After four years with its shutters down, the emblematic Mundial Bar in the center of Barcelona (Sant Agustí Vell, 1) has just been resurrected – and rejuvenated – without losing its character. The return to life of the establishment that Miquel Tort Robiralta opened in 1925 in El Born and which closed during the pandemic has not been a divine miracle, but almost a fortunate coincidence. It is spearheaded, of course, by the unstoppable Grup Confiteria, which now has 27 establishments in Barcelona, with the meritorious virtue that a good part of its payroll are venerable bar-restaurants, recovered so that the city does not lose an identity threatened by globalization.
After a 2023 of project and business consolidation, in recent months Grup Confiteria has strung together various successful openings with immediate success: the futuristic cocktail bar Focacha on Tuset street; the new life of the mythical picnic area La Font del Gat; the colorful Bonavista terrace atop the Moxy hotel in Sants; and now the Mundial Bar. Only this one has the particularity that it is the group's first owned establishment.
Lito Baldovinos, co-founder of Confiteria alongside Enric Rebordosa, explains that they casually learned that the premises were going up for auction and did not hesitate to rescue them. Although the bureaucracy took more than two years, to which another six months of improvements were added – preserving its original appearance – which have led to its opening to the public this week.
Spaces with soul
Preserving traditional spaces and creating new businesses with soul that can become the "historic" ones of the future is one of the group's mottos.In Mundial Bar, the will to comply with the former is appreciated. A century ago, the establishment became a neuralgic point of the neighborhood, today called Sant Pere, Santa Caterina i la Ribera. It is distinguished by its aesthetics, closely linked to boxing, as it hosted a fan club when this sport became popular in the 1930s and for decades welcomed practitioners, champions, and fans in their leisure time.But, in addition, this character also attracted like a magnet personalities from culture and politics, from the writer and Nobel Prize in literature, Gabriel García Márquez, to the general secretary of the PCE, Santiago Carrillo, among a long list.
Baldovinos recalls that he frequented the bar when he was a university student and the business had already known generations of Tort. Therefore, when facing the renovation, they did not hesitate to count on the family, recover stored pieces, and faithfully reposition the photos and posters from different eras, as they had documented. Of course, the fantastic presidential marble bar and the shelves full of bottles that seem to have never been altered are also maintained. Like the mirrors, which have reflected so many scenes and encounters.
On the facade, the sign emphasizing its founding year has been replicated. And they have even recycled the same tables, but adding a bench at the entrance. They have also incorporated some high tables with stools in the hallway area, very comfortable. In the interior room, there have been some subtle changes in the aesthetics of the walls to improve acoustic comfort, but without losing its spirit. The idea was to respect the legacy of the founders as much as possible, emphasizes the businessman. Just as they have done with their cuisine, based on griddle and frying.
With this coherence, in gastronomic matters, they have not hesitated to resort to the usual menu (Russian salad, cuttlefish, Andalusian-style calamari, display case dishes such as gildas with prawns, anchovies, anchovies...)…, to which they have added some dishes in tune, such as shrimp omelet or Cod Rocks. They have only dispensed with the seafood grills of yesteryear.
In its presentation, the kitchen showed signs of having refined the repertoire to the point that it seemed as if the bar had been running for months. We highlight the cod rocks, the version of the shrimp omelet with red shrimp (just right), the red beach shrimp (of the day) or the potato omelet "arromescada" with red shrimp, and stews such as the Fisherman's suquet (monkfish and mussels) in a small casserole, or the sautéed chickpeas of the day. The offer, at adjusted prices and with agile service, also includes a couple of witty sandwiches: the Tuna Pepito with fried egg, and the fried octopus one.