Barcelona's Disfrutar named second-best restaurant in the world
Mateu Casañas, Oriol Castro, and Eduard Xatruch's establishment ranked best in Europe
Barcelona's Disfrutar restaurant was considered the second best establishment by the British magazine 'Restaurant,' which unveiled its ranking 'The world's 50 best restaurants' on Tuesday in the Spanish seaside city of Valencia.
Disfrutar opened in Barcelona in December 2014 and is led by three former chefs of Ferran Adrià's El Bulli restaurant, which recently reopened 12 years after closing as a museum. Mateu Casañas, Oriol Castro, and Eduard Xatruch were recognized for their avant-garde and creative cuisine.
The restaurant has seen skyrocketing recognition, as it went from rank 9 in 2019 to 5th in 2021, and last year it was third. This year, while not considered the best in the world, it was named the best restaurant in Europe.
Since 2018, Disfrutar has had two Michelin stars.
After leaving El Bulli, Casañas, Castro, and Xatruch opened Compartir in the northern seaside town of Cadaqués, and because of the success, the trio decided to open a restaurant in Barcelona's Eixample neighborhood.
Catalan gastronomy was heavily recognized in the past, with the magazine awarding accolades to Ferran Adrià's El Bulli restaurant and the Roca siblings' El Celler de Can Roca.
Next year, the restaurant will compete to get a place in the 'Best of the Best' category. That would mean being named the best one, as, since 2019, all world's best restaurants are automatically placed in the 'Best of the Best' category, where Disfrutar will find El Celler de Can Roca, l'Osteria Francescana, The Fat Duck, Eleven Madison Park, Mirazur, and from this year, Copenhagen's Geranium.
The workers heavily welcomed the return to the restaurant, as the team was "happy and surprised, we did not expect it, to be honest, we're so happy, I'm getting emotional," Chef Oriol Castro said.
Paradiso
Last year, a bar in Barcelona, Paradiso, was named the best bar in the world, while two others also featured in the top 10.
Listen to our Filling the Sink podcast episode from back then to learn more about the establishment.