Enoteca Paco Pérez is an exceptional restaurant, distinguished with two Michelin stars, situated within the prestigious Hotel Arts in Barcelona, near one of the most iconic beaches on the Spanish coast. At the helm of Enoteca is the renowned chef Paco Pérez, one of Spain’s most celebrated culinary artists, who masterfully combines local traditions with innovative techniques to create dishes full of flavour, harmony, and sophistication. The daily operations in the kitchen are orchestrated by the delightful chef Matteo Lusenti, who, alongside his team, brings Paco Pérez’s vision to life, offering guests unforgettable moments at the table.
The entrance to the restaurant lies at the end of the hotel corridor. Glass doors welcome you inside, where the warm hospitality of the staff immediately sets the tone. The bright interior draws attention with its soft lighting and walls adorned with bottles of exquisite Catalan olive oil, Llum, well-known to the guests of other Paco Pérez establishments, as well as an impressive display of fine wines. The restaurant boasts an extraordinary wine list featuring over 700 carefully curated labels. This comes as no surprise, as the word “enoteca” itself translates to “wine cellar” or “winery.” Every detail in Enoteca has been thoughtfully designed – from the minimalist and elegant interior, fostering relaxation and reflection, to the extraordinary flavour combinations inspired by the sea and the land.
At the heart of the restaurant’s philosophy is Mar d’Amunt – the northern part of the Mediterranean Sea, encompassing the picturesque region from Cap de Creus to Llançà, the hometown of Paco Pérez. This wild coastal beauty, along with the abundance of natural products from both sea and land, serves as the inspiration for his dishes. At Enoteca, you’ll find an interpretation of “mar y tierra” – known in Catalan as “mar i muntanya” – a concept that marries the treasures of the sea with produce from the land. The version of surf and turf offered at Enoteca is nothing short of spectacular, showcasing the bounty of the ocean: shrimp, fish, percebes, sea cucumbers, squid, crabs, and even edible seaweed. It’s a paradise for seafood lovers like us!
But let’s start from the beginning. As we sat at our table, we were handed an envelope containing the menu. The first page was adorned with a sketch by Paco Pérez depicting a jellyfish collecting rubbish from the ocean, a poignant reminder of the importance of keeping our seas clean. The second page featured a poem written by Paco Pérez in honour of Mar d’Amunt. One line, in particular, captivated us: “we cook dreams with a taste of sea” (Spanish: “cocinamos sueños con sabor a mar”). For us, this became the guiding motto and the essence of our wonderful evening at Enoteca. The following pages unveiled our menu, featuring the finest dishes from the restaurant’s impressive history spanning over a decade. Each course promised to be a journey through Paco Pérez’s mastery, celebrating the flavours of the Mediterranean.
The dinner began with three exceptional plant-based amuse-bouches. The porcini tartlet was filled with mushrooms and a truffle-infused egg yolk. Its flavour was intensely mushroomy, rich in umami, and creamy thanks to the addition of the yolk. The pumpkin tartlet, topped with frozen orange, offered fresh, delicate, light, and refreshing flavours with an intriguing variety of textures. The final amuse-bouche was forest consommé – a mushroom broth topped with hazelnut milk foam and a hint of thyme. The aroma of the broth was incredible, with a deeply mushroomy flavour complemented by subtle notes of thyme and hazelnut. It was a beautiful autumnal interpretation of the forest.
Following these three plant-based delights, it was time for seafood. First, we were served a taco with blue crab, a species considered invasive along the Mediterranean coast and actively recommended for fishing. It’s fantastic to see it being utilised in such an ingenious way. The crab, served on a mini taco, was drizzled with green curry sauce and Thai herbs, making the dish aromatic yet delicate and light, thanks to the fresh crab meat.
Next came a canapé featuring melva tartare, made from melva – a fish closely related to tuna and typical of Spanish cuisine. The base of the canapé was made of nori seaweed, with wasabi mayonnaise as an accompaniment. The combination of seaweed and wasabi gave it a flavour reminiscent of sushi but much more intense, with a bold ocean aroma. Simply brilliant.
Next, we were offered a selection of bread: focaccia, sourdough, and brioche, all served with a choice of two olive oils – one being the already familiar Llum, crafted exclusively for Paco Pérez, and the other a slightly sweeter organic variety – as well as butter infused with chanterelles and pink peppercorns.
When the next course arrived, we were nearly left speechless. The plate featured pieces of cooked carabinero prawns alongside raw prawns, frozen leche de tigre made from prawn heads, cherry water with pink peppercorns, and a dense dashi with katsuobushi, creating a stunningly colourful composition on the plate. The entire dish was light, mildly spicy, chilled, and refreshing – reminiscent of ceviche, which likely served as its inspiration
Staying with the prawn theme, the following dish showcased another variety of prawns, this time served warm, accompanied by a rich sauce, spaghetti made from coconut, confit carrot, and carrot purée. The dish also featured the prawn head for sucking and crispy tempura-fried legs. This creation adhered to a zero-waste philosophy, with every element thoughtfully incorporated. The result was a dish that was intensely prawn-forward and brimming with oceanic flavours, balanced by the delicate sweetness of the carrot and the creamy, mild touch of the coconut spaghetti. Pure poetry.
