Albert Adrià continues to divest from establishments in Barcelona. The pandemic has marked a before and after in the presence of the renowned chef and pastry chef in the city, who after saying goodbye to Tickets, Pakta, and Bodega 1900, is now divesting from the Hoja Santa restaurant, which will begin a new phase under the name Come.
Adrià has transferred Hoja Santa to Mexican chef Paco Méndez, who was the head chef of the establishment located on Avenida Mistral, in the Sant Antoni neighborhood, and who will now lead it with his wife, Erinna Marciano, who also worked at the establishment. According to the specialized portal Gastroeconomy, Méndez will create "a gastronomic format that will be the natural evolution of the work carried out for more than ten years alongside Albert Adrià."
The new Come is already undergoing remodeling and is expected to open in spring. "We couldn't let the Mexican cuisine project started with Hoja Santa be lost," Méndez tells the aforementioned publication, after recalling that the restaurant marked a milestone by obtaining the first Michelin star awarded to a Mexican restaurant in Barcelona.
Hoja Santa opened in autumn 2014 and closed its doors in March 2020 as a result of the lockdown. Initially, there was also a taqueria called Niño Viejo in the premises, but this space was integrated into Hoja Santa in 2018, disappearing as a brand. According to Méndez, during these years of operation, the kitchen team he led alongside Albert Adrià created up to 500 recipes, a heritage he does not want to lose.
The chosen name has several meanings; it is the acronym for Mexican cuisine (cocina mexicana), it is a form of the verb "comer" (to eat) and it also alludes to the verb to come in English, that is, "ven" (come), or "venir" (to come). Méndez's idea is for Come to continue being a fine dining restaurant, so the average ticket is expected to be close to one hundred euros, with a capacity to serve between 40 and 45 customers at night and about 35 at midday, with a la carte or menu options. The restaurant will only open four days a week, from Wednesday to Saturday.
Born in Mexico, Méndez has resided in Spain since 2011, when he joined Albert Adrià's gastronomic group, elBarri. Before that, he had trained in restaurants such as Arzak and El Bulli, and with Albert Adrià, he worked at Tickets, Pakta, and Bodega 1900 and was key in the conception of the Hoja Santa concept, of which he was head chef.
The upcoming opening of Come coincides with the rebranding of Tickets, the most emblematic restaurant Albert Adrià had and which now, after passing into the hands of businessman Manuel Lao, will reopen under the name Teatro, as advanced by The New Barcelona Post.