disfrutar

El Celler de Can Roca and Disfrutar restaurants win three prizes, with their cooks among the five best in the world

Restaurant Magazine to honor culinary accomplishments at Singapore gala

Girona’s El Celler de Can Rocahas been voted the world’s third-best restaurant by ‘Restaurant’ magazine. After topping the list in 2013 and 2015, the establishment run by the three Roca brothers ceded its crown to Eleven Madison Park, in New York. However, it received a special distinction during the event: it was awarded the Ferrari Trento Art of Hospitality award for its “outstanding service”. Indeed, El Celler de Can Rocahas been among Restaurant’s best 50 gastronomic establishments in the world for the last 12 years and hasn’t fallen out of the top five in the ranking since 2009. Another Catalan restaurant, Disfrutarfrom three El Bulli alumni received the Miele One to Watch Award, for its innovative offering.

‘Disfrutar’ restaurant in Barcelona has been awarded Best New European Restaurant 2016 in the prestigious Opinionated About Dining (OAD) rankings. The restaurant has also made a breakthrough appearance in the Best European Restaurant ranking, coming in at number 38. The three founders of the restaurant, chefs Eduard Xatruch, Oriol Castro and Mateu Casañas, worked together for 15 years as disciples of Ferran Adrià in the kitchen of ‘El Bulli’, which was five times awarded best restaurant in the world. Indeed ‘Disfrutar’ achieved its first Michelin star last year and two Repsol suns, along with the ‘Restaurant of the Year’ Award given by the Catalan Academy of Gastronomy and Nutrition. This recognition is to be added to the 50 Michelin-star-holding restaurants in Catalonia, 22 of which are located in Barcelona. 

The Spain and Portugal Michelin Guide 2016 added four Catalan restaurants to their prestigious list and awarded them their first Michelin Star. Two of them, Mateu Casañas, Oriol Castro and Eduard Xatruch’s Disfrutar and Albert Adrià and Paco Méndez’s Hoja Santa are disciples of Ferran Adriá’s El Bulli, which was five times awarded best restaurant in the world. Besides these two restaurants from Barcelona, the Hotel Restaurant Emporium located in Castelló d’Empúries, in the north of Catalonia, and Tresmacarrons, in the coastal village of Masnou, also received the prestigious award for the first time. Mallorca restaurant Zaranda, which is led by Fernando Pérez Arellano (who previously worked in the three-Michelin-star-holding Catalan restaurant Can Fabes and the Coque restaurant in Madrid), adds its second star to its record. There are currently 50 restaurants which have been awarded by Michelin Guides, 22 of which are located in Barcelona.