El Nacional — Barcelona’s gastronomic space

Years ago, on one of my first visits to Barcelona, after renting a car at the airport, I ended up parking at a curious garage right next to Paseo de Gracia, hidden away in a small, rather nondescript alleyway.

I was looking for buildings where I could open my big project, the Eric Vökel Boutique Apartments, and I decided to stroll around for a few hours to soak up the essence of the city. So I parked my newly rented car in that curious garage.

And that would be it, end of story, had that same spot not recently become one of the gastronomic benchmarks of Barcelona: El Nacional.

The restaurant opened its doors to the public just a few months ago, and the response has been overwhelming. Barcelona has turned on to an innovative, fresh and comprehensive concept.

Inspired by the San Miguel market in Madrid, businessman Lluís Cañadell decided to take on this large-scale project, and interior designer Lázaro Rosa Violán was enlisted to transform the old garage, drawing on the Barcelona of the 30s and 40s as inspiration.

El Nacional has become the first multi-space restaurant where one can enjoy the Iberian Peninsula’s cuisine — a clearly innovative, novel and creative concept. If you make a visit to see what it’s all about, you will find four major areas, four themed bars and countless other ways to feed the spirit of the 700 diners that the restaurant holds, strategically spread over 8,500 square feet.

I opted for the delights of the fish restaurant, but there is another one that specializes in meat, another in rice and tapas, and the fourth is a fast-service deli restaurant. And then you can enjoy the four specialty bars — a wonderful bar serving delicious oysters accompanied by a fine cava (Catalan sparkling wine), a beer and preserves bar, a wine and cold meats bar, and lastly, a cocktail bar. In short: top-quality cuisine at a unique venue.

Needless to say, it’s one of the recommendations I give guests staying at my suites in Barcelona, and enjoying luxury vacations in Catalonia’s regional capital.