The Born neighborhood has never been the same again. And we are not referring to the moment in which the recovery of the historic center was a reality in Barcelona, but when The Barcelona EDITION opened its doors in Ciutat Vella. Because this luxury boutique hotel brought with him, in addition to his gleaming five stars, a stylish lifestyle that has changed everything. It is no coincidence that we gave the award to Best New Hotel in Spain at the awards Conde Nast Traveler the year of its inauguration.
Beyond its architecture and interior design –a glass building intervened by the Office of Architecture in Barcelona and masterfully clad by Lázaro Rosa-Violán and Carlos Ferrater Studio–, this hotel project that has the joint label of Ian Schrager, founder of the mythical Studio54 nightclub in New York, and Marriott International has known how to drink from its environment to generate unique experiences far from the conventional… Starting with its gastronomy, which now, under the baton of the new executive chef Pedro Tassarolo, intends to revolutionize the city's culinary scene.
Barcelona Penthouse Suite, with panoramic views of El Born.
GASTRONOMIC NEWS
Trained at Mugaritz and El Bulli, Pedro Tassarolo arrives at The Barcelona EDITION with a unique cooking style –in which local culture intermingles with your own experiences worldwide – for redefine the flavors of Bar Veraz and The Roof.
“The new menus yield tribute to traditional Catalan cuisine from a unique perspective based on my own personal and professional experiences in the Mediterranean and beyond. My menus have been carefully developed to encourage sociable and memorable dining experiences that celebrate the Catalan culture”, explains the cook, who intends enclose the creative energy of El Born in their dishes using some of the ingredients "I personally sourced from some of the world's most talented growers and suppliers who trade in the Santa Caterina market.
Market rice at Bar Veraz.
VERAZ BAR
A informal and unpretentious restaurant is Bar Veraz, open all day, located on the ground floor of the hotel –next to the hotel reception– and divided into several spaces: the contemporary dining room, the outdoor terrace with views of the neighboring Santa Caterina market and the charming bar, that offers a wide selection of regional and organic wines, craft beers, vermouths and cocktails based on local ingredients that pay homage to the city and Catalonia.
Inspired by the hustle and bustle of the traditional tapas bars of Barcelona, and focusing on the origin of the raw materials from which it is supplied in the local suppliers of the neighboring Santa Caterina market, Tassarolo has transformed Bar Veraz into a dynamic place for meeting and socialising, in which to share dishes product focused seasonal and proximity and based on Spanish and Mediterranean culinary traditions.
Black sausage pump at Bar Veraz.
Familiar, honest and innovative flavors that arrive at the table in the form of market rice (with espardeñas and seasonal mushrooms), truthful octopus (with creamy celeriac puree, La Vera paprika oil, roasted vegetables and pistachio dukkah) or matured loin, selected by the butcher of the Santa Caterina market and accompanied by chimichurri sauce, crispy potatoes and green salad. And to close the feast? A dark chocolate soufflé that will make us travel to Guanaja.
There is also a part of the menu focused on reinvented tapas with which to accompany the vermouth hour, such as the black sausage pump with spicy mayonnaise and sprouts. Another lively moment at Bar Veraz is the Friday dinners, in which different bands play live acoustic music: jazz, blues, funk, boleros, etc. and all in a sophisticated and elegant atmosphere, perfect to have a first date or surprise your partner.
It should be noted that the walls of the restaurant are decorated with a careful selection of original black and white photographs by Colita, Oriol Maspons, Xavier Miserachs and Joana Biarnés. In them, Catalan artists have immortalized iconic characters from the 60s and 70s in Spain and from the movement gauche divine in Barcelona: Lola Flores, Charo, Salvador Dalí, Marisol, Rocío Durcal, Manuel Benítez El Cordobés, Teresa Gimpera, Carmen Amaya, Elsa Peretti…
Brunch at The Roof.
THE ROOF
An iconic place in the social life –and brunches– of Barcelona, it is the panoramic terrace The Roof a little oasis in the heart of the city. One, that even being surrounded by rooftops of the small historic buildings of the Born district, it emerges an addictive asian flavor, like that of his baos (of mushrooms or Iberian pork), his thai salad of rice noodles, aromatic herbs and fresh vegetables or that of their Korean-style free-range fried chicken with kimchi. You can top off the oriental experience with its matcha meringue with whipped white chocolate ganache, passion fruit and strawberries macerated in sake. street food Asian in its purest form… and with views!
Decorated with an iroko wood floor, small tables, sofas, armchairs and hammocks upholstered in shades of ivory, gray and blue, and surrounded by abundant vegetation with aromatic plants and a colorful bougainvillea, the terrace recreate an atmosphere of garden in the heights.
Mushroom dip at The Roof.
Inside, the travertine marble bar is worth mentioning, in addition to its spectacular appearance, because in it the best bartenders in Barcelona offer creative cocktails, as well as various healthy options in the form of juices cold pressed, smoothies, homemade kombuchas and mocktails.
There are also hot cocktails for the winter. The terrace never closes and is always sunny, both in the morning and in the afternoon. And when night falls, the entertainment continues with the sunset sessions on Saturdays and Sundays, whose programming includes some of the best DJs on the local scene. Illuminated by the dim light of candles, sunsets on The Roof are a unique experience.
Spiral staircase leading to the Puch Room.
PUNCH ROOM
Although if the thing is about mixtures, the best place in which closing the culinary day will be the Punch Room, an award-winning bar speakeasy (among the top ten New Cocktail Bars in Europe in 2020 by the Tales of Cocktail Spirited Awards) that offers a careful menu of cocktails and signature punches (served in vintage silver bowls), as well as snack dishes, such as a scallop and sea bass ceviche garnished with kumquat and blood orange or a lobster brioche with yuzu mayonnaise, green apple and fresh herbs.
If there is a place in the world where the punch makes sense is in Barcelona, a modern and international port city. Let's remember that this drink -the first truly modern to use the new and exciting ingredients discovered on trade routes– It has its origin in the commercial ships of the 17th century, from which it arrived at the fierce seafaring taverns of the ports and, from there, to the tables and parties in the gardens of the aristocracy.
In Punch Room They know how to mix the ingredients of the punch like few others (the traditional five were spirits from Europe and the colonies, spices and citrus fruits from Africa and the East, teas from China and India, and sugar from the Indies), which They serve individually or in punch bowls to share. A little trip to the past that is also to the future, because the punch is a social drink, a celebration of the community, the one that The Barcelona EDITION has managed to create in the Born neighborhood.
The Speakeasy Chessboard & El Ponche del Jimador.