The Legendary Restaurant Where The Creators Of Disfrutar All Met
Located in the Eixample district of Barcelona, in a utilitarian space with plenty of natural light, Disfrutar, which means "to enjoy," is considered one of the world's most beautiful restaurants. It's also rapidly making a name for itself as one of the top restaurants in Spain, and indeed the world. After opening its doors in December 2014, it received its first Michelin star just a short while later in 2016 (via Food and Wine Gazette). In 2018, it was awarded two stars by the iconic Michelin Guide, which describes the restaurant as conjuring "up a true gastronomic experience" with "creativity, high technical skill, fantasy and good taste."
Within just three years of opening, Disfrutar won The Miele One to Watch Award in 2017 and officially debuted on The World's 50 Best Restaurant List the following year at number 18, earning it the Highest New Entry Award. In 2022, Disfrutar climbed to number 3 on The World's 50 Best Restaurant List, just behind Copenhagen's Geranium and Lima's Central. Helmed by three experienced chefs with an enviable culinary pedigree, it's probably not surprising that Disfrutar is as acclaimed as it is, even during the short time that it's been open.
Disfrutar's creators all worked at El Bulli
According to the Disfrutar website, chefs Oriol Castro, Mateu Casañas, and Eduard Xatruch were all part of the creative cooking team working with legendary Spanish chef, Ferran Adrià, at his highly acclaimed El Bulli restaurant. They each started working at El Bulli between 1996 and 1998, and have nearly 15 years of experience at what many consider to be the most influential restaurant of the 20th century — it's the only restaurant to be crowned the World's Best Restaurant five times.
Their time at El Bulli instilled in the three chefs the importance of creativity, well as "the spirit of not confirming, as well working hard every day, and evolution," reports The World's 50 Best. It's something they've carried with them through to their ventures after El Bulli. The three chefs decided to become partners in 2012 and to run their soon-to-be culinary empire without any outside third parties, so that they could have total independence and control over their creative vision. They first opened the more casual Compartir in Cadaqués in Catalonia in 2012 before opening Disfrutar, where they are continuing to evolve on El Bulli's tradition of avante-garde cuisine.