The Basque chef Martín Berasategui (San Sebastián, 1960) is opening the restaurant Bera in the coming days on the ground floor of the Monument Hotel Barcelona (paseo de Gracia, 75), which celebrates the tenth anniversary of its inauguration this year. It will have an all-day open kitchen, designed for passers-by and also for tourists staying at the hotel, and focused on product. The goal they are working towards is for it to be a place to go for breakfast, to have a cocktail in the mid-afternoon or at night, as well as to eat and dine there. Regarding the restaurant's name, the hotel has explained that it is a play on the first two syllables of the chef's surname and also the word vera, which in Catalan means true and in Spanish would also mean near.

Taking advantage of the fact that Rosalía is on tour this week in Barcelona, we review a list of restaurants she has visited on previous trips to the city. Some of these establishments have been so liked by the singer that she herself has shared the dishes on her social media. If you want to know what the famous Catalan singer's tastes are like, or, who knows, try your luck to see if you happen to coincide with her on a day she repeats, here is the list.

The Terres de l’Ebre are a natural paradise. A national treasure. But, furthermore, they are also a great gastronomic enclave despite having a very low population density. In Ulldecona alone, we find two Michelin-starred restaurants: l’Antic Molí and Les Moles. Today we visit the first one, where what shines brightest is not precisely the star, but the circular economy project that sustains it, the way it positively impacts the territory, and the fact that it not only establishes itself in haute cuisine but also offers options for all budgets. "We take small steps to grow big," says its chef and owner, Vicent Guimerà. They have already taken many steps, because what they offer from their kitchen is revered and applauded by their neighbors and by those who visit it.

The Left of the Eixample in Barcelona is a neighborhood with its own life, but whoever walks through it at lunchtime knows that finding a plate of Catalan cuisine among so much brunch, poke and franchise offerings is increasingly difficult. The offerings have multiplied, yes, but not always in favor of those looking for a fricandó, some well-made bravas, or a Sunday rice dish.

The Hotel Palace has an undeniable mystique, as it is a historic enclave in the city of Barcelona. For many, it will always remain the Ritz, and in fact, when you enter, you can't help but look around to see if Xavier Cugat's chihuahua is still lurking. If we are not staying there, we can access it to use its gastronomic offerings. We can go

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.

Let's imagine a good pasta al dente. A cacio e pepe, for example. With the integrated sauce. They bring it in a deep pan and put it directly on your plate with tongs. Succulent, right? Or a beautiful tomato and a mozzarella so sublime that they serve it naked. When something is perfect, the only obligation is not to spoil it. Or a bresaola made of wagyu. It shines with the marbling of the fat. On the side, a raviolo filled with ricotta, truffle and tuorlo (that is, egg yolk). One last example: an eggplant parmigiana with that intense tomato flavor that obligatorily makes you dip bread. All these are some of the dishes that can be tasted since Tuesday at Bottega Bernacca (Carrer de Bonavista, 10), the Italian restaurant that lands in the Gràcia neighborhood and that curiously, unlike what it might seem, comes to us from São Paulo, Brazil. But you will see, dear readers, that everything has a reason.

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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“I am a romantic”, Gerard Martí tells me. Probably because I am too, I have enjoyed his proposal so much. Gerard is a young chef, butcher, and whatever else is needed. His family runs the Casanovas butcher shop, at Carrer Calàbria, 113, in Barcelona. It is the fourth generation dedicated to it. They are aware that these are difficult times for the trade. Many artisan butchers are closing and there is no succession. The Martí family, however, have found a way to make the business profitable: combining the butcher shop with a restaurant. And the restaurant in question has turned out to be very surprising and recommendable.

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The restaurant director, Joaquim López, welcomed the diners. It was a special dinner because Xerta, the restaurant that brings a piece of Terres de l'Ebre to Barcelona, is celebrating 10 years since its opening. López is the fourth generation of restaurateurs. In fact, his parents were also among the diners at the establishment located within the Ohla Eixample hotel. The family manages another hotel, Villa Retiro in Xerta, hence the name of the establishment in Barcelona, and there, Joaquim's brother, Fran López, leads the kitchen at the restaurant.

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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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Congratulations. Twenty years ago, a small restaurant opened next to the Hospital Clínic. It has grown over the years, but we'll get there. Now the concept wouldn't seem innovative, but at the time it certainly was. Pepe Simôes had a bar just a few steps away and decided to open a restaurant, something well-made but informal, and call it La Taverna del Clínic. It was a pleasant place, and the menu will sound familiar because it's the model that has triumphed in Barcelona: expertly prepared tapas (nothing like a mediocre potato salad) to share. Pepe Simôes had a chef lined up, but at the last minute, the deal fell through. And that's how, 20 years ago, his son Toni took over the restaurant. And he has grown it into the landmark it is today.

