains and the constant traffic, turning the experience into a pleasant break by the coast.El Blau de Mar is a restaurant located in an early 20th-century Indian house, sensitively renovated by architect Neus Fornaguera. The building retains its historic character and unfolds into five distinct spaces: terrace, interior patio, dining room, private room, and rooftop, allowing for adaptation to different times of day and types of needs. The interior combines elegance and warmth, inviting you to disconnect from the outside world.We start the meal with Cantabrian anchovies, some scallops (zamburiñas) with foie and broth reduction, and some sautéed squid with Maresme peas and black pudding. In the middle, to share, a dish of medium-sized prawns from Arenys. The wine list reinforces this territorial view with a clear commitment to Catalan wineries, especially from DO Alella. However, we accompany ourselves with a bottle of Syrah Reserva from Casa Mariol, a winery from Terra Alta. We drink a reserva at the price of a crianza or young wine. We continue the meal with "mongetes del ganxet" (a type of bean) with prawns, turbot with bacon, and monkfish with clams and prawns. As you can see, the Arenys prawns are ending up coming out of our ears and become the most majestic accompaniment for any dish. For dessert, we order a creamy crème caramel, artisanal vanilla ice cream with macadamia nuts and strawberries from Pep Marpons' garden.El Blau de Mar is more than a restaurant; it is a business designed for the well-being of diners, workers, and the community. At the helm of it all is Josep Bayo, a person who has excelled in various fields (healthcare, communication, hospitality...), but especially in project management and development. They suffered the pandemic and its consequences, but, fortunately, there was financial muscle behind this project. When the restrictions ended, they were able to start working freely and show their intentions: “We wanted there to be a lot of harmony between the space, the service, and the food. We have the port of Arenys and we must take advantage of it. We have a menu with classic proposals and some a bit more mischievous, where elaboration predominates. We want people to eat as much with their mouths as with their eyes and for our chefs to be able to shine,” Josep tells us after a demanding service, while we enjoy the views of the beaches of Arenys.Product and values

Beyond good food and very friendly service, this restaurant stands out for its commitment to local produce: fish from the Arenys fish market, strawberries from Can Marpons, cheeses from Can Xicoi, meats and cured meats from Cal Tomàs, and also everything offered by Maresme producers who work the land ecologically. Furthermore, Blau de Mar collaborates with the Fundació Junts Autisme in Arenys, where the foundation's young people carry out pre-vocational tasks four days a week, accompanied by their therapists.El Blau de Mar, with Josep Bayo at the helm, combines a very good gastronomic proposal with the company's social responsibility, both with employees and suppliers, and with any person or entity related to the restaurant. Cuisine and values facing the coast of Arenys.

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In 1989, Francisco Peñaranda made two bets. The first: to open a bar in a corner of La Sagrera. The second: to trust that, when the eternal works of the AVE were finished, the place would become a reference point. With the works, he was overly optimistic. With the restaurant, not so much. In the beginning, the place was a neighborhood bar, but in 1991 Francisco Peñaranda decided to change course and turn it into a seafood restaurant. All this is explained to us by Esther Peñaranda, his daughter, who has practically grown up within these walls. "As a child, I already ran around the tables. This place is my life," she recalls.Perhaps that's why she studied hospitality: because there are futures that are not chosen, they simply await you. She worked in the kitchens of the Majestic, the Ritz, or the Princesa Sofia, trying, or pretending to try, to escape the family business. But destiny has a very deft hand and little patience. For twenty-eight years, Esther has captained from the dining room Marisqueria Esthvan, in the Sagrera neighborhood. "I am the visible face, but my father is still here," she says, laughing. And he truly is. Francisco continues to be in charge between stoves and early mornings, selecting products at Mercabarna or at the fish market with the clinical eye of someone who has been speaking the language of fresh fish for decades and knows that, in a seafood restaurant, prestige begins long before the customer sits down at the table. Seeing the menu we have in front of us, we decide that it will be Terrers, a Recaredo Brut Nature, that sets the pace for the meal. And the pace is exactly this: direct cooking, honest product and little desire to impress with artifice. Here there are no foams or kilometer-long speeches about the concept of the dish. Here the seafood arrives, is cooked well and served without the need for disguises. Which, given the current situation, almost ends up seeming revolutionary. The festival begins with some dishes to share: fried whitebait, prawns in milk, fresh squid and some tender and well-executed baby squid. Everything comes out with that hard-to-explain touch that restaurants that have been doing the same thing for years have, and precisely because of this, they know exactly what to do and what not to touch.But Esther doesn't hesitate when it comes to choosing the main course. "You can't miss the seafood grill," she says with the certainty of someone who knows the answer perfectly before asking the question. And she's right. A generous, powerful, and very well-executed grill arrives: razor clams, scallops, langoustines, prawns, and crayfish grilled, accompanied by half a lobster per person. A dish that forces the table to fall silent for a few minutes. Sensational.The desserts, Santiago cake, cheesecake and honey with curd cheese, extend the after-meal conversation without haste. With the coffees already served, the gaze inevitably drifts towards the restaurant walls. They are full of photographs with clients, friends, and locals from the neighborhood. There are familiar faces and others that surely only they know, but all tell the same story: the history of a restaurant built more on loyalty than on fashion.The merit of the full table

