Los menús de mediodía, el pulso gastronómico de Barcelona por menos de 50 euros

This is how perception works: when a custom has been active for at least a couple of generations, its origin and point of reference become diluted to the point that the custom seems to have existed forever. This effect, of course, leads to tracing the origins of the "menú del día" (daily menu) to determine its role to date. Without the intention of delving deeper, one can glimpse the predecessor of the daily menu in the economic menus offered in Spanish inns at the end of the 19th century, consisting of a single dish.

It is with this essence, that of economy, that in the 1960s the "menú turístico" (tourist menu) was created, an idea by Manuel Fraga (then head of the Ministry of Information and Tourism) to attract tourists with the appeal of a menu with food and drink at a fixed and set price. Or rather, fixed, because the 1965 Law on the Tourist Regulation of Restaurants stipulated what that tourist menu should consist of (and cost), depending on whether the restaurant was luxury, first, second, third, and (or) fourth category. Feasts for mass and cheap tourism that contributed to boosting the economy of that decade, enthroning tourism as a primary sector.

In fact, that same law was active until just over ten years ago, when the Autonomous Communities, as competent in the area of Tourism, reviewed and repealed it. The custom, however, remained in numerous restaurants of all categories. From luxury and grand luxury hotels to gastronomic restaurants at street level, the midday menu retains its validity and health, rebranded as the Executive Menu in allusion to the custom of executives to close deals and businesses during lunches in renowned and prestigious establishments.

With or without a star, the brilliant midday meals in many gastronomic establishments are an attraction both for closing deals and for celebrating or exploring, with prices ranging from €26 to almost €50 per person. A luxury within reach of many.

The very young Jordi Tarrés, chef and owner of the brand new Prodigi, has seen in his midday menu the perfect opportunity to showcase his cuisine. Heir to Oriol Ivern (and his Hisop, where Tarrés worked), he takes advantage and nobility from those less premium cuts and ingredients with creativity, technique, and passion. His lunch menu includes for €26 an appetizer, a starter, a main course, and a dessert. Drinks not included, although it does include gems such as the roasted pumpkin with sage, grilled sobrasada with honey and hazelnut vinaigrette or the free-range chicken breast with parsnip puree, confit kohlrabi and foie sauce.

Taking its name from the contraction of Barcelona and London, Lena Maria Graner and Ricky Smith combine gastronomic backgrounds in an assembly of techniques, ingredients, and preparations. Far from being two different languages, at Balo they converge into a single, very comforting and elegant one: both Catalan and English cultures have strong roots in seasonal and product-based cuisine, in domestic kitchens that made the most of every vegetable or piece of meat, however humble. Their midday menu offers a starter, a main course, and a dessert for €25 per person. It includes water and delicious bread with butter, with exquisite dishes such as blow-torched mackerel with pickled apples and dill or the always succulent low-temperature egg with mushrooms and onion.

From the heart of the Ebro Delta to the center of Barcelona, Fran López brings the rural flavors of southern Catalonia to his gastronomic restaurant Xerta, housed in the Ohla Eixample, a short and summarized version (but no less interesting) of the recipe collection work of the culinary tradition of that land that he offers in his also starred Villa Retiro. From Tuesday to Friday at lunchtime, the Executive Menu is available, which, for €45, offers a starter, a main course (to choose between meat and fish), dessert, bread service, two glasses of wine, and mini sweets as a culmination to the experience. Dishes of memory that extol the product of a territory with dishes such as the famous red tuna belly from l'Atmetlla de Mar with citrus gazpachuelo and chervil oil.

The return of Sergi de Meià to Barcelona is not only celebrated for being able to taste his most iconic dishes again but, above all, for enjoying his midday menus once more. In its new location, in Sant Gervasi, this menu has been baptized as Menú de Cuina Tradicional (Traditional Cuisine Menu) and hides a string of hits at a very small price (37€/pax), among them the Catalan-style spinach with peus de porc (pig's trotters) and blue fish essence or the roasted xisqueta lamb. Two sincere exponents of the honest territorial cuisine that has defined the career of Vilanova de Meià's most celebrated chef.

Oriol Ivern pilots the most affordable Michelin-starred restaurant in the city, with the savoir faire of someone who has been at it for over two decades. Its midday menu remained intact despite receiving its star in 2010 and is, today, one of Barcelona's most famous lunch menus. For its excellent product-based, creative, and technical cuisine, for its incessant search to reflect the nobility of the humble ingredient, and for its price: €38, and it includes two appetizers, a starter, a meat or fish dish, and cheese or dessert to finish. Neither coffee nor drinks are included, luckily the certainty that Hisop remains true to its essence is.

Under the direction of Rodrigo de la Calle, the restaurant Virens at the Almanac Hotel offers the Virens Menu, an exclusive lunch formula with three options for starter, main, and dessert to choose from. For €25 per person, the renowned vegetable and greens cuisine of the Madrid chef is accompanied by high-quality meats and fish, seeking pure flavors and a lightness both on the palate and in digestion (which, by the way, is aided by the intake of kombucha with a small added surcharge that is worth assuming).

The Caelis menu, at the Ohla Via Laietana Hotel, is another of the longest-running lunch menus in Barcelona. Currently, for €48 the menu consists of a starter (to choose between two), a main course (to choose between two) followed by a selection of cheeses or a sweet dessert, plus a coffee or infusion. The menu also includes a glass of white or red wine, according to the sommelier's selection. It is available for lunch from Tuesday to Saturday, for a maximum of 12 diners. An opportunity to taste the contemporary cuisine of Romain Fornell, the French chef who taught Barcelona to love cheese (among other ingredients).

The renovated Intercontinental Hotel has also refreshed the gastronomic proposal that can be tasted within its four walls. Arrel, led by chef Marcos Sierra, captures the essence of his kitchen in its Executive menu, with dishes inspired by those roots that give vitality to the garden and feed animals in a circular existence environment. A tribute to local products that our rich environment provides us (and) that can be enjoyed for €35 per person. It includes a starter, main course, and dessert, as well as a drink (water, wine, or beer). A good opportunity to sit at a table to taste the territory, with a proposal that changes every week and offers dishes as appetizing as the mar i muntanya of potato gnocchi, smoked eel carbonara from the Ebro Delta and oxtail stew or the smoked eggplant, mustard crème fraîche, herbs and nuts.

And finally, although it slightly exceeds the €50 limit, this collection of midday menu jewels cannot be closed without mentioning that of Oria, in the Monument Hotel. Martin Berasategui also signs this more informal proposal from the Gran Lujo hotel, recognized for its magnificent Lasarte (and the direction of Paolo Casagrande). Located in the hotel lobby, the Executive Menu transports the diner through an appetizer, a starter, a main course, and a dessert to choose from various options for each, without neglecting the petit fours. It includes bread service, water, and a glass of wine in its price, €55 per diner. An ideal opportunity to delight in the interior design and the balanced cuisine between technique and product that has made the Basque chef so famous.

Shining stars of Barcelona's gastronomic firmament, midday menus, far from being an anachronism, are a firm commitment of the sector that continues to enjoy good vitality. Being perfectly implemented in the daily lives of Barcelona residents, approaching a gastronomic restaurant for lunch is always a good opportunity to enjoy shorter and more economical formats of the city's best cuisines.