Michelin star restaurants in Barcelona

Martín Berasategui’s embassy at the Condes de Barcelona hotel has become one of the essential restaurants not only in the city but in all of ​​Catalonia and Spain, where people flock to marvel at the chef's creativity. The sampling menu is a treat that everyone should have the chance to enjoy, at least once in a lifetime, and if possible, once a year. Such excellence has earned the Lasarte the top prize in the restaurant world, and since November 2016 the restaurant has been the first in Barcelona to boast three Michelin stars. In addition to Berasategui, the man responsible for the day-to-day operations is Italian chef Paolo Casagrande. His elegance and creativity are seen in dishes such as apple millefeuille, foie gras, and European eel, and the surprising aesthetic of the dishes never surpasses the combination of amazing flavours.

In 2017, Jordi Cruz won a third Michelin star for Àbac, confirming his restaurant once again as the essential haute cuisine establishment in Barcelona. He reached such heights by creating cuisine filled with expertise and sophistication. Take, for example, the egg with asparagus. Sounds simple enough, but Cruz has done a number on the egg that is something out of an R&D think tank. First the yolk is cooked at 62°C, then cured in salt water to give it just the exact subtle touch of salt. Served with white asparagus, a divinely thin slice of Serrano ham and a spoonful of caviar, it's nothing less than spectacular.

Jordi Cruz has taken Angle from Bages to C/Aragó. Like he says, it's a garden-variety restaurant with a Michelin star, meaning you can have a set lunch menu that gives you great value for money and features high-quality cuisine. They use good local produce, like roasted guinea fowl with foie gras, and Eastern touches as well. An example of Cruz's imagination and undisputed creativity is the lemon fish ceviche with grated cucumber and cherries.

Chef Paco Pérez has earned two Michelin stars (2010 and 2013) for his Enoteca. No longer is it just another restaurant in the Hotel Arts, but a heavyweight in Barcelona in its own right. Pérez can also be proud of the two stars he's earned for his Miramar restaurant in the Catalan city of Llançà. Few chefs can translate the flavour of the sea into haute cuisine the way he does, and his craft speaks to the imagination.

Raül Balam, son of Carme Ruscalleda, earned his second Michelin star in 2013 with this leading hotel restaurant. Like the original in Sant Pau, the concept is impeccable, innovative – and very Catalan – cuisine. On the menu you'll find dishes such as the veal 'fricandó' (beef fillet with mushrooms) with Scotch bonnet mushrooms and the Maresme shrimp with glazed tomato petals, a vegetable medley and toasted pine nuts.

With El Bulli closed, what its former chefs Oriol Castro, Eduard Xatruch and Mateu Casañas offer in Distrutar is pure expert and emotional cooking that's a reminder of the mothership. The dishes are incredibly imaginative and made with tremendous precision, such as, for example, the famous macaroni à la carbonara made with ham jelly. Here you'll find an explosion of the senses carried out at the perfect speed. 

The Torres brothers’ rise in popularity and fame has not in any way changed their philosophy that so many customers – and the good folks from the Michelin guide – fell in love with during their time with the now-defunct Dos Cielos. The twins pride themselves on cooking 'through memories', with their cusine based on family recipes and made with seasonal garden-fresh products and using contemporary techniques. Their youngest creation in Barcelona came out strong, with haute cuisine on the tables, showing off the passion the chefs have for fresh raw materials.

Chef Artur Martínez and his Aürt in the Diagonal Mar Hotel, earned their first Michelin star in November 2019 with their stellar ‘posh street food’ or ‘lobby food’ where local products are the star. All the cooking is done before your eyes, as each table or bar area features an induction cooker, a griddle, oven, grill and a wood-burning stove (Martínez is a fan of sharing information with diners about the tasting menu being served). Another surprise is what’s on offer in the lobby, where Martínez has reinvented the concept of the hotel bar/restaurant with signature tapas, and a drinks menu light-years from the dull, overpriced, and just plain poor execution you often find in hotel bars (even luxury ones).

It's an understatement to say their Michelin star is well-deserved. Everything on the menu is out of this world, but the nigiris really steal the show: they come directly from the hands of chef Hideki Matsuhisa, and arrive on your plate with no change in temperature. And they practically melt in your mouth. It's a ceremony where everything is done with precision and control: the cut of the fish, the amount of rice, and the texture. An absolute must for any lover of Japanese cuisine.

Romain Fornell, a child prodigy of haute cuisine in Barcelona, is the only French chef in Barcelona with a Michelin star. Fornell – who's also owner of the restaurant – has moved Caelis from the hotel El Palace, where it was for years, to the Hotel Ohla, where he has carried on with the work he's done in this spot that earned its Michelin star in 2005. You'll find a bold kitchen that's willing to take risks but that also boasts an impeccable classic spirit, conveyed in two tasting menus. And during the week, you can even get a set lunch menu, for €42 with a drink, dessert and coffee included – quite generous for such a prestigious place.

Albert Adrià has done it again with a space so ambitious that it breaks all the moulds. He didn't want to create another El Bulli, but rather to imagine how El Bulli would be today and make that a reality. Like its predecessor in the nearby town of Roses, Enigma blows what we think of a conventional restaurant out of the water. It's located in a majestic space with seven zones that combines Japanese minimalism that the Adrià brothers seem to love, with vintage science fiction along the lines of the first Superman film: ceramic metal, glass and lots of white. You won't know what you're going to eat or even what you're going to see before you go – they don't even show the front door on the website.