“Filling this place is not easy, because there are neither shops nor theaters here that bring you passers-by,” explains Esther. And probably for that reason, every full table has even more merit. At Esthvan, customers don’t arrive by chance; they arrive because someone has spoken to them about it before.She is also the one who reveals the origin of the restaurant's name. "It's the mix of the names of Francisco's daughters: Esther and Vanessa". And perhaps here lies the key to everything. Esthvan is not just a seafood restaurant. It is an extension of this family.Esther summarizes it by talking about her father. “Whenever the family gets together, he cooks. And he always ends up doing what the grandchildren ask him to do.” Said like that, it seems like a small thing, but probably here lies the secret of many restaurants that survive over time: people who continue to take care of theirs as if it were still the first day.Who knows if in a few years it will be precisely these grandchildren who will take over. What is evident is that, while Barcelona continues to wait for the works of La Sagrera to be finished, Francisco Peñaranda completed his great work a long time ago.

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Closing a restaurant is not just about lowering a shutter. It is putting an end to decades of life, of service, of silent sacrifice, and of a way of understanding cuisine. Guillem and his family did so after forty-five years at the helm of Can Castells, in Vidreres. With that gesture, they were not only closing a business: they were leaving behind a legacy built dish by dish, customer by customer, day by day.For two years, Guillem Gubau tried to distance himself from this world. He looked for new motivations, other paths, a life outside of gastronomy and hospitality. But there are professions that are not entirely chosen: they end up finding you. And he didn't find any other that suited him equally. It was then that he accepted the offer to become the maître of the restaurant at Mas Solà, in Santa Coloma de Farners. A space with history, located in a 16th-century Catalan farmhouse, which goes beyond the simple act of eating: it is also a hotel and sports center, a small universe where time seems to move at another pace.“Here what we do is market cuisine, seasonal. We look for the product that is best at each moment”, explains Guillem. This philosophy translates into a proposal that he himself defines as creative, but without ever losing clarity: dishes with a first and last name, recognizable, but worked with precision and with an elaboration that is noticeable in every bite.We attest to this from the very first moment. The croquettes arrive golden and crispy, with a creamy interior that speaks of patience and technique. The fritters, light but full of flavor, confirm that behind every apparent simplicity there is careful work. And it is in this balance, between tradition and intention, where Mas Solà finds its voice. We finish the first ones with some anchovies from L'Escala on focaccia with smoked butter and some artichoke hearts confited with Iberian bacon. “It’s one of the star dishes of the season, we clean the hearts well and chop them. A success!” says Guillem. For the second course, we have two meats and one fish: cod confit with tender garlic mousseline, tomato sofrito, and Santa Pau beans; crispy suckling pig cooked in two ways with red pepper chutney –“We add the sauce during the same cooking process, and that's why it turns out so good”, he says – and Girona veal entrecôte –“We always look for the meat to be from the area”, he recalls.The domain of the room

