The restaurant scene in Barcelona seems to be beating strongly again. After months of lockdowns, capacity limitations, and with pandemic rates on a downward trend, restaurants are firing up their stoves at full power to respond to a citizenry thirsty for social life. The hegemony of terraces in recent times is giving way to new and transgressive establishments that invite enjoyment of both the food and the space itself. We are seeing culinary proposals that strongly embrace new design and architecture references which, in turn, project a groundbreaking and genuine vision in each of the gastronomic spaces.
Thus, behind every new place to be in Barcelona is the proper name of a studio that draws part of the city's scenography with an innovative stroke that cohabits with other talents in the sector such as Lázaro Rosa Violan, Sandra Tarruella, or Pilar Líbano, who until recently monopolized a large part of the projects. But, who is behind the design of the most fashionable restaurants in the Catalan capital today? We give names and voices to each of them.
Quintana Partners, behind the muse Gala and the cozy Carmina
This Barcelona studio, led by Benito Escat and Pol Castells, has taken six years to become one of the current interior design references. A good example of Quintana Partners' work can be found in the restaurant Gala and the newcomer Carmina. The former has become a grand stage for social posturing where it is difficult to resist (and there's no need to) its theatrical and exuberant atmosphere, complete with fairground horses.
"Our design basis in Gala has been surrealism, especially Dalinian, in a fusion of use and design. The idea is that, upon entering the restaurant, it surprises you and as you advance, you discover the different rooms, atmospheres, details, and surprises," the authors comment. As they themselves point out about Gala: "We believe it will mark a before and after in the world of Barcelona's restoration, as it will boost creativity in interior design and service. Furthermore, it opens a new period for the city with the concept of dinner and drinks, very established in other European cities."
In this same vein, the new Carmina opens in the heart of the Ribera neighborhood a rehabilitated inn in an old 19th-century travel house "centered around an overflowing glass patio with plants and where the original paintings from the settler era have been restored," as pointed out by the designers. "Its warm, reddish colors and rattan textures evoke the Caribbean with a cosmopolitan touch." The fusion of avant-garde, sustainability, with historical essence and touches of irreverence characteristic of Quintana Partners' work invites one to experience each projected space as a great experience in the city.
Iván Pomés, historical legacy in 21st-century version with Croma by Flash
The challenge was not easy, but architect Iván Pomés, from Llamazares Pomés Arquitectura, took on the task of designing the 2.0 version of the legendary Flash Flash omelet restaurant, which in the 70s became a benchmark for the gauge divine phenomenon. The pop iconography projected by his father Leopoldo Pomés in the original project by Federico Correa and Alfonso Milà is today a key element in this "comfortable, cozy, and versatile" establishment, as Iván Pomés himself defines it.
Located at number 640 on Avenida Diagonal in Barcelona, Croma by Flash winks at the past from a contemporary staging where spatial communication at different levels, the grayscale, and with yellow brushstrokes from Kodak rollers, which attract attention, are played with. In addition, "to correct the excessive height, magic boxes are created, large kaleidoscopic lamps that pay homage to the pop image of Flash Flash," as Pomés himself points out. The establishment thus becomes a true tribute to the transgressive philosophy of the original project, through a unique approach with its own identity.
DPoch Studio, hedonistic purity with Belbo Dos Besos
Characterized by creating unique concepts and sensations, the architecture and interior design studio DPoch Studio, founded by Daniel Poch and based in Barcelona since 2006, is responsible for the innovative restaurant Belbo Dos Besos. Located in the central Rambla Catalunya, the new space is designed to offer a leisure and entertainment proposal for the city's most hedonistic profiles.
When designing the restaurant, "the client wanted it to be a charming place, where the influence of Chicago's private clubs from the Prohibition era, together with some cabaret details, would provide a casual, elegant and at the same time modern touch," point out from DPoch Studio. The result is a space created to enjoy Italian-accented gastronomy where the more casual and public environments (at street level) contrast with more formal and exclusive ones (Champagne Room). "The period of restrictions and the expected arrival of the end of covid-19 led us to design a place where people could live an experience that would make them disconnect and at the same time reconnect with themselves and with the current way of having fun and enjoying themselves."
