"We come from being repressed by the pandemic and now it's time to xalar [enjoy in Catalan] and have a good time, without complexes." With this declaration of intentions, Fran López has just opened the Xalar restaurant at the Hotel Boutique Donna on the Paseo Marítimo of Castelldefels, an informal but high-quality culinary proposal that allows not only to enjoy the dishes, but also the views of the sea and the extensive beach of the tourist municipality of Barcelona.
The chef from the Ebro Delta does not seek with this establishment to add a third Michelin star or to make haute cuisine dishes, but there is an effort in each dish to surprise the diner and guarantee his new post-pandemic mantra: "cooking is xalar." "I didn't want to make a gastronomic restaurant; Xalar wants to be a place to eat well on the seafront, where the views are the protagonists," he explains.
Rice dishes have always accompanied Fran López's career and Xalar could not be an exception. But let's not rush, let's start from the beginning. The first surprise comes with a glass of gazpacho. It seems like they are serving you a glass of cava, but no, it is a depigmented tomato gazpacho to which a touch of gas has been added.
We continue. Recommended are the marinated sardines with tomato and basil, the cod brandade and grape mille-feuille, or the crispy cake of tuna belly from Ametlla de Mar with black garlic and orange. If you like shells and want to increase the bill, Xalar does not disappoint. The Delta oysters are a classic of the chef's establishments, and at Xalar he also surprises with a dish of elvers and cod cheeks "al pil pil" with egg yolk. Grilled red prawns, espardeñas or langoustines with thyme mayonnaise put the final touch to the first act.
Fran López's mastery of raw materials will not disappoint you when choosing a good fresh fish as a second course. The way he presents the grilled sole, accompanied by a basil and pine nut meuniere, is suggestive. More substantial and tasty is the confit red tuna parpatana with fennel and apple.
There are also options for carnivores, but let's go for the rice dishes, which is what everyone looks for when sitting on a Mediterranean terrace. Xalar allows us to choose between four options with a common denominator: they are rice dishes made a la llauna and finished with a touch of oven. The simplest, vegetable with truffle emulsion, is served at a price of 17.50 euros per person. We continue with the black rice with squid and thyme mayonnaise and go up a level with the sea nettle and codium seaweed rice. And now comes, again, the surprise: a chaudfroid rice with beef matured for 65 days, presented covered with abundant slices of carpaccio. Contrast of flavors, temperatures, and textures.
We can accompany everything with a wine list that aims to be the most complete in the area and already has more than 200 references. At Xalar, we can skip desserts, because the best way to finish is by ordering the cocktail menu, served in spectacular globe or skull-shaped containers that invite you to extend the afternoon or, now that there is no curfew, also the night.
Without drinks, the average price at Xalar ranges between 35 and 40 euros, but, as always, everything depends on the type of dishes chosen. According to López, during the first three weeks of operation, the average ticket per person was 56 euros, drinks included.
Xalar opens every midday and night and also wants to be the king of the tardeo and contribute to revitalizing the social life of Castelldefels. The beachfront terrace next to the hotel pool is the best place to enjoy Fran López's new gastronomic proposal, as long as it's not too windy, of course. The restaurant also has tables on the beach for a beer or an informal snack and has a glass-enclosed interior dining room from where you can see the sea all year round.
The Hotel Boutique Donna, with 38 rooms and four superior stars, opened in 2017 and had been looking for a chef for some time to elevate its gastronomic level. The hotel belongs to the local construction and development group Santiveri, which built the establishment on the only plot remaining on the beachfront.
In parallel to this new restaurant, Fran López manages the Hotel-Restaurant Villa Retiro, located in Xerta (Tarragona) and which obtained a Michelin star in 2009, when the chef was only 25 years old; and the Xerta Restaurant, located in the Ohla Eixample Hotel, on Córcega street in Barcelona, awarded a star since 2016. The Villa Retiro group, where he shares leadership with his brother, also has its own prestigious cooking school and a family winery (Pagos de Híbera) dedicated to the production of wines and oils.