The desserts, egg flan with toffee, chocolate coulant and three-cheese cake. Today we accompany this meal with a cava from the Oliveda family, a young brut ideal for accompanying any dish. You can tell Guillem enjoys what he does. He commands the dining room and customer interaction with a naturalness that cannot be learned: it's in his blood. With infinite patience, he explains the history of the farmhouse to anyone who asks, almost as if he were part of it himself. “The patriarch of the Solà family is the one who creates everything many, many years ago. He first promotes the swimming pool, the fronton, and the tennis courts. It's not until 1971 that the restaurant is born. Now it is managed by a family that has nothing to do with the Solàs, but they have wanted to keep the name,” he explains. And perhaps it is here where everything fits. Because Mas Solà is not just a place to go to eat: it is a space where stories continue, where each stage adds without erasing the previous one. And in this invisible thread between past and present, Guillem has found his place again. Far from being a final point, his path confirms that, in gastronomy, as in life, there are vocations that never completely close, they only change scenery.

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Who is Àlex Vall? A boy from a well-to-do neighborhood in Barcelona who, one day, after many years of work, decided to open his own restaurant. His story would not be understood without the figure of Hideki Matsuhisa, owner and chef of Koy Shunka, a benchmark and responsible for his appreciation for Japanese cuisine. Àlex is not a vocational chef, but the hours he dedicated to the trade brought out a talent and vocation that remained hidden.The experience in different cuisines and a scholarship from the Japanese government to work in the Asian country were the triggers for deciding, last June, to move forward with a personal project. Umo Àlex Vall is a restaurant with clear Japanese influences, located on a quiet corner of La Bonanova, where a menu adapted to the product and seasonality is served. Fire is its protagonist. There is only one service and a single bar for twelve diners. Àlex welcomes us and offers a brief explanation of where we are and what will happen during the time we will be seated at an open and comfortable bar, with street light and a very good atmosphere.Let's start! The hassun serves as an appetizer, it is a classic of kaiseki cuisine and represents elements, colors, and different cooking techniques. We continue with the calçot dofu, a taste that reminds us of our cuisine, but with clearly Japanese texture and connotations; sashimi of sea bream from Arenys de Mar; udon with prawn (thick noodle); a marvelous temaki of eel from the Ebro Delta; oshizushi (pressed sushi) of sea bass; futomaki (large and thick roll) of tuna belly, and grilled sea bream head. We pause for a moment to talk about the wine. This time, and we promise it won't happen again for a long time, we opted for an external wine. The chosen one was Julius Höfflin Vulkanstoff 2023, a light and fresh red wine, made mainly with the Spätburgunder variety, from volcanic lands of Kaiserstuhl, in the Baden-Württemberg region, in southwestern Germany. Anyway, the menu offers good options of both local and international wines, as well as a variety of sake.Highest quality

We resume the meal with the chicken skewers: one stuffed wing and the other from the tail. They remind us, very pleasantly, of classic Japanese yakitori. We add to the menu (€85) two dishes that are separate and not included: the angus rib and the fat shrimp temaki (€24). These suggestions are left out of the menu so as not to increase its price, but, despite the cost, we couldn't help but try them. The quality of the product, the presentation, and the good execution mean that we do not consider the price paid to be high. The miso soup and the choco tart conclude a surprising and very high-quality experience.Alex Vall is a calm and apparently pragmatic guy. He has created a very personal proposal, with many possibilities of becoming a benchmark in Barcelona. "At UMO you will eat well and find an atmosphere similar to what you would have at home with a group of friends. It is important that everyone is punctual so that we can all start at the same time and share the sensations that each dish provokes in us", Alex tells us, aware that his proposal is taking root and that it is being talked about. It is not mandatory to interact with the bar neighbors, but the dynamic itself invites it. We have greatly enjoyed the experience and we predict success and recognition for him. They haven't even been open a year and we are already thinking about the day we will return.

