Disfrutar

Looking for a meal that is anything but ordinary, and getting tired of your typical steak and potatoes? Disfrutar (meaning «enjoy» in English) offers the cure with a menu that is cutting edge, whimsical, and seriously on point with its flavors. Truly some of the best molecular cuisine I’ve ever experienced, the courses were the perfect combination of interactive and well constructed. While I’m not sure there is any over-​arching theme to the meal, each course told its own story. Also, whatever mastermind is in the kitchen should clearly consider a part-​time career as an Theatrical Producer, as course after course came out with a flair for the dramatic. I’m guessing this is likely due to the chefs’ El Bulli lineage, and I’m grateful for that time and training.
Caulfilower «sushi» came alongside translucent dumplings that emerged from a billowing puff of dry-​iced induced chicanery. Smoky, whiskey was used as a pre-​course hand rinse for the deconstructed whiskey cake course. Mushroom consommé was served like an old fashioned cocktail, right down to the orange peel garnish. Each dish was elaborately displayed, plated with the utmost precision, and tasted even better than it looked. I won’t provide a full play by play of each, as the menu is sure to change, but I will divulge that there are guaranteed to be some surprises, and a wonderful balance of textures.
There are three different menus to choose from, a daily menu, the «Menu Festival», and the «Menu Disfrutar.» While I wouldn’t describe Disfrutar as «cheap,» it was a bargain relative to other restaurants of its caliber, and in fact I’ve spent far more for far less. It was especially superlative with the amount of forethought and design that when into each plate, and I definitely left full afterwards (which again is not always the case with fine dining). The entire experience does take about 3 hours, so be sure to plan accordingly. However, when we went, our servers we very good about keeping things progressing nicely so that there was no huge breaks between where we found ourselves wishing they would hurry up (unlike some other establishments). Speaking of the service, I don’t usually mention it unless it was extraordinarily fabulous, or mind-​numbingly abysmal. Disfrutar fell into the former, catering to our every whim. The water never went unfilled, and they went above and beyond to make sure we were comfortable. Case in point, when the waiter noticed me hobbling towards the stairs for the restroom (I had injured myself earlier on our trip), he made a point to instead guide me to their service elevator, even though they were in the middle of filming on the other side of the restaurant where it was located and meant moving objects, and diverting multiple members to assist me. It is the kind of thing that most would not inconvenience themselves to bother with, but for a girl with a sprained ankle, it meant the world.
Considering they just earned their first Michelin star, I’d say the cat is out of the bag. However I’m sure they’ll be earning more in the future, so be sure to go while you can still get in without 11 months of planning.

We arrived cordially on time at 2pm. The first part of the service was excellent and we felt very welcomed and looked after, until our waitress was called to serve the other area. The gaps between meals become longer and longer, the introduction of the courses before lackadaisical, they even ended up missing a course. Water was not filled and when I did ask some stupid girl fill my glass to the full and gave one drop to my other guest. It took 3 attempts for the bill to come and the sour-​faced maitre ‘d did not even thank us. I would expect after spending more than 450 euro on lunch in Barcelona, that’s the least you can do. A smile and a thank you! It was a 4 hour dinner when it should have been 3, even
after we paid our coats were not returned to us, e had to chase them down. Dear Disfrutar, I don’t care if you are an undeserving michelin star restaurant, if you have incompetent people working the floor, then you are only a kitchen selling wannabe food with unsatisfying experience. I spent the first 2,5 hours of the meal planning to come back but you managed to ruin everything by the last 90mins of service when it should only have taken 30 mins. Dear Disfrutar, no disfruto NADA!

Una experiéncia gastronómica única. Un espectáculo para los sabores. Visita obligada una vez en la vida por lo menos, aunque si podeis ir cada año mejor que mejor. El local es moderno, amplio y el trato del personal es perfecto, profesional y como el nombre del restaurante indica, te hacen disfrutar de la comida. Los platos perfectamente ejecutados y la mayoria de presentaciones sorprendentes. Dejaros aconsejar por el somelier para el maridaje perfecto. El precio por ser un restaurante de nivel alto es contenido. Como la mayoria de estos restaurantes imprescindible reservar con tiempo.

Amazing dining experience! We had the festival tasting menu. Not much on the menu was what it seemed like it would be which made it fun and interesting. It was a nice surprise at every course. The staff was great and made the dining experience what it should be. Highly recommended!

