Honoring the name of Barcelona's Born neighborhood, Borneta, a hotel that captivates with its personality, warmth, and design, opened its doors just a few months ago. It is the debut of the new hotel brand Miiro, which launched last year in the Catalan capital and Paris, and plans more openings during 2025. Among its mantras is the connection with local culture, something they have also brought to the kitchens of Volta, their attractive street-level restaurant.
With capacity for 160 people, and presided over by the Porxos de Fontserè, its name alludes both to that volta catalana or identifying architectural curve and to the Catalan verb voltar (to walk or travel), which here can be applied to its gastronomy. The kitchen is led by Andrea De Benedictis, who already showed his talent at the successful Cecconi's, and who has now given coherence and body to Volta's proposal in just a few months.
Its recipe book is based on a Mediterranean journey that covers Italy, France, Spain, and North Africa, but surrenders to local produce. Thus, meat comes mainly from Girona; fish, from Palamós or nearby ports, and vegetables are selected daily from nearby organic producers who send photos of the day's pieces.
And with that philosophy, De Benedictis displays his talent on a stage to match. The restaurant is made up of different areas, even with a private dining area. And although the menu offers ample reasons to repeat a visit, we tried the Chef's table experience, where not only is it tasted, but the preparation is also witnessed.
Volta has an open kitchen, but only from its six bar stools can one enjoy a front-row view of how the chef and his team work. It means letting oneself be guided by what the head chef prepares, based on the best product of the day and a harmony of dishes that parade for the diner's enjoyment.
We were able to try the Fine Claire n.2 fried oysters with three breads, citrus vinaigrette gel (lime, orange, and tangerine), a surprising explosion in the mouth, which plays with textures and rediscovers the mollusk. This was followed, also in bite-sized format, by the Millefeuille of bread, marinated peppers, smoked sardine, and homemade parsley butter, which elegantly combines sweet, smoked, and salty (on the menu for 4.5 euros per unit). One must resist the temptation to order a second piece…
Festival of product and presentation
One of the stars of the repertoire that day was the organic egg, potato foam, mushrooms and black truffle (13 euros). It is cooked at a low temperature and the mushroom base on that occasion included rossinyols, trumpets and beef tongue. When breaking the egg with the spoon, the mixture of all the ingredients in the mouth is brutal.
It was followed by his soft-shell crab with saffron mayonnaise. This is crab caught when it changes its shell and, due to its "soft skin" ---as the chef defines it--- it can be eaten whole. They fry it in a light tempura of sparkling water and flour, and then serve it with mayonnaise and sweet paprika. It explodes in the mouth.
To cleanse the palate a bit before the main course assault, it was perfect to try the Volta beetroot, gorgonzola and walnut salad, recently added to the menu and essential. It combines three beetroots (red, pink and white) cooked in various textures (raw, cooked, pickled) and adds seasonal roots like radish, dressed with a mustard and honey vinaigrette.
Powerful main courses
Impossible to dine with an Italian chef without some pasta dish appearing. Here he opted for the culurgiones with pecorino, potato, mint and truffle. This is a typical Sardinian dish, a type of ravioli shaped like an ear of wheat, very consistent and filled with potato, mint and pecorino, incorporating Jerusalem artichoke and pecorino cream, topped with white truffle.
In a new course, De Benedictis fused sea and mountain. A cod kokotxa al pil pil, finished with a touch of white wine, potato and chicken demi-glace. To be enjoyed as a perfect bite. Finally, the majestic ossobuco with bone marrow and celeriac arrived. It is prepared in a terrine and accompanied by the bone with marrow and celeriac cream. The sauce is a reduced demi-glace with orange. The result, once everything is linked on the spoon, is a bomb of flavor and a lesson in balance of intensities, overflowing with technique.
For dessert, we managed to try the cheesecake and cherry coulis, delicious and creamy, although the chef assures that one must return to devour the Chocolate Texture with hazelnuts and raspberry.
Despite Volta's short history, it can also boast of attentive table service that makes the customer feel comfortable. The wine list is chosen with care, it is short but broad-minded: from the territory to the countries that influence its kitchens. From the house (Catalan) wines starting at 29 euros, to jewels like a Vizcarra Torralbo 2021, and some brilliant French ones.
Options and prices
Volta can be enjoyed à la carte or with the Chef's Table experience, which can be adjusted to the client's tastes, starting from 80 euros. As a base, it offers the option of eight dishes for 80 euros, which includes six small dishes, a pre-dessert and a dessert; or the ten-dish option for 100 euros, which includes eight small dishes, a pre-dessert and a dessert.
Two other excuses to visit Volta are its successful midday menu at 20 euros, and the new Sunday brunch at 45 euros with a cocktail included. Because one must not fail to peek into the annexed bar that completes the offer, with signature cocktails that round off any evening.