In Xerta, the restaurant in the Ohla hotel, you'll find the champion of Barcelona haute cuisine for delving into the great unknown of Catalan gastronomy by using raw materials and recipes from the Delta d'Ebre. Chef Fran López, who at age 25 won a Michelin star at his Villa Retiro restaurant in Xerta, a town in the Delta d'Ebre region, now offers dishes in Barcelona that combine the raw power of the sea with gastronomic creativity. As López himself explains, 'We're the only gastro restaurant with a Delta seal in Barcelona. And that's what makes us so different and interesting in a city where there are great Peruvian, Mexican and Japanese restaurants, and also all sorts of Catalan cooking. But from the south there's nothing. We're from the Delta, we have access to all the raw materials from there, and we're experts in the regional cooking techniques. Here we've got a singular and little-known cuisine – European eels, baby eels, "cajitas", Delta oysters, sea anemones in batter...'. It all sounds delicious to us, Fran.

For 13 years Alkimia operated from C/Indústria, 79, and after a year in the works, Jordi Vilà and Sonia Profitós reopened their restaurant in the Fábrica Moritz. On Indústria it was a good spot for getting to know the basic concept of a modern Barcelona restaurant, but for the reopening, from the first floor where the Mortiz family once lived, Vilà made a surprising announcement of the great offerings they'd have in a minimal space. 'Six tables for 18 people. We all know what they say about gastro restaurants not being profitable. If it's not profitable, why make it bigger? We'll make it better,' he said. In fact, their move to the former flat in Sant Antoni wasn't about expanding (though they do have a fantastic open kitchen) but rather about redefining.

Albert Raurich creatively demonstrates the close links between Asian and Spanish tapas, and does so at such a high level of quality and innovation that he earned Dos Palillos its first Michelin star. The restaurant is a perfect fusion of a blue-collar bar and haute-cuisine Asian restaurant, a place where there are no tables and where, if they don’t have the time, they’re not going to serve you wine. But consider this: part of the Michelin star is always based on service, so the fact that they still got one speaks volumes about their phenomenal Asian tapas.

Oria brings back the tradition chef and restaurateur Martin Berasetegui first implemented in 1993: pay what you want, and he and his team come up with the best tasting menu they can for you. Otherwise, for just €45 (the set lunch menu is €40) they offer a tasting menu that’s brief yet earthy and elegant, with dishes that are simple but with raw power and plenty of surprises. With more than a dozen restaurants to his name (seven with Michelin stars), Berasategui attributes his success to being someone who loves to enjoy himself and good food, as well as being a bit of a non-conformist. And he offers his clientele an unbeatable dining experience that combines those two sides of him.

A lovely space with an imaginative cuisine that stimulates all five senses (hence the name). You’ll be blown away by their range of superb, original dishes, such as their surf ’n’ turf platter with crispy pork cheeks, saffron alioli and grilled squid. Or try chef Jordi Artal's ember-roasted sweet potato. After being roasted for a full hour, it's then stuffed with the foam of its own pulp, herbal bread, and butter and hazelnut cream. In the centre are two quail eggs cooked for exactly 100 seconds. And finally, an injection of oaky smoke.

New haute cuisine with distinct Catalan influences and beautiful desserts, all with impeccable presentation. How does chef Mey Hofmann's calamari with Catalan blood sausage and praline sauce sound? The late chef herself called it 'simple and not overthought', with the praline sauce making an unexpected appearance. The squid are stuffed with the sausage, which is previously heated to soften it up, the not-quite-boiled praline sauce is added, and then it's grilled. The result is fantastically crunchy and quite the combination.

Hisop is a restaurant that mixes experience and innovation with a high level of quality. They specialise in contemporary Catalan cuisine using top-quality products to create new flavours, plus an original and sophisticated touch in the exquisite presentation of their dishes. Throughout the restaurant's history, it has been awarded, among other prizes, with a Michelin star (in 2010), a Sol in the Repsol Guide (2009), and the award for best young chef in 2007 by the Catalan Academy of Gastronomy.

To put it simply, Hoja Santa is one of the best Mexican restaurants in Barcelona. Albert Adrià and Mexican chef Paco Méndez approach popular Mexican tradition with an outlook and products that are both haute cuisine, and from there they manage to get surprising dishes such as the cep mushroom and truffle quesadilla, and the wagyu veal with chichilo mole. Where they really shine is in their gourmet work with vegetables, with dishes that play with the classics – try the pasilla mole with crunchy baby veg.

For over 40 years they've been turning acts as simple as peeling an orange into culinary art. This is a restaurant where true gourmet food lovers should dine – their truffles are peerless, while the service sets the standard for Spanish haute cuisine. They've more recently updated their menu under the direction of young Basque chef Sergio Humada, a prodigy with imagination to spare.

The Adrià brothers have triumphed again with ​​this ambitious Barcelona-based round-up of their philosophy of tapas. With four different sections – seafood, the grill, sweet treats, and little inventive surprises – you'll get El Bulli–style versions of tapas from all around Spain. Squid in its ink with almond paste or grilled watermelon are just a couple examples. Dishes such as crunchy octopus with kimchi mayonnaise or an air baguette with 'rubia galega' steak are already part of Barcelona's haute-cuisine gastronomic heritage. Dining here means a trip through Ferran and Albert Adrià's culinary wisdom, emphasizing the playful nature of eating.

The eatery that Albert Adrià opened in Barcelona after Tickets and 41º is a 'Nikkei' restaurant – a cuisine that was born in Peru out of the mix of indigenous cooking and Japanese immigration. Adrià has run Nikkei cooking through his own filter to come up with surprising dishes, such as a fusion of maki and Peruvian 'causa' of smoked mackerel, or salmon nigiri with yellow capsicum sauce. In Czech, 'pakta' means 'together'. The creativity and excellence at Pakta was rewarded with a Michelin star in 2014.

Barcelona must be among the world’s great gourmet capitals. The offer is varied, high-quality, monumental – from the neighbourhood tapas bar that’s been around for ever to the more than 20 restaurants boasting Michelin stars.