El Born celebrates a new edition of the Born Street Food festival

A pinch of tradition, mixed with avant-garde cuisine and a side of revelry and festivity. These are the ingredients of the ninth edition of Born Street Food. On June 17, 18 and 19, the Pla de Palau hosts this gastronomic event in the Born neighborhood, organized by the Barcelona Born Gourmet association, which brings together seventeen restaurants and select food stores in the area, and dedicated to lovers of good food.

This is the first June, after the hiatus caused by the pandemic, that the festival is held free of epidemiological restrictions. And, on the occasion of the Ribera festivities, its manager, the Basque chef Iñaki López de Viñaspre, foresees a gastronomic evening "unique in the city of Barcelona", which will once again offer its visitors all kinds of tastings, wine pairings, fresh product sales, live culinary shows (roasts, rice dishes, stews) and music from local DJs.

The most avant-garde cuisine will be combined with the most traditional dishes, a sample of the gastronomic diversity offered by the Born neighborhood. The Ikoya restaurant, which opened its doors last January in front of the Mercado de Santa Caterina, joins the event bringing the atmosphere of Tokyo's Japanese taverns, with Michelin star Hideki Matsuhisa at the helm of the stoves.

Among the emblematic establishments in the area that will serve their specialties to visitors of Born Street Food are Restaurant 7 Portes, 1881 per Sagardi, the Argentine El Foro, the pinchos from Euskal Etxea or Golfo de Vizcaya, the tapas from Tapeo, the cured meats from Pork... boig per tu, the Mexican flavors of Oaxaca Cuina Mexicana, the roasts from Sagardi Cuiners Vascos, the sandwiches from Sagàs Pagesos i Cuiners, the fish and seafood from Restaurant Cadaqués and the Cofraria de pescadors de Barcelona, the Italian pizzas and pastas from Bronzo Bar e Cucina. All accompanied by wines from Bodega Vidrios y Cristales and Vila Viniteca, and the cosmopolitan atmosphere of Guzzo Gastroclub.

The fame and gastronomic relevance of Born date back centuries, when it had Barcelona's central fruit and vegetable market, before it was moved to the Zona Franca under the name Mercabarna. Inaugurated in 1876 by Josep Fontserè, it was the first large iron architecture building projected in the city. The increase in Barcelona's population and the growth of commercial exchanges congested the activity of the Boquería Market. Faced with the impossibility of building a new building to alleviate this situation, from 1921 the Born neighborhood served as Barcelona's main wholesale market.

The doors of Born Street Food will open to the public this Friday, June 17, and Saturday, June 18, from 12:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m., and Sunday, June 19, from noon until 10:00 p.m. The organizers estimate that an average of between 15,000 and 20,000 visitors will attend Pla de Palau square over the three days. Those who cannot attend the event will have another opportunity in September, coinciding with the celebrations of La Mercè.