The summer solstice is always an invitation to go out, to inaugurate the "holiday mode" and to make plans. Days stretch and one feels like going out, enjoying the city and sharing. It is the prelude to Sant Joan, that mystical night where fire purifies the past and ignites the desires of the future. This year, the ritual is not only experienced on the beaches or in the squares and streets illuminated by bonfires; it can be celebrated around a table.
Because it is the perfect time to taste and discover the new proposals that the city's restaurants offer. Here are four of them, at least different. Four establishments that invite you to experience this time of year savoring their best culinary creations that also come with certain surprises.
Neo Bistro and its homage to summer light
Neo Bistro (C/Aribau, 151) proposes one of the most unique experiences this summer in Barcelona with the city's first solar menu. A menu "full of light" that, however, can be enjoyed at night. Between June 26 and August 12, diners can taste this striking proposal created by chef Achraf Rahmoun to pay homage to Mediterranean light.
The menu offers a gastronomic journey built solely with red, orange, and yellow ingredients, the colors inspired by the solar star. Thus, a blood orange cocktail welcomes the diner. Under the name Sol y Mar (Sun and Sea), an appetizer with soft orange tones follows: red shrimp tartare with kumquat. The Solar Crown continues, a scallop carpaccio with yuzu emulsion and Jerusalem artichoke crisp.
The Reddish Fire is represented by the tataki of old cow sirloin with marinated beetroot and reduced meat juice. The experience closes with the Stellar Sweet, a tonka bean ganache with Maresme strawberries and blood orange granita.
Entre Cielos, fire and reinterpreted Catalan tradition
The Sant Joan celebration can also be enjoyed from above. The recently opened cocktail bar Entre Cielos (Av. Diagonal, 671), in Torre Melina Gran Melià, proposes an experience that revolves around one of the most universal symbols of this magical night: fire.
With privileged views over Barcelona, the space recovers the spirit of traditional bonfires through a contemporary reinterpretation of queimada, prepared at the table with burnt rum, coffee, citrus, and spices. The proposal is completed with artisanal Sant Joan coca and a glass of cava, in an experience designed to share and enjoy the verbena from a more intimate and sensory perspective. A different way to experience one of the most emblematic nights of the Catalan calendar, between tradition, gastronomy, and signature cocktails.
And for those who want the experience to be more complete - and gastronomic - before the ritual, you can satisfy "the gluttony" at Erre & Urrechu Barcelona, in Beso Pedralbes, or at Grand Café Torre Melina 1992, the three restaurants of the charismatic Barcelona hotel.
The Barcelona EDITION, a Sant Joan for every style
In the heart of El Born, The Barcelona EDITION (Av. de Francesc Cambó) offers three different ways to celebrate the night of Sant Joan. The most gastronomic experience is at Veraz, where chef Álvaro Salazar has designed a five-course tasting menu that explores Mediterranean flavors and seasonal products, with dishes such as palo cortado shrimp, Iberian pork ravioli, or red mullet stew.
For those who prefer to enjoy the verbena outdoors, The ROOF offers a dinner under the Barcelona sky with privileged views of the old town and a menu that includes Folgueroles coca, grilled octopus, and a refreshing strawberry pannacotta.
The third option comes from Punch Room, which transforms tradition into a more informal and sweet experience thanks to a punch bowl to share and an original reinterpretation of the Sant Joan coca turned into a dessert, with cream mousse, brioche ice cream, cherries, and pine nut crumble. Three proposals to toast to the arrival of summer from one of the most cosmopolitan corners of the city.
Mayura and 'Las Noches de Agni"
Mayura (C/ Girona, 57) continues to find new ways to surprise its customers. This summer it does so with a proposal that combines cuisine, cocktails, and tradition. Until June 30, the restaurant led by Rajnish Kapoor and Mayura Kapoor celebrates Las Noches de Agni, an experience inspired by the Hindu god of fire that invites you to welcome summer through the senses.
Because as a final touch to each dinner, diners receive a paper where they write a wish for the new summer cycle; after burning it at the table, its ashes melt in a bowl with water and rose petals, in an evocative ritual that symbolizes transformation, renewal, and the arrival of summer.
A different experience that turns dinner into a small journey into the culture, flavors, and spirituality of India.