But the dinner wasn’t over yet! It was time for a dish featuring sea cucumber, one of our favourite seafood delicacies, served in an extraordinary rendition. Pieces of sea cucumber were paired with a sauce made from the same ingredient, chanterelles, a sage leaf, and seaweed. The sauce was wonderfully thick, rich in mushroom flavours, and simultaneously brimming with a taste of the sea. It was an incredible and rare pairing of mar y tierra (sea and land), made even better by the exceptional wine served as part of our pairing. Absolutely divine.
After this dish, we thought it would be hard to impress us again, but we were wrong. The next course featured squid tartare, delicately flavoured with lemon and served alongside porcini mushrooms and a sauce made from these ingredients. The plate also included stuffed squid, filled with mushrooms, with squid ink as an accompanying addition to the dish. This was yet another brilliant take on mar y tierra, not with meat, but with mushrooms. Despite squid’s naturally subtle flavour and the intensity of the mushrooms, the lemon-infused tartare stole the spotlight. The dish was perfectly complemented by the thick, sticky, and intensely flavoured sauce – typical of Paco Pérez’s sea-inspired cuisine – which truly tied it all together.
The following course was risotto with ou de reig mushrooms. Ou de reig, or Caesar’s mushroom (Amanita caesarea), is a bright orange, and highly prized fungus found in the Mediterranean region, particularly in Spain and Italy. Perfect for risotto, it gave the dish a soft yellow-orange hue, with its thin slices visible beneath the truffle on our plate. During our visit, it happened to be the beginning of white truffle season, so we couldn’t resist the additional indulgence of freshly shaved truffle from Piedmont to accompany the risotto.
The dish itself, prepared with an octopus broth, was rich and deep in flavour yet beautifully balanced, not overly dominated by the forest mushroom notes, making it the perfect base for the aromatic truffle. It was pure mushroom poetry!
The next course continued our journey through the flavours of the sea. The plate featured a piece of virrey fish (alfonsino), served in a velvety sauce made from fish heads, accompanied by Polish Antonius caviar, kombu jelly, and percebes. The fish was cooked to perfection, with a buttery texture, and paired with the creamy sauce, caviar, and oceanic accompaniments, it was absolutely divine.
The only meat dish was the main course featuring wagyu beef paired with black trumpet mushrooms. The dish was completed with black truffles, celery purée, thin slices of roasted celery, and an incredible wagyu-based sauce. The beef itself was cooked to perfection – crispy on the outside, creamy and tender inside. Each ingredient was distinct yet harmoniously balanced, complementing one another without overpowering. The entire dish was beautifully elevated by a Catalan red wine with a hint of white pepper aroma.
Such a feast demands an extraordinary sweet finale. We began with a peach tart served with crème fraîche. The tart was filled with peach and vanilla preserves, topped with pieces of dehydrated peach, crème fraîche, and frozen almond milk pearls. The crème fraîche perfectly balanced the sweetness of the preserves, while the frozen almond pearls added a refreshing touch – a brilliant pre-dessert!
The next dessert was fig-based – a layer of fig compote formed the foundation, topped with a fig sorbet infused with port, fig leaf ice cream, zabaglione shaped into the outline of a fig leaf, and once again, frozen almond pearls. The dessert was outstanding – light, refreshing, fruity, and intensely fig-flavoured, tasting as though we were eating freshly picked figs. The presentation of the dish was equally stunning!
To finish, we were served a dessert of Italian meringue with five different caramelised nuts, frozen pearls made from three types of chocolate, and cocoa shell ice cream. This dessert surprised us, as the menu name, Chocolate and nuts, led us to expect a heavy, rich chocolate dish – not our favourite. Instead, we received an incredibly light, innovative creation that delighted with delicate chocolate notes in a feather-light form. It amazed us!
For petit fours, we were served a mandarin jelly with ginger, gianduja, caramelised pumpkin seeds, and a white chocolate praline. They looked beautiful and tasted divine.
We haven’t written much about the wine pairing, but at Enoteca, we can wholeheartedly recommend it. The selection of wines to accompany the dishes was excellent, and it’s a great opportunity to sample some exceptional Spanish labels. For those who prefer a whole bottle, the wine list is extensive and impressive. We must also mention the delightful and highly professional sommelier! In fact, the entire team at Enoteca was outstanding. We would rate the service as flawless.
In conclusion, we’d like to return to the line from the beginning of our review – “we cook dreams with a taste of sea” – and affirm that it’s true. The dishes at Enoteca taste like the sea, like the best dreams of seafood! Although Enoteca doesn’t have a green star, we noticed a strong focus on zero-waste principles, sustainable fishing, and the protection of seas and oceans – all definitely worth highlighting! We were also captivated by the unique combinations of sea and mountain flavours, featuring a variety of mushroom tastes so diverse that this theme in the menu never felt repetitive.
Enoteca is a fantastic destination for lovers of seafood, fine wine, and innovative flavour combinations. A must-visit when in Barcelona!