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Right across from the church in Riudarenes, a town of just over 2,500 inhabitants, stands a farmhouse with stone walls and a beamed ceiling, over 300 years old, proudly displaying the flags of Girona and Catalonia. This is Restaurante Can Cordons. "We try to make dishes respecting traditional cuisine, but with a modern touch," says Pau Turon (Riudarenes, 2000), its owner for the last eight years. "We met at the Girona Hospitality School," replies Gerard Picard (Girona, 1995), the chef. "Even though I'm now in the dining room, I'm also a cook," Turon asserts. That's not all they share, as they are also big Girona fans, although Picard has a bit of a Barcelona side. "Now I'm a little more of a Girona fan than a Barça fan," he admits. Míchel's team visits Osasuna this Saturday (6:30 p.m., Movistar LaLiga).

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Barcelona's Gothic Quarter boasts one of the highest concentrations of restaurants per square meter in the entire city. Nestled between La Rambla, Via Laietana, Plaça Catalunya, and the port, the narrow streets conceal a wide variety of fare: tourist traps, fast-food chains masquerading as local cuisine, and, amidst it all, restaurants that take their food seriously. The challenge lies in finding them without getting lost, as generic offerings have taken over a neighborhood that has lost too many of its landmarks.

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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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I'm told I'm to meet Pola Hemaia, the young chef who's owned L'Alkimista, a restaurant in Reus, for the past six years. So I head to Reus on a wonderful day, even the train that takes me there arrives on time. Pola greets me before service and enthusiastically introduces me to the entire team as they arrive at the restaurant. He came to Catalonia when he was 13. He was born in Cairo, Egypt, in 1993. His family traveled a lot because of his parents' textile factory. It wasn't until he landed in Cervera that he put down roots. He liked science and philosophy. In the end, he decided to study psychology. Rovira i Virgili University took him to the Camp de Tarragona region, where he's stayed ever since. He sent out resumes everywhere to pay for his studies. And it was at the Hotel Mònica in Cambrils where he found a job. At that time, chef David Giner took a young man who didn't even know how to fry an egg and instilled in him a passion for the profession. He worked full days while also studying for his degree. When he finally graduated six years later, cooking won out. And he opened El Alkimista, where we are today.

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Blau i Verd is a restaurant that just opened in the center of Barcelona, ​​on Consell de Cent street, between Rambla Catalunya and Balmes. It's very spacious, and I'd say it's one of those perfect places for large groups and families, or for impromptu meals. Especially if you're a group that needs generous portions. Their model is this: you pay a fixed price (€19.95 for weekday lunches and €29.95 for dinners and weekends) and everything is included. First, you'll find an all-you-can-eat buffet loaded with small bowls of food. These are the starters, designed as individual tapas. There are many types, and you can eat as many as you like. Iberian ham, hummus, anchovy flatbread, flame-grilled escalivada, empedrado, derrama... The restaurant's focus is Mediterranean cuisine. The owners of Blau i Verd are of Chinese origin, and they entrusted chef and neurologist Miguel Sánchez Romera with the role of gastronomic consultant and menu designer. The idea is for everything to be digestible and healthy.

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The mill wheels turn thanks to the force of the water in the reservoir behind it. If the power went out, we wouldn't notice. Just like in 1521, when the little house we're in was built. We're in the Bianya Valley, where there used to be 50 mills. Every important house had one. The building has windows so the miller could see when the water arrived. Halters located on the spillway would alert him. It was time to take advantage of the water's full force to grind. Buckwheat, corn, barley.

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Who hasn't gone out for a drink in Barcelona's Gràcia neighborhood? It's one of the city's most popular areas for nightlife and also one of the most visited by tourists, but sometimes choosing a restaurant for dinner in Gràcia can be a challenge. The neighborhood's fame has led to a proliferation of restaurants. There, you'll find many places to eat similar to those you might see on the streets of any other European city, but in Gràcia, traditional bodegas and restaurants with a long and established history still thrive.

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Danish chef René Redzepi has posted a video on social media announcing to the staff of Noma that he is stepping down as head chef of the restaurant. He has been surrounded by strong controversy in which he is accused of inflicting abuses on workersFrom punches and shouting to threats of being blacklisted, the abuse was felt by a former employee, Jason Ignacio White, the former head of the R&D lab, who started this public denunciation on social media. His intention was to create a version of Me Too in the food industry, taking advantage of the pop-up that Noma was doing in Los Angeles.

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