Spain

Chef Jordi Esteve won a Michelin star for his contemporary Catalan cooking at this calm, elegant dining room. Dishes such as a mousse made of foie gras and hake with a hint of vanilla served with port jelly, and rack of lamb with an herb crust accompanied by sweetbreads and smoked aubergine show off his style. Closed Sunday. 

Chef Jordi Artal grew up in Canada before returning to his parents’ native Catalonia and opening this excellent restaurant with a low-lit contemporary décor in the Eixample neighborhood of Barcelona. Artal uses only the finest local produce to create seasonal dishes that are beautifully presented, such as chicken-of-the-woods mushrooms served with grilled porcini, egg yolk confit, thyme-brown butter crumbs and pickled onion in a button mushroom cream; duck thigh, breast and wings with sautéed pear, bitter chocolate, red wine gel, corn nuts and pear chutney; and grilled trout with a fennel crisp in a Padrón pepper emulsion and an onion-and-tomato confit, all of which we enjoyed at our most recent meal. Children under age 6 are not permitted. Closed Sunday and Monday.

After becoming one of the most famous chefs in the world with his restaurant El Bulli (now closed), Ferran Adrià has opened six restaurants in the same neighborhood in Barcelona. Tickets is Adrià’s high-concept tapas bar with a cracked white-tile floor and a showbiz-themed décor. The modern Spanish tapas are excellent and may include dishes like tuna belly with salmon eggs and green-apple bread, grilled quail with honey and mint, and rabbit ribs with foamy garlic mayonnaise. However, it is noisy, and service can be uneven. Closed Sunday and Monday. 

In December 2014, three chefs who had previously worked at the celebrated El Bulli (now closed) came together to create this wonderful two-star restaurant. Reflecting the surrounding Eixample neighborhood and the Ninot Market across the street, the interior brings together a delightful interplay of wrought iron and Mironian ceramics, all brightly illuminated through skylights. As you would expect, the menu is full of an ever-changing array of inventive dishes. Look for creations such as the red mullet with pork belly and eggplant gnocchi, macaroni carbonara, and razor clams with seaweed in salt. “Disfrutar” is Spanish for “to enjoy,” and enjoyment is just what this stylish restaurant inspires in its guests. Closed Saturday and Sunday. 

Chef Jordi Cruz was the youngest Spanish chef ever to win a Michelin star, at the restaurant Estany Clar. In this sleek and stylish space located in a newly constructed pavilion adjacent to a lush garden, Cruz showcases local produce in dishes such as Mediterranean red mullet with crisped fish scales, nori and green tea leaves; escudella (traditional Catalan stew) with lamb meatballs, baby artichokes, pine nuts and roasted salicornia; and Iberian meats with babaganoush, salted toffee, caramelized honey and grilled watercress. 

This Catalan take on a French bistrot à vins, or a bistro specializing in wines, reflects Barcelona’s obsession with design. A high-tech interior allows patrons to peruse some 3,600 available bottles on a computer screen. The list includes everything from local Priorat wines to French Condrieu and Italian Chianti, and there are also wines from California, Lebanon, South Africa and England. The menu is wine-friendly and runs to tempting dishes such as duck with an olive polenta, pears and stewed turnips; pigeon cooked two ways: chargrilled breast with caramelized onions and wings with tender rice, along with fresh seafood courses like prawn tartare in a mushroom consommé, and line-caught squid stuffed with chickpeas and mushrooms. Do not leave without trying the Paris-Brest (praline cream puff) served with hazelnuts for dessert. Closed for lunch Monday and Saturday, and all-day Sunday. 

Overlooking a quiet square in El Poblenou, one of the city’s larger districts, this restaurant is much loved by locals, who flock here for dishes such as duck foie gras in salt crust with truffle and tarragon, Iberian pork with broccoli cream, salt cod gratin with romesco sauce (tomatoes, garlic and almonds) accompanied by creamed spinach, suckling goat with rosemary and baked potatoes, and a chocolate honeycomb-and-lemon cloud with a touch of lime and rosemary honey. Be sure to try the delicious white Priorat Catalonian wines. 

Conveniently located in the central Eixample neighborhood, this attractive modern tapas bar established in 2002 takes reservations, and most of its staff speak English. Try the rich assortment of Iberian sausages, cod fritters, fresh prawns with garlic sauce, oxtail stew with potatoes, and deep-fried baby squid. The veal carpaccio with duck foie gras and mustard vinaigrette, and the local octopus with candied onions are not to be missed. The popular paellas are served only at lunch.

Chef Josean Alija’s food more than lives up to its spectacular setting in the Guggenheim. Alija is a great vegetable cook; at our most recent meal, I loved his foie gras-like avocado, steamed over a bouillon made with conger eel. Other wonderful dishes might include monkfish liver with grilled artichokes and black olives; megrim fish coated in a prawn, lemon and chile pepper sauce; rack of lamb with an almond purée and fenugreek juice; hake collar with taro root and green sauce; and carbonara with Iberian pork delicacies and coconut. Closed Monday, evenings Tuesday to Sunday, lunch Wednesday to Saturday and most of January.

To discover the ultimate barbecue cookery, stop for lunch at chef Victor Arguinzoniz’s cheerful country inn located between Bilbao and San Sebastián. Everything is cooked on a grill, and the results are spectacular. The menu changes frequently, but typical dishes have included cod grilled over green oak coals and presented with a pepper condiment, squid grilled with onions and served with a sauce of its own ink, and grilled porcini mushrooms in a mushroom cappuccino. This spot is lunch-only, except on Saturdays between April and October, when dinner is served as well. Children under the age of 12 are not permitted. Closed Monday and during the month of August.