Review: ABaC Restaurant at ABaC Hotel

Tell us about your first impressions when you arrived.
Set within a small boutique hotel on the outskirts of Barcelona, the dining room of ABaC features pristine white tablecloths and floor-to-ceiling windows that flood it with light during the daytime.

What was the crowd like?
Dressed-up gourmands, both local and international.

What should we be drinking?
ABaC’s well-stocked cellar contains almost 1,000 different wines from which to make your selection.

Main event: the food. Give us the lowdown—especially what not to miss.
ABaC is headed by Jordi Cruz, an immensely talented chef who earned his first Michelin star when he was only 24. He did it again, when ABaC was awarded its third star from the Michelin inspectors. When it comes to the main event (and, let’s face it, the food is why you’re here), ABaC offers very little choice. There is one tasting menu. It costs $315. It has to be served to the whole table. Jordi Cruz takes you on a journey that begins with some mind-boggling snacks such as his “Bloody Mary on the Rocks”, through the grilled eel fried brioche with “all i oli” and fresh wasabi, the Guineafowl flame-roasted with corn, foie gras, sesame and black mole sauce, and countless other morsels and plates, before finishing things off with a suite of decadent desserts, like his “Globe” of lollipops with strawberry kakigori, milk chocolate, begonias and tonka beans.

And how did the front-of-house folks treat you?
Fine dining in Spain is a lot more laid-back than in, say, France. ABaC may be a three-Michelin-starred restaurant, but the staff is anything but stuffy, and everyone makes you feel instantly at home.

What’s the real-real on why we’re coming here?
ABaC is a once-in-a-lifetime fine-dining experience for people who appreciate creative gastronomy and don’t mind paying for it.