Barcelona, 15th in global rankings for most Michelin stars, 3rd in Europe

Barcelona is 15th in the global rankings of cities with the most Michelin stars, according to data from the culinary guide analyzed by the Catalan News Agency.

The Catalan capital boasts 39 stars in a list led by Tokyo (220) and Paris (157).

Indeed, the French city is number 1 in Europe, while Barcelona is third on the continent, also behind London (103).

In Spain, Barcelona is first by a narrow gap to Madrid (37). Both cities have the same number of Michelin-starred restaurants, 29. But the former excels in three-star establishments, with Hermanos Torres, Lasarte, Disfrutar and ABaC putting the city in the seventh position worldwide in this category.

Out of the 148 restaurants with the maximum recognition by the Michelin guide across the globe, 4 are in the Barcelona, while 12 are in Tokyo, 11 in Paris and 7 in Hong Kong.

As for restaurants with two stars, the Catalan city only has two –Cinc Sentits and Enoteca Paco Pérez–, far from the 26 in Tokyo, and Barcelona is 14th in the world in the single-star category, with 23.

Why is the city, and the whole of Catalonia, so successful in haute cuisine? The Catalan Gastronomy and Nutrition Academy believes this is down to its "strong, rooted gastronomic culture imbued everywhere."

For its president, Carles Vilarrubí, local talent, and the diversity of products due to the different landscapes in such a small area are also key to understand the phenomenon.

Ferran Adrià shaped Catalonia's gastronomic modern landscape

Yet, according to him, there was a tipping point that skyrocketed the fame of Catalonia as a gastronomy hub a few decades ago: the breakthrough of the world-class chef Ferran Adrià, born in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, just south of Barcelona.

Talking to ACN, Vilarrubí explains that historic El Bulli restaurant's leader brought a "revolution" thanks to his innovation and talent which led to many others following him.

In his iconic establishment, Adrià managed to retain the three Michelin stars for many years and achieved the world's top restaurant award, given by The Restaurant Magazine, five times: in 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009.

El Bulli closed its doors in 2011, reopened as a gastronomic lab in 2014, and in 2023 reshuffled and reopened as a museum called elBulli1846.

Some of the chefs who worked in El Bulli went on to open their restaurants and achieve Michelin stars, shaping the country's modern gastronomic landscape.

Girona makes it to top 100 in Michelin stars

The Roca brothers have also become some of the most awarded chefs in the world in the past few years thanks to their restaurant El Celler de Can Roca.

Josep, Joan, and Jordi are largely to blame for Girona making it to the top 100 cities in the world in number of Michelin stars in 2025.

The northeastern Catalan town, with a population of around 100,000 inhabitants, boasts five stars: three for Celler de Can Roca, one for Divinum, and one for Massana.

Girona is the fifth municipality in the Spanish ranking, only behind Barcelona (39), Madrid (37), Valencia (10), and San Sebastian (10).

Little presence of Catalan traditional cuisine in top restaurants

Out of the 62 restaurants given at least a star in the famed guide, only one is labeled as 'Catalan cuisine', Els Casals, in Sagàs (Berguedà county).

Vilarrubí regrets that the sector "lacks pointing out the value of traditional cuisine."

For him, both modern and traditional styles should be "at the same level."

Indeed, the head of the gastronomic academy explains that Catalonia's haute cuisine has always had a big influence of the French one, which will continue as a "model."

Yet, "in the past 25 to 30 years there has been a big impact of the Japanese cuisine," thanks to its simplicity, and the healthy food trends, being Carme Ruscalleda its most famous example with her now closed Sant Pau, in Sant Pol de Mar.