Lekuonastudio, creators of sensory dimensions in El japonés escondido
Within the creative universe of Emilio Lecuona and Cristina Güell, the Lekuonastudio team, references from Japanese culture play an important role since they often travel to Japan to recharge their batteries and get inspired by its aesthetics, the way of doing things and understanding life. All this legacy has been projected in El japonés escondido which, added to a well-conceived and managed gastronomic proposal and subsequent word-of-mouth, has made it one of the benchmark Japanese cuisine restaurants in the Catalan capital.
"The premises were to create a Japanese place with a lot of identity, and for that, we extracted the essence transmitted by an izakaya, a typical Japanese tavern," explains Emilio Lecuona. With their maxim of wanting to say a lot with little, Lekuonastudio shaped a sensory universe rich in nuances. "The place breathes creativity, joy, new airs, all these things one wants to be close to and soak in." And it is precisely this good work, which includes Lekuonastudio's work, that is the success of this establishment.
Cristina Carulla, the artist of the Adobo/Adobar workshop
In the upper area of Barcelona, specifically in the Les Tres Torres neighborhood, the restaurant Adobo/Adobar is located. Here, interior designer Cristina Carulla wanted to create a creative space where the client, in addition to living a gastronomic experience, lets themselves be carried away by the five senses, emulating being immersed in "a painter's workshop who receives them in their studio for lunch or dinner," as Carulla herself points out.
Starting from here, the hand-painted borders, the wallpaper, the large-format paintings on the walls, or the earthy color palette, among others, become evocative elements of this creative universe. "Regarding the furniture, we decided to put different types of chairs and ungrouped them, as we liked the idea of thinking of a dinner where people keep joining and end up bringing and sitting on chairs from other spaces in the house."
The nature of the premises helped enhance the entry of natural light that bathes the space, creating a cozy atmosphere by day and an intimate one by night. An environment surrounded by vegetation acts as a curtain while enriching the oasis character that the establishment plays in the middle of the city.
Turull-Sørensen Arquitectos, parents of the Maná 75º frying pan temple
All (or almost all) paella lovers in Barcelona know or have heard of Maná 75º. But beyond its gastronomic proposal, the restaurant located a few meters from Sant Sebastià beach transmits an extra dose of good vibes and festive atmosphere, thanks to the project created by architects Inés Sørensen and Federico Turull, the alma mater of the Barcelona studio TurullSørensen Arquitectos.
The space is characterized by a central kitchen layout where eighteen burners allow diners to watch the preparation while seated and enjoying the natural light coming in from the large windows. All of this in "an atmosphere created mainly by different colorful fabrics, arranged on the ceiling, that accompany the diner and transmit this sensation of light construction, linked to the sea and the pleasures of summer dreams," as explained by the studio itself.
AZ Architects, the modern cave of La Papa Barcelona
Architect Hugo Andrelo has managed to make his own restaurant, La Papa Barcelona, a good calling card in the city of Barcelona. The business, launched with his partner, Agustina Prinsich, specializes in healthy food, and bears the creative imprint of AZ Architects, a studio formed by Andrelo himself, his partner Nicolás Zanchetta, and Agustina Conoscenti, responsible for creative direction and visual identity.
The result is a space that connects the natural with the modern, the organic with the contemporary, resulting in an unusual proposal that, beyond gastronomy, embraces fashion and design, under a concept-store philosophy. Located in the heart of Barcelona's Eixample, La Papa thus becomes a refuge in the middle of the city, ready to envelop the consumer and fill them with a "unique sensory experience."
Trenchs Studio and IF Architects, a trip to the Middle East with Sumac & Mambo
Despite founding his own studio in 2020, Ricard Trenchs has extensive experience in interior design, and in this new stage, he has partnered with Florencia Finsterwald to shape Sumac & Mambo, a project carried out 50% by Trench Studio and IF Architects. Although it has only been open for a few months, the venue has managed to attract curious glances, eager for fun and originality. And it's no wonder, since the interior design invites you to transport yourself to the avant-garde Tehran of the 70s, in tune with the Iranian cuisine dishes on the menu.
"We wanted to create three differentiated zones: a first lounge area, for drinks; a second, narrower transition area, which occupies the bar and is designed for standing; and a third, more restaurant-like area, where the kitchen, located in the central zone, becomes the great protagonist," describes Trenchs himself. The result is a place full of color, energy, and dynamism, where many things happen and where one is invited to enjoy and be seen on the city's streets and venues.