"Eat, drink and live"

Casa Rufo opened just before Easter and I already hear diners saying "it's delicious", while confirming that "all dishes enter the kitchen clean". Lleonard Cardona Rufo is a self-taught cook; he has learned from his parents, who first worked in a butcher shop and then at Casa Jesús, in Cases d’Alcanar. In the same place, but with a completely renewed concept, he insists on saying that he has opened a wine bar, but that you can also "eat" there. "In the "terreno", we always eat very well, from the garden, from the sea... and when you hear "delicious", you can rest assured", he shares. "My parents were artists. They made breakfasts, a menu for workers, and à la carte, both at midday and at night", he recalls. He has copied their format a bit, without lunches. At Casa Rufo, he offers a hearty breakfast, vermouth, and small plates at night. There is often a queue because, for the moment, he does not take reservations. He is open from Thursday to Sunday.

He returned from Australia two years ago and wanted to go for wine in Cases d’Alcanar. He didn't find any options. So he created the place. "We have honest wines, a diverse repertoire from Terra Alta to Penedès. We are introducing clients to very different styles, from ancestral to cava or corpinnat, the brisats, spicy wine, indigenous varieties like morenillo, sumoll, cartoixà or trepat", he reviews. He focuses on proximity, but above all seeks out people and landscapes with whom to engage. "I have visited the winemakers and I think I bring them joy because they are going through a delicate time. I want to build a community with them; Casa Rufo is theirs". And then he confesses: "Our clients are giving up beer". Wines are served by the glass and by the bottle. In fact, he displays the entire repertoire on a shelf: "It also helps me remember what each client wants and I anticipate offering them what they like or what will surprise them".

Casa Rufo is life. There is the artist, the librarian, the fisherman, the farmer, the cousin, and a passerby who senses a stir. "The kitchen is like that of the Casas, very simple, but with good product of the moment. Natural, boiled or grilled, with extra virgin olive oil and a pinch of salt," he shares. You can taste oysters from the Delta, Russian salad, potato omelet, or check the greatness of the "cassols" that pay homage to Catalan cuisine, from chicken with prawns to meatballs with cuttlefish or fricandó. "I like to know what the customer likes and incorporate it into the menu, expand the recipe book." He also encourages cooking prawn rice when friends visit. The best thing that has happened to him is to hear them say that they want to return because they know that there they "eat, drink, and live". This is, in fact, their motto.