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Robert Serna i Mundet is a guy from El Raval. He was born there, lives there, and has his business there. He is self-taught. Talent and effort opened the doors to the world of restoration for him at just twenty-two years old. Since then, he has participated in his own and others' projects, always at the forefront of prestigious kitchens.One day, walking through the old Barri Xino, he discovered a small corner on Requesens street and decided to turn it into his refuge to be happy. Cal Robert opened its doors in 2014. At first it was more of a bar than a restaurant, but eight years ago, with David's arrival in the kitchen, the project found its definitive direction: traditional Catalan cuisine with a touch of Iberian flair. Starters to share and main courses to each one's liking. A simple formula that works if the product and execution are good. The team is as important as the food, and with Marc in the dining room, a small but very efficient team is completed.There are fixed dishes and others (those on the blackboard) that change according to the seasonality of the product. Thus, neither they nor the clients get bored: every day there is something new to taste. We start the meal with some black pudding bags and some chard fritters. We continue with a dish of tripe and some meatballs that comfort us from the outside cold and confirm our success in visiting Robert. Before dessert, a hake tail in the Donostiarra style reconciles us with product cuisine. A cream millefeuille, a meringue and lemon tartlet, and a cheesecake fulfill the purpose of ending the meal.Wine deserves a very remarkable separate chapter. The menu is oral and changing. Robert explains it to us: “We only work with local wines and none cost more than nineteen euros. It makes no sense to spend twenty euros on food and order a seventy euro wine. We are looking for a wine profile with good value for money to be able to offer them at a reasonable price.” We choose a bottle of Un Onzè black wine from the Cal Cabo winery, in Sant Martí de Maldà. They have vineyards in the Corb valley. Sometimes, oil can be as important as food and drink. In the case at hand, we highlight it for its quality. It is from Nalec, the smallest town in Urgell. “My father-in-law is from Nalec. In the mornings I make breakfasts and I try to give an outlet to the oil, the wine and the sausages from there. They are very good!”The universe of Raval

Cal Robert is much more than a bar-restaurant: it is a service to the neighborhood. It collaborates with neighborhood associations and NGOs based in the neighborhood, especially with Pallapupas, the beloved hospital clowns. It has also unofficially become the bar for the Taller de Músics. The clientele comes mainly from Sant Antoni and L'Eixample, as the population of Raval is increasingly diverse and does not always match its gastronomic proposal or the establishment's budget. The average bill is around thirty-five euros per person.Robert is a Raval resident who loves his neighborhood. El Raval has life and color, but this particular universe of Barcelona is often underestimated and feared in equal measure. We take advantage of its geographical location to walk through these streets in the heart of the city. El Raval and Cal Robert show us two of the realities of our country: the diversity of our fellow citizens and the good health of Catalan cuisine. We can be happy.

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Tomás de la Paz, Chilean by birth, will never forget how it all began with Gastón Acurio. “About twenty-five years ago, I showed up at the door of one of his restaurants in Peru, knocked, and blurted out: ‘I want to learn!’”. That audacity, almost unconsciously, changed his life forever. “After three months, he had already sent me to another establishment in Lima… and here I am today,” he recalls with a smile that still holds the spark of that first impulse.

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Three days before the start of the confinement due to Covid-19, Sergi Poyatos received the keys to what was to be his home and the gastronomic meeting point for all the people of Cervelló. Let's remember how we suffered and the vital and economic consequences that the pandemic had for everyone, but at the same time we saw that the world does not stop and, in July of that same year, El Secret del Vell opened its doors in Cervelló, a municipality that originates with the castle of Cervelló in the early 10th century.However, in 1714, the Catalan defeat in the War of Succession symbolized the end of an era. Among the first consequences of the conflict was the destruction of the castle, ordered by Philip V. The construction of the road between Barcelona and Valencia, in the second half of the 18th century, favored the formation of the grouped nucleus of Cervelló and marked the beginning of the town we know today.But let's leave history for another day and focus on Sergi's cuisine. We begin the meal with a taste of acorn "morcón" elaborated according to Sergi's family's traditional recipe. Originally from Cuenca and Extremadura, every year, for four generations, they return to their starting point to do the slaughter. We continue with "escalivada" aubergines from the Agrarian Park with goat cheese, hazelnuts, and their praline, and a dish of veal tripe with "capipota" and pork trotters. We are faced with a proposal based on good product, curious, and very well cooked.The main courses are house classics: steak tartare of aged Galician beef fillet, the famous cod pil-pil in homage to a centenarian client, and a rice dish with acorn-fed pork ribs, porcini mushrooms, and black sausage from a family slaughter. We ordered the rice after seeing it was a majority dish on many tables. The rib one was sublime, but we were left with the desire to try the seafood rice with squid, clams, and red shrimp. It will be a good excuse to return. The wine that accompanied us was Abadia de Poblet, from Conca de Barberà. A Santa Teresa toast in the Catalan style and a gin and tonic ice cream with Bulldog gelatin, lemon air, and red berries concluded a great lunch.A project to reconcile

