From El Bulli to El Celler de Can Roca
The Brave Coast has earned its stripes as a true gastronomic destination. In 2002, the restaurant
El Bulli in Roses, now an iconic name in the restaurant industry, led by the renowned chef Ferran Adrià, topped
The World's 50 Best Restaurants list for the first time and went on to win the title four more times after that.
El Celler de Can Roca, the family project of the Roca brothers, opened in Girona in 2013. After that, it stayed in the top 3 of The World's 50 Best Restaurants for six consecutive years and won again in 2015. While by 2025, it has left the list—the competition worldwide is stiffer than ever—it remains a highly sought-after dining experience with sheer luck required to secure a reservation.
The restaurant of the Roca brothers continues to dominate another very influential list, the world-famous red Michelin Guide, on which
El Celler de Can Roca holds three stars. It paved the way for other coastal restaurants to be recognized—every year, at least a dozen
restaurants of haute cuisine on the Costa Brava are awarded Michelin stars for their cooking excellence.
What is the Repsol Guide?
Making it into the Michelin Guide is far from the only way to earn fame, however. The Repsol guide, Spain's answer to Michelin, holds almost as much authority on the matter, especially among domestic tourists.
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.
Check out our list of
Repsol Guide restaurants on Costa Brava for dining inspiration!
Do as locals do
Not every tourist vacationing on the Costa Brava has the means to dine at haute cuisine places, but all travellers sample traditional Catalan dishes with pleasure on their trips. The best places to enjoy the local cuisine are those favoured by locals. (Conveniently located eateries and cafés by the beach usually don't make it into that category.)
To be guaranteed a pleasant and delicious Catalan meal, 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 that it becomes 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 busy town centres or roads, so visiting one means commitment and therefore full confidence in the quality of the cooking and the service you will receive.
We hand-picked these
Costa Brava masia restaurants for excellent service, location, and, of course, outstanding food!
