The verdict Disfrutar takes the experimental DNA of El Bulli and makes it delicious rather than merely clever. Substance, execution, and invention are all at the summit; only the price keeps it from a perfect card.
The legacy of El Bulli has been claimed by many and honoured by few. Most kitchens that inherited Ferran Adrià’s techniques kept the cleverness and lost the pleasure. Disfrutar — opened in Barcelona in 2014 by three El Bulli alumni, Oriol Castro