Restaurants in the Costa Brava

The Costa Brava, like no other coast, has earned the right to call itself a gastronomic destination. In 2002, the first-ever winner of The World's 50 Best Restaurants list, the most influential restaurant rating today, became El Bulli from Roses, the creation of the renowned chef Ferran Adrià. El Bulli won the title four more times after that. In 2013, began the era of El Celler de Can Roca in Girona, the family project of the Roca brothers. El Celler de Can Roca hasn't left the top-3 of the rating for six years straight, two of which it won.

Every year, over ten restaurants of haute cuisine on the Costa Brava are awarded stars by the world-famous red guide of Michelin. The list is headed by El Celler de Can Roca, which has three. But making it into the Michelin guide is far from the only way to earn fame; Spain has its own version of it, the Repsol guide, with almost as much authority on the matter.

This guide first appeared in gas stations across Spain, Portugal, Andorra and the south of France in 1979, acting as an addendum to automobile maps. Repsol gives out "suns" rather than stars, but the highest number an establishment may get is also three. Usually, if a restaurant has Michelin stars, it's a fair bet to assume they carry Repsol suns as well.

Not every tourist coming to spend a vacation on the Costa Brava has the means to visit haute cuisine places, but all travellers sample traditional Catalan dishes with pleasure on their trips. The best places to give the local cuisine a try are those favoured by locals—conveniently located eateries and cafés by the beach usually don't make it into that category.

To enjoy a Catalan meal, guaranteed, look for a masia rather than a "regular" restaurant. Masias are rural agricultural estates, the former foundations of the agricultural sector of Catalonia. Some of these estates continue their farming practices, some are abandoned and are slowly coming into ruin, but the most common "fate" of a masia is it becoming a restaurant.

Why is choosing a masia for your meal a great choice? First of all, the ages of most masias exceed three hundred years, and there are estates on the Costa Brava that were built in the 16th century! Many of them are recognized as protected heritage objects, so you could easily be enjoying your lunch inside a truly historical monument. Second, masias are commonly secluded and are found far from the busy town centers or roads, so visiting one means commitment and therefore full confidence in the quality of the cooking and the service you will receive.

Haute Cuisine Restaurants on the Costa Brava
Restaurants in Catalan Masias on the Costa Brava