Ben Pawlowski
DISFRUTAR, located in the heart of Barcelona’s thriving Eixample district, has been crowned the World’s Best Restaurant.
Offering tasting menus that celebrate avant-garde Mediterranean cuisine in a chic setting, Disfrutar was awarded the title at ‘The World’s 50 Best Restaurants’ ceremony in Las Vegas.
The restaurant was praised for ‘imaginative dishes that are executed with exceptional technical skills and served in the most playful way possible’ which ensure that customers ‘have the dining experience of a lifetime’.
The judges said: “Two parallel menus of 30 courses are on offer: The Classic and The Festival. The former features dishes such as Thai-style cuttlefish with coconut multi-spherical, and squab with kombu spaghetti, almond and grape, while the famously indulgent caviar-filled Panchino doughnut and brilliant frozen gazpacho sandwich can be found in the Classic option”.
Disfrutar’s three founding chefs, Oriol Castro, Eduard Xatruch and Mateu Casañas, were visibly emotional as they collected their award on Thursday morning.
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Xatruch dedicated the award to everyone who ‘has worked and continues to work everyday to make this profession wonderful’, whilst Castro said he was ‘surprised and honoured’ to win the ‘magical’ award, adding that he wanted ‘to thank and congratulate our colleagues who are on the list and who have each contributed to building a great gastronomy’.
Last year, Disfrutar came second but was beaten to the top spot by Central, a restaurant based in Lima, Peru.
This year, the list had a distinctive Spanish taste with Asador Etxebarri, based in the Basque village of Atxondo, coming second, and Diverxo, a Madrid-based restaurant which is home to the World’s Best Sommelier for 2023, coming in fourth position.
Elsewhere, Quique Dacosta on the Costa Blanca came 14th, whilst Elkano, another Basque restaurant celebrating the region’s famous gastronomy, came in 28th position.
Disfrutar, which received its third Michelin star last year, is celebrating its 10th anniversary in December.
However, if you want to sample some of the world’s best food, there is a hitch – unsurprisingly, the restaurant is booked up years in advance with, at the time of writing, no availability.
If you’re lucky enough to get your hands on a reservation, the Classic or Festival tasting menu will set you back €290, with the specially crafted wine pairing costing an extra €160 per person.
Alternatively, the trio of acclaimed chefs do own two sister restaurants – both are called Compartir, with one opened in Barcelona in 2022, and one based in the popular Costa Brava seaside town of Cadaques since 2012.