After a very demanding service, we sit down with Sergi to talk about family, the town, cooking, and secrets. “I am a thirty-five-year-old family man, I have been living in Cervelló for fifteen years and I have a total family unit. The three things I like most are being a father, being my wife’s partner, and the restaurant business. I created the project ‘El Secret del Vell’ to be able to reconcile everything”, he tells us with the demeanor and tone of a happy guy. The team is very important: Sergi, Annuar, and Àlex in the kitchen, and Danae and José Luis in the dining room. The restaurant is divided into three spaces: a dining room with seven tables, a private room for eight diners, and a very nice interior terrace.Sergi began studying Art History, but his passion was cooking. His family is in the trade and, after studying and working in various renowned kitchens, he decided to start his own project. Cooking is his passion and the house that hosts his restaurant, his devotion. It is one of the first houses that was part of the beginning of Cervelló as a town; it was called the "basket makers' house" and is dated from the year 1793.Hey! We almost forgot to tell you about the secret, but we'll leave that for when you go. Ask Sergi about it: his face lights up when he explains it. A promise: you will eat very well.

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Carpanta is an iconic comic strip character created in 1947 by Josep Escobar to depict the essential deprivations suffered by a large part of the population in post-war Spain. Carpanta was starving, and his comics humorously and satirically narrated his attempts to find food. He almost never succeeded, but his vitality allows us to glimpse a very particular kind of happiness that enabled him to survive the misery of his own world. Escobar presents us with a famished character, but never a miserable one. He harshly criticizes a period of hardship and inequality in a space designed primarily to elicit a smile. Happiness involves a very personal perception, and Carpanta's is no exception. Therefore, with the character still present in the collective memory, we will pay tribute to him by indulging in a feast at the restaurant that bears his name.

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Xavier is proud of his past, his present, and also the future he is building. Of the past, because he fondly remembers his early days working at the family restaurant. He still cherishes small details from that time, like the stool behind the bar. "It was gray, and I served my first coffees to customers on it when I was just eight years old." He is the second generation of Cal Moreu, in Centelles, a restaurant that his grandparents and parents opened in 1977. "It's a farmhouse dating back to 1700 that my great-grandparents bought to turn into a home and farmhouse," Xavier explains. The origin of the restaurant's name is also curious. "Before, in old Catalan, oxen were called Moreos"And there used to be a lot of them here. We said it so often, the name just stuck," he says, laughing. Today, Can Moreu is thriving: the restaurant is packed every day thanks to the excellence of its cuisine. "100% Catalan. We make stews, escalivadas, calçots... everything Catalan."

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What is incorrect? Beyond conventional norms, each of us sees the world through our own unique lens. It's true that, in order to coexist, we adapt to certain established codes and stereotypes, but it's equally true that we need to preserve critical thinking and act in accordance with our own beliefs. From this interplay of thought and freedom, the restaurant Incorrecte was born in the upscale area of ​​Barcelona. At the helm is Marcel Pons, a native of Corberó and recently turned thirty, who has taken the plunge to launch his culinary project.

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Rosa and Jordi understand each other with a single glance. While he manages the dining room, she runs the kitchen. But despite occupying different spaces, they never lose sight of each other. They are a perfectly oiled machine, a tandem that makes their restaurant, Binomio de Sant Just, run like clockwork.

