VIP Barcelona

By Anthony Grant

updated 3:41 p.m. ET Sept. 5, 2008

"Barcelona, posa't guapa" — "Doll yourself up!" That's what Barcelona's city hall advised the denizens of this vibrant Mediterranean city to do in the run-up to the 1992 Summer Olympics. Sixteen years later, they're still fervently following that characteristically Catalan directive. A distinct yen for experimentation in design — look no further than Antoni Gaudí’s iconic Sagrada Familia, now expected to be completely roofed by 2010 — coupled with a buoyant civic pride make Barcelona fertile ground for creative types and rewarding terrain for the curious traveler.

Design in its myriad forms is a central thread uniting the fabric of this city, which means that one could see things as opposite as Santiago Calatrava’s ethereal Communications Tower atop Montjuïc hill (built for the 1992 Olympics) and Gaudí’s ebullient Parc Güell garden, with its glorious mosaic work and sweeping coastal views, making more sense here than they might somewhere else. And if the over-the-top Palau de la Musica Catalana concert hall of a century ago is a symbol of Catalan creativity, so too is the soon-to-open Terminal B at Barcelona International Airport, which very nearly replicates the gentle blue waves lapping a few hundred meters away.

Even Barcelona’s food culture is shot through with a design ethos — famously so, in fact. Gaudí's modern-day culinary equivalent may well be star chef Ferran Adria, whose El Bulli restaurant up the coast from Barcelona brings what could only be termed alchemy to the kitchen and is quite possibly the world's most innovative restaurant. If Adria raised the bar of gastronomic invention so high (starting in the '90s) that no one can else can quite reach it, scores of young chefs have followed the trail he blazed.

A major culinary innovator in Barcelona is Espai Sucre, one of the world’s very few all-dessert restaurants and arguably the best. The décor is streamlined and spare — very 21st century Barcelona — and the plates change color and shape with each course, plus the menu is simply outrageous. Where else are you going to find “Marialuisa” cold soup with green apple and spicy yogurt ice cream, or bread pudding with pineapple and—bacon ice cream? Yes, you can order something on the saltier side, such as duck magret with cacao cake and lemon, but you’d be advised to chase it down with ginger ale-cucumber and pineapple-tarragon sherbet. If you really want to dabble on the edge of gastronomic possibility, try the “Empyreumatic:” a mysterious mélange of chicory ice cream, walnut meringue and beer foam. Dessert-wine pairings are doubly decadent, but encouraged. Tasting menus start at 30 euros.

Barcelona bistros Gresca and Inopia (the latter, a tapas bar, was opened by Ferran Adria's brother Albert) have much deserved acclaim, but some newer kids on the block are packing diners in, too. Examples abound of what a prominent Catalan journalist has dubbed "bistronomia" — innovative cooking at down-to-earth prices. But standouts include Cinc Sentits, Embat and Hisop. Hisop is a study in black and red, décor-wise, but the kitchen is all about the culinary chemistry between chef-owners Oriol Ivern and Guillem Pla. They bring a healthy serving of imagination to such mainstays as a side of rice (served with baby squid and truffle) and foie gras (with cherries and licorice added); for dessert, who could resist "strawberries, cocoa and roses"?

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Another new Barcelona bistro that should be in your little black book is Embat, a small, hip eatery run by two chefs who met while working at Espai Sucre. Décor is surprisingly simple — think single light bulbs covered in bronzy netting to light up a mere ten tables — and tasting menus which, at 38 euros, are surprisingly affordable. Over in the trendy Eixample district, you’ll want to reserve at Cinc Sentis (Catalan for “five senses”), another shining example of the bistronomia phenomenon. The chef sources all the ingredients from Spain, whether that means veal from green Galicia to spring peas from Llavaneres. Tasting menus are de rigueur and change with the market, but expect the likes of Iberian suckling pig with ratafia-glazed apples and honey reduction. For dessert, there are “textures of lemon”—the citrus fruit as cake, ice cream, foam, curd and vodka ice. What’s Catalan for "yum"?

Hotel Omm Move past the Omm's large, swanky lobby and up to the intentionally dark hallways, and open the door to a large guestroom where natural materials predominate and smooth hardwood floors are a comforting counterpart to the asphalt tangle outside.

Well, a Spanish term that's synonymous with delicious is "tapas," and Barcelona has no shortage of hot tapas bars. Try the excellent hole-in-the-wall named Quimet, near Avinguda Paralelo. A trendy but affordable tapas restaurant that invites leisurely ordering and lingering is Celler de Tapas, located on Plaza Universidad on the edge of the Eixample and an easy stroll from Las Ramblas. Their “patatas bravas” — fried potatoes with spicy tomato sauce — are addictive. Designer tapas treats are the calling card of Arola, a posh seaside eatery in the Hotel Arts. For classic Catalan seafood, meander around the Barceloneta district, where three top tables are El Lobito, Jaica and El Suquet de l’Amirall.

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