Hmm as far as molecular gastronomy goes, it gets 5 stars. Amazingly inventive and technically complex arrays of different textures and flavors. They are masters of making something look like one thing but being something totally different. Part of that is the ability to use gelatin based skins. Sometimes it’s just cool but flavor wise, nothing special. Other times (as in the case of 2 olives which were not) the explosion of flavor and delicate texture that first cracked then melted in your mouth was amazing.
When I compare with non molecular gastronomy restaurants, it falls short for me. It generates excitement, wonder, astonishment at the technical feats. But it does not generate that craving that soon I must come back and have more! (Unlike some of the really great Tapas restaurants we visited in the same city)

No sigas leyendo. Coge el teléfono y reserva. No decepciona.

ESPECTACULAR! Cocina sorprendente. Un espectaculo sin palabras. Lo mejor de la cocina con un maridaje perfecto de vinos. Menu disfrutar, Menu Festival y Menu del dia. Hay que venir una vez al año y salir preguntadonte cual es el mejor plato. No hay palabras, lo mejor ir y disfrutar!

Los 3 ex bullis con Castro al timón hacen maravillas como era de esperar, no se cuantos rests han conseguido estrella michelin en su primer año de funcionamiento pero éste la debería tener.

This restaurant is an amazing experience. The staff is welcoming, efficient, friendly, professional… I could go on and on about how terriffic they are. And then there’s the food. It is not what I would ever prepare myself, but that makes it even better. See other reviews for details on the various courses. Complex flavor that challenge and delight. It is a taste experience that was well worth the 100 Euro price. This made our time in Barcelona memorable

KenScale: 8.5÷10
What makes for a wonderful tasting menu? For me, it should have each dish that has its own story while also having a cohesive unifying theme throughout. I’ve had some sensational tasting menus during my culinary journey, and was really looking forward to what Disfrutar has to offer. Led by a trio of chefs who used to be part of the great ElBulli, it serves creative tasting menu with molecular gastronomy bent. I’m not always a fan of molecular gastronomy (as my dining companion calls it «toying» with the food), but the profile of the team definitely intrigued me and I’m always up to inventive dishes. Overall, the technique and surprise factor at Disfrutar is quite amazing; on the other hand, I didn’t really see the «story.»
We went with the Menu Disfrutar (at 70 euros per person; there is also longer Menu Festival available at 100 euros per person). I can see that the kitchen has put a lot of thoughts into various starting bites, from the tasty beet to transparent pesto ravioli to smoked cheese biscuit. Parmesan «tacos» with tomato and basil was a very delightful bite, marinated mackerel with cauliflower in vinegar was an above-​average «sushi» piece, and mushroom «dumplings» was also impressive in flavor as well as the display. There were some let-​downs, such as overly creamy carbonara and surprisingly tasteless endives. With all the fanfare of the starting dishes, the main savory courses looked somewhat pedestrian although they were both delicious (but not breathtaking). Red mullet with pork jowls and aubergine gnocchi was very well cooked and I liked the combination of fish and meat but didn’t quite generate the unique texture that I was looking for. Iberian pork tenderloin also had nice balance of flavor and texture. The desserts also came with impressive plating, with the «lemon verbena» and pineapple sorbet giving the refreshing flavor that got me ready for more sweeter desserts coming in, and the chocolate peppers with oil and salt were not overly sweet to my liking. I was a fan of the way the kitchen used a variety of ingredients and had beautiful presentations throughout, but on the other hand, it was quite hard to pinpoint the overarching theme. Was it the inherent limitation of molecular gastronomy? Was I starting to tire of all these fine dining tasting menus, especially after having been to a couple of those already in the Basque region? I couldn’t tell, but I felt somewhat less satisfied than I expected I would be.
The restaurant has a nice selection of wine that you could complement your meal with. I really loved the modern, minimalist dining room as well as the outdoor area that has a very romantic feel to it. The services overall were professional and attentive. Getting a reservation wasn’t overly difficult, but the restaurant quickly filled up in the course of my meal. Disfrutar will definitely show something new in your dining experience if you’re open to exploring how molecular gastronomy is done. On the other hand, if you’re looking for something more classic, it may not be for everyone.

This was not just any Dinner.
This was a creative endeavor, an artistic display, a gustatory sleight-​of-​hand, and more, courtesy of the folks over at Disfrutar, here in Barcelona.
The meaning of the Spanish word ‘Disfrutar’ translates to bask, delight, enjoy, take pleasure in, that kind of thing. It’s a hot, new-​ish restaurant that is getting a lot of attention.
Interestingly enough, the comfort-​level doesn’t correspond to the restaurant’s name, but really, this place is more about what is being attempted by the kitchen.
Born with a world-​class pedigree that of El Bulli, long considered the best restaurant in the world, a few of E.B.‘s former chefs opened this place up, and strive to mess with your mind, eyes, and taste-​buds with almost everything presented before you.
«What is that?» «Looks like a chile pepper, but it tastes like chocolate!» «Oh dear, what’s going on over here?!»
Molecular Gastronomy is a style of cooking (some say it’s «not real cooking» by the way) that will blow your mind. I suggest everyone try it, once. Just to experience it.
Wikipedia describes Molecular Gastronomy as «a subdiscipline of food science that seeks to investigate the physical and chemical transformations of ingredients that occur in cooking. Its program includes three axes, as cooking was recognized to have three components, which are social, artistic and technical. Molecular cuisine is a modern style of cooking, and takes advantage of many technical innovations from the scientific disciplines. The term „molecular gastronomy“ was coined in 1988 by late Oxford physicist Nicholas Kurti and the French INRA chemist Hervé This. Some chefs associated with the term choose to reject its use, preferring other terms such as multi-​sensory cooking, modernist cuisine, culinary physics, and experimental cuisine.»
We went all-​in and opted for the «Festival» menu, priced at 98 Euro per person. So yes, it’s expensive.
There were approximately 25 different plates; small tastes of edible theater-​on-​a-​plate which, at times, pleasured, frustrated, confused, wowed, and on one occasion, it was, like, «Yuck, please take this away,» uttered almost simultaneously by both Lin and me to our lovely staffer, Isabel, a trooper, who did her best to translate and describe to us in English. She really was great.
I won’t go into one of my one-​thousand+ words short story format I usually post, so will instead share some photos with you from our evening here…
As a former chef and a long-​time eater (hahahaha… legendary appetite is what I usually say) I will repeat what I said above… try this type/​style of food, at least once, just so you know what’s being hailed all over the world as the latest, if not greatest…
I’m curious what your thoughts are…
{The experience was a «5» and the food was a «3″}

An amazing symphony of 28 courses so beautifully presented and an executed. My tastebuds are still singing. Thank you to the superior chefs and staff for a beautiful evening. Mark and Sofia gracias.

Probably my favorite Molecular gastronomy by far. If you happen to be adventurous in your culinary experience and want to try something out of this world, I totally recommend you to go to this gem located in Barcelona on Villarroel Street 163.
Here is why: Each course in the set menu (I ordered menú festival) is arranged and cooked in an unconventional way — what may look like olives, are not olives and what may look like pastas, are not pastas. They make food to mimic other forms of food — and most courses on the set menu are beyond delish and will make your trip to Barcelona an unforgettable one (not even exaggerating).
The menu I ordered which was menú festival, costs € 100 and has more courses than the other menu. As I said before, if you’re an adventurous eater and don’t mind spending the big bucks, go to this restaurant. So here are my favorite courses: The course from the ménu I ordered started with a frozen ‘welcoming cocktail’ — very zesty and refreshing cocktail slush — to kickstart your tongue for the incoming courses. The next one was one of my favorites — «the beet that comes out of land». Not only that it has an amazing taste, but the way the food was presented — eating them with rose petals as spoons, made me feel more excited to eat because it is really something new. An unprecedented way of eating is always an exciting experience. Crispy bow with cured Iberian bacon was also a very delicious light course. Another one that I should add is tomato «polvoròn» and Arbequina Caviarolli. The tomato polvoròn are round in shape, almost like a cookie, placed on a thin and flat stainless. This was superb — at first it has that chalky/​powdery texture with a subdued taste, but it will immediately dissolve on your tongue and that’s when the taste comes out and you go all like, wow *foodgasm*. Yes, I was very surprised because the taste was unexpected — all the courses here came with a surprise because you would never thought the courses they serve tastes as you picture them in mind. And that’s probably the best kind of thing I’ve ever experienced in my whole gastronomic experience.
Crispy egg yolk with mushroom gelatin is one of my favorite courses and the presentation was experimental and playful. The deep-​fried egg yolk is very crispy and once you bite it, the yolk will majestically gush out in slow motion waiting to land onto your tongue. and that’s when you should take the rest in your mouth. If it is too big, just shove it in like no one is watching. As I was finished with it, I ate the mushroom gelatin which was placed inside the egg shell. Creative! The shrimp was also perfectly cooked — not at all hard and not too undercooked, it was very soft and juicy. I honestly never tasted any shrimp that was perfectly cooked like that, it was unbelievably tender. Beautiful.
The course which was my utmost favorite was: the olives. I can tell you one thing: you cannot find this anywhere else other than in Disfrutar (I think). The waitress explained about the ‘olives’ being delicate so we had to be careful, and we were recommended to eat them in one bite: once I put it in my mouth, it broke like a very delicate edible glass and the juice oozed out rapidly… Shortly after that we were told to eat the other olive which was darker green in color with a sweeter taste. That was when I realized, after I tasted that my life would never be the same anymore. That was the highlight of my trip: the olives. I honestly think that you should listen to what the waitress tells you in what order the food should be eaten, because those olives eaten in that order was ‘perfect’. The sweeter taste of the last olive was really a great ending and had a great balance between both tastes. Moving on to desserts, everything was delicious but I gotta say, cheesecake cornet and chocolate peppers were my favorite. Chocolate inside the peppers? Are you kidding me, who would’ve thought that.
Overall, I am beyond impressed. The food was spectacular and chef par excellence! Plan your trip to Barcelona well and don’t miss this!
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La verdad que venir a estos sitios es un placer que se puede disfrutar todos los sentidos. Desde la recepción hasta el último plato, fue como un volcán de sensaciones. Empezaremos la historia contando que era una cena merecida, celebrando algo que se ha hecho esperar más de la cuenta. Y que los conocimos a través de su «rovell d’ou cruixent amb gelatina de ceps» que podemos degustar en el Tast de la Rambla hará unos meses. Nos pareció magnifico, y nos quedamos con ganas de más. Sólo decir que si no te sorprenden con las texturas, te sorprenderán con los sabores, cuando no lo hacen con las dos cosas. Sólo creo que un par de platos no estaban a la altura, pero es que la altura es estratosférica, sino sobrepasamos la ionosfera. Ese par de platos estás solamente deliciosos. Además decidimos elegir el maridaje de vinos por 35 €, y la verdad que no te decepcionan. Son seis vinos como seis primores, que armonizan perfectamente con las ambrosías que te traen constantemente de la cocina/​olimpo. 2 horas de placer continuado que espero poder repetir algún día. Y si, pica en la cartera pero como se dice: sarna con gusto no pica.

Espectacular experiencia gastronómica ! Hay que decir que los precios no son para todos los bolsillos, pero si se puede, merece la pena darse un homenaje. Hay dos menús degustacion, uno de 68 € y otro de 98 € sin bebidas. Primero te enseñan el local y luego te sientan en la mesa. La cocina es totalmente abierta y situada junto al comedor, con lo que puedes ver como preparan todos los platos. Sin exagerar puedo decir que hay almenos 15 cocineros. De los platos no sabría por donde empezar. … trampantojos, esferificaciones, combinaciones de sabores y texturas sorprendentes… es difícil transmitir con palabras las sensaciones vividas al degustar esas obras de arte culinarias.

I was lucky to get a last minute reservation. Disfrutar is opened by the 3 head chefs from El Bulli, so they draw a lot of the same techniques and inspirations (we definitely noticed similar dishes compared to Tickets).
Of course, I reserved a bar seat, and we were seated facing the dessert prep section. They showed us around the rest of the restaurant to see the various prep stations. I love looking into kitchens! We started with beer, and I couldn’t resist a € 21 gruner veltliner.
The «disfrutar» menu option (the «shorter» of the 2) was only € 68:
1. Passion fruit frappé with rum and coffee: smooth foam on top, tanginess from passionfruit without being too syrupy, cracked coffee beans on top, and a good amount of alcohol. This was their starting «cocktail.»
2. Beet meringue: This «emerged from the earth». We were presented with a bowl of «earth» (black sesame seeds), and with some shaking, these little balls that looked like mochi appeared from the bottom. They were light and airy, basically freeze dried beet and yogurt (very similar to the «churros» from Tickets)
3. Tomato polvaron: shaped just like a polvoron, sweet tomato flavor, topped with their olive oil caviar drops (caviaroli). Caviaroli can be purchased by the jar there
4. Ravioli: A transparent thin sheet of? rice paper filled with the ingredients for a peso (basil, pine nuts, garlic, cheese), served with a Parmesan juice. You soak it for a few seconds on each side, and it creates a wonderful pesto flavor in your mouth. This was a fun dish and must have been very challenging technically
5. Aceituna: like the well known non-​olive olives from El Bulli. The green was coated in a shell that was the texture of chocolate (but not actually chocolate) with olive flavor insude, and the black one was similar but with blood orange and olive oil inside. Take these in one bite
6. Smoked Idiazabal cheese: Frozen cheese like a semifreddo in texture that was creamy, slightly icy, but also really smoky. It sat on a thin crisp cookie and was imprinted with the name of a local cracker. It was served with sips of apple and celery juice to make it more refreshing
7. Crispy egg and mushroom gelatin: BEST egg I’ve ever had. It was like a scotch egg but without the meat, and the batter was crisp and flavorful with a perfectly runny center. I don’t know if I can ever eat a regular egg again. It came over a cut egg shell (fake) with mushroom gelatin inside. The gelatin was very rich and flavorful but a bit salty, and it was better with the bread from earlier
8. Seafood avocado meringue sandwich: the cool part was the meringue bread — it looked like bread and sort of had the texture of a light bread, but it was made of meringue, so it was very delicate with a hint of sweetness. The seafood salad inside was a bit rich for me, but this made a very cool dish
9. Parmesan tacos: Parmesan cheese and tomato, with olive oil and balsamic caviar. The «taco shell» was made of clear gelatin, and the parmesan cream was a bit rich for me, but the super sweet tomato was great
10. Marinated mackerel: high grade sushi served on «rice» of cauliflower. The fish was amazingly fresh. The cauliflower rice added more texture (and less carbs), but the cauliflower could never have that same sushi rice flavor. The mushroom vinegar for dipping helped
11. Mushroom Dumpling: a dim sum tray with smoking dry ice and a clear gelatin dumpling with mushrooms inside. It’s better with the mushroom vinegar. It had excellent mushroom flavor and a little texture and nuttiness from the pignolis inside
12. Carbonara macaroni: gelatin macaroni with bits of bacon and cheese, then a carbonara foam poured over it, topped with Parmesan cheese. The carbonara flavor was rich and right on, but the pasta texture didn’t do it for me
13. Asparagus meuniere: white asparagus with herbs, hazelnut, capers and trout roe with a very tart foam. Interesting but not amazing.
14. Salmonetes: red mullet topped with pork jowl and Gyoza sauce (flavorful), with pillowy eggplant gnocchi
15. Iberico solomillo: iberic pork tenderloin and pibil sauce. They sous vided it, so it was crazy tender, and I liked the bursting false corn that tasted like super fresh corn
16. Prepostre: leaves mulberries and apricot glacé and lime zest
17. Pimientos of chocolate and olive oil, salt and toast. The green had a smooth ganache center, but red was better with salt flakes and a cayenne kick
18. Lioness de café: coffee profiteroles on lavazza beans with a frozen center
Their style is more like surprising takes on more traditional preparations such as muniere, carbonara, etc. Their technique was daring and impressive (like the chocolate peppers and the ravioli!), but the menu items themselves were maybe less exciting. I could have done with a little less gelatin (ie from the carbonara, taco, mushroom dim sum). Overall, a very cool dining experience and an impressive, reasonably priced meal for what you get!

My first molecular gastronomy experience and wooooooooooow. Just wow!
Upon our first visit to Barcelona the Good Egg took the initiative to seek out a truly memorial dining experience and found Disfrutar (translation: to enjoy, delight or take pleasure in) which turned out to be a total ‘golazo’ (to put it into soccer terms)!
After making a 1:30p lunch reservation, we arrived to find we were the only diners… never a good sign. But as we would soon find out, we were slightly ahead of the ‘normal’ 2−4p lunch window most Catalans adhere to… because promptly at 2p the place was practically full.
Another benefit of arriving ahead of the rush is we got a chance to meet the chef and his team, which just added a tinge of specialness to the whole experience.
It’s an elite team who’ve all spent years in other high end sister kitchens perfecting their skills to come together with a singular culinary vision at this newly opened restaurant.
They bill it as «an experience expressed through language & current techniques.»
Once seated you can’t help but drink in the distinct Mediterranean influence eloquently revealed throughout the asymmetrical space via a very clean, white, blue, green color palate, appropriately matching the cuisine’s origins.
They offer two different sized tasting menus: Disfrutar for € 68 or Festival for € 98
We opted for the ‘shorter’ (which ended up being something like 15 tastings) and took about 2.5 hours to complete… I think I could get use to this lunch wrapping up around 4p thing!
I won’t go round by round but suffice to say we were utterly blown away tasting after tasting. I tried things I never have, never dreamed of, never wanted to – yeah I’m looking at you razor clams – and just wow!
The service was crisp, attentive & informative, indulging our every inquiry along with mandatory picture taking.
If you’re looking for a magical culinary experience…
Do. Not. Miss. Disfrutar.