Oriol Castro, Eduard Xatruch and Mateu Casañas to Open New Restaurant in Barcelona

28 Feb 2022
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2 min read

The trio of chefs behind 2-Michelin-starred Disfrutar in Barcelona have announced the opening of a new restaurant this spring: Compartir Barcelona. The latest venue will follow the same philosophy as Compartir Cadaqués, which is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year.

For the opening of the new restaurant, Castro, Xatruch and Casañas have teamed up with Nil Dulcet – who was part of the former kitchen team at Compartir Cadaqués when it started and, later became the first head chef at Disfrutar Barcelona. “Nil counts on our full trust to start this new project, becoming the director as well as our partner,” say the chefs.

For the four, the most natural place to take the next step for Compartir is in Barcelona and their commitment to the city is clear. It will be located close to Disfrutar, where they all spend most of their time. “Being close to the restaurant is vital for the project as well as being able to experience its live evolution,” they point out.

On the other side, Compartir Cadaqués will remain faithful to its concept and the three chefs will continue pivoting between Compartir Cadaqués, Disfrutar and Compartir Barcelona –to maintain one of its main premises while working, being able to be present in the restaurants so that they can supervise full time from there.

VENUE AND DESIGN

It is located in the street Valencia 225 – in the heart of Barcelona’s Eixample district and a stone’s throw from the emblematic Passeig de Gràcia. The venue is 550 square meters, divided into three rooms, and can seat up to 80 people. It is a bright, spacious and comfortable space designed by El Equipo Creativo (an interior design studio that previously partnered with Disfrutar). They’ve been given the task to recreate part of the spirit representing Cadaqués, rather interpreted from an urban and contemporary perspective.

The restaurant has a spectacular metal structure that dates from the beginning of the century. It’s one of those places where one could imagine one of the plenty of art galleries with large abstract paintings in the neighbourhood. And that’s how the design has been imagined: a large bright space presided over by three large blue windows overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. The counterpoint is provided by the curved shapes of mirrors and light wicker and rattan screens, converted into warm lamps, which, placed spontaneously throughout the room, recreate an abstract landscape of boats and vaults.

The bar and kitchen will be displayed in simple and emphatic shapes – made with the materials, colours and textures that make up the landscape in Cadaqués. The grey tone of the slate and its application in “trencadís1”, together with the luminous tile colour of the roofs, in contrast with the abstract and intense blue of the windows, create a powerful ensemble that can be read in almost pictorial terms, and aim to dialogue with the incredible compositions of colour and texture of the dishes at Compartir.

GASTRONOMIC OFFER  

At Compartir Barcelona the gastronomic offer will be “à la carte” and to share. It will be a modern, product-based proposal with a traditional base, following the same philosophy as Compartir Cadaqués. Although it won’t be a replica – it’ll follow the same style and offer a different type of food, which is still being worked on. It will offer, at least at the start, some of the classic dishes found in Cadaqués, such as the beetroot salad, tuna cannelloni, liquid chocolate bonbons and hazelnut coulant.