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Yoshizumi Yamashita is the pioneer of Japanese cuisine in Spain. In 1978, he opened Yamadori and, eleven years later, Yashima on Josep Tarradellas Avenue, which has become one of the city's leading Japanese restaurants. Now formally retired, he still visits the restaurant regularly, ensuring that everything runs with the precision that has always characterized him. He went through the always challenging process of personal and professional integration in his adopted country. His children have grown up here, between two cultures they feel are their own. Rona manages the restaurant; Daisuke is the sushi chef. The second generation is at the helm of a project that maintains its unwavering commitment to authenticity.

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Maury Lucero is a descendant of Basque and Aragonese immigrants who left for Argentina after the Civil War. His grandfather, a butcher in Bilbao, managed to open and run several butcher shops. Maury, originally from Mendoza, inherited one as the first grandson, but at twenty-two he sold it to start a new life in Argentina. "It was the time of the playpen"around 1999. My friends who had emigrated before told me that there was work here and I needed a change of scenery."

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Cornellà de Llobregat, the second largest city in the Baix Llobregat region, has been undergoing a quiet but steady transformation in its culinary scene for years. In this city, it's not just about eating well; it's about eating with pride. More and more locals and visitors alike are choosing to dine at its restaurants, drawn by honest cuisine, reasonable prices, and inviting spaces that encourage leisurely dining. Within this burgeoning culinary landscape, some establishments have established themselves as benchmarks. One such example is undoubtedly the restaurant Més de Grandi. Located on the Hospitalet road, it opened its doors in 2007, the brainchild of Eduardo de Grandi. The restaurant is the natural evolution of a smaller, earlier establishment, known simply as De Grandi. "I used to have a smaller restaurant, and when I decided to renovate, everyone kept saying, 'I hope you make it bigger,' 'Make it bigger!' And that's exactly what happened. That's also where the name came from," explains the owner with a smile that conveys pride and a sense of connection with the clientele.

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The decor at Carballeira is designed to transport you to the interior of a ship, but it's clear that you don't come here to sail, but rather to enjoy the finest seafood that Barcelona has to offer. The restaurant opened its doors in 1944 and, despite changes in ownership, has managed to maintain its original essence for over eighty years. Those who have been around for a while will remember that the old Barcelona customs house was located right next door. The sea is very close, as is the mouth of Via Laietana.

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Sagrario came to Barcelona for love. A love that knows nothing of maps or fears; the kind that packs your suitcase without knowing what you'll find on the other side. Living in Cartagena, she met a boy doing his military service and fell hopelessly in love with him. He had his life in Barcelona; she was only seventeen. To go with him, she needed her father's signature: permission almost impossible in those days for a girl who wanted to truly start living. Finally, her father reluctantly signed it, thanks to her mother's patience and firm character. Always mothers.

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José María Calzón, one of the most important living legends in the history of RCD Espanyol, recommended, in his own way, that we go to El Picoteo de Can Domingo: "Kids! Haven't I gone yet?"Fifty-eight, fifty, and forty years old are the age of each of us, but to him we're still children. When it comes to food, you always have to listen to José María, so we went."

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Felipe González has opened a restaurant in the Sant Andreu neighborhood of Barcelona. Don't worry: it's not the famous politician. It's Felipe, a Chilean who arrived in Catalonia thirteen years ago determined to make his dreams a reality, and who shares a surname with the former Socialist leader. Before landing in Spain, his journey took him through several restaurants in San Francisco. There he learned to cook Korean dishes and, almost without realizing it, his passion for gastronomy was awakened.

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Brunyola and Sant Martí Sapresa (Girona) is a municipality that unified its name in 2018. Until then, Brunyola was the main town, while Sant Martí Sapresa was an attached village, along with a number of farmhouses and scattered houses. In 1950, the Valls family began running the restaurant we are visiting today. The grandparents were the first owners, followed by their parents. Now it is managed by David Valls (cleaner, son, chef, and director), along with Marta Vilà (David's partner and head waiter). It is a family restaurant with a commitment to serving the community and a social conscience deeply rooted in the local area.

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