Vermouths in old taverns, the kind where time never passes. And less bad. The same ones in which siphons They decorate each and every one of the tables. In which small bottles reign and in which beers are always welcome at any time of the day. These places are also the kind where the pickles parade, the chips (from the bag) are served at the request of the client and the waiters learn your name with the blink of an eye. Then come the bravas, the homemade anchovies in vinegar, the bombs... and so on, until the body can take it.
Barcelona is that city that gives its deserved place to those bars and taverns that know how to avoid the mainstream circuit and that, only if you know someone in the city, you will know how to find them. Some begin to disappear but meanwhile, there are others that fall into the hands of hoteliers capable of keeping them standing, adding a gastronomic proposal that does not threaten its essence but, on the contrary, seeks to update it to keep it current.
One of them is the Alegría Bar, open since 1899 in a modernist place in the Sant Antoni neighborhood . In the morning and from seven, they were served here Churros , to then give way at the tables to the games of chess and dominoes . But over the years, it lost its charm and its offer, leaving it a bit in oblivion after passing to a new owner who did little to revive it. Abandoned for two years, it came into the hands of the Abellan family.
"I entered into a partnership with my father and Max Colombo in January 2019," he explains. Thomas Abellan , its current owner and who devised the way to revive it with a modern thought but who does not interfere at all with the history of the mythical place with a red awning . "We set up a company, we did the works and we reformed everything. If you enter the premises it seems that nothing has changed, but behind it there was intense work to be able to leave it fully operational", he explains. In turn, the streets of the area began to become pedestrian , advancing at the same time with its new way of seeing the gastronomy of the neighborhood. His beginnings came with the idea of a bar, but Tomás wanted to make it a restaurant and go further. "For personal motivation I didn't want to open another bar , wanted a restaurant with a powerful menu and service, although its aesthetics –with wooden chairs and a bistro atmosphere– would make one think that it is." That is why, in October 2019, he took full ownership of Bar Happiness.
Tomás Abellan is the son of Carles Abellan, one of the references in Catalan gastronomy, who has known, like few others, to always remain linked to culinary success with restaurants such as Talaia Mar by Ferran Adrià, Suculent, La Barra by Carles Abellan at the W or caps 24. " Although I studied photography, I always worked in my father's restaurants and was linked to the hospitality industry . I was taking on a lot of responsibility and I realized that I was very good at the room", says Tomas. At the age of 21 and 22, he was already managing restaurants with michelin star , handling intense pressure at that time when the Barcelona hotel industry was a real non-stop. "I started running a restaurant, then I moved to another and so on until I managed to run the whole group together with my father. I always wanted to work with him and this finally came. But when we kept it, I insisted that this couldn't be done. be a bar of carajillos and cañas all day. We don't know how to do that, we are another type of restoration... in the end my proposal came together and I kept it."
This is how he started the current proposal for the restaurant, with his own bar and kitchen team, sommelier and a structure that speaks the language of Barcelona cuisine and product with natural wines . "The kitchen of the city is my guide to think about dishes and develop them. For me Barcelona is vermouth , salted fish, anchovies from the Bay of Biscay, a spectacular ham, bread with tomato... but also oysters – they serve thierry, from Normandy, cured meats and more classic tapas such as a truffled potato omelette –De la Mari–, a salad –with ugly bread–", he comments on a menu that also includes the "his father's bikini".
"Then there's the slice , terribly important; the garden, like some white asparagus with hollandaise sauce and parmesan or peas, aubergines –with miso– and artichokes –Andalusian style with romesco–, which marks the season . The freshest and purest products. But also the stews , the sepietas...". In the kitchen, they have Mariano, previously in the kitchen at Tickets –where Abellan worked at the time– and also behind the most elaborate dishes on the Bar Alegría menu, such as the sweetbreads with demiglas or the boneless lamb at low temperature. And here, too, there is room for La Viña cheesecake or a creamy chocolate with bread, oil and salt.
The kitchen is light and healthy , fresh. Nothing aggressive and without a tasting menu. "I try to offer the same for my client as what I would like to eat. So that they have a great time but also so that, when they go home, they are well", explains Abellan.
Regarding your wine vision , it is Ximena Arce who is in charge of transmitting it in each service with vermouth –they elaborate theirs with a base of Cinzano – and natural wines or wines made with minimal intervention. Like Uva de Vida, a Tempranillo with Graciano from Toledo, and Etern, a Macabeu from Penedès. Or an albariño from the Rias Baixas such as Sobrada 2019 or that fabulous Tinc ancestral set 2019. "We have been working side by side for ten years. We were in elBulli and now it's two years here that unite us". Together and as a team, it is the two who currently manage the room exclusively, supported by two chefs in the kitchen. "We have been very well received, but because it is very easy. What we want is for it to seem that everything is simple and not to notice all the work behind it, which there is. We work the staging and the details for it to be an eatery, a tapas place and a restaurant where you come to have a very, very good time", adds Abellan. "We don't like protocols and we are one of those places where, being on a date or with friends, you are going to have an atmosphere, honestly, great".
We attest that what is found in Bar Alegría is the Barcelona that has always fascinated those who visit it. An authentic wonder that we hope will continue to uphold the joy of a bar (and restaurant) of yesterday, today and always.
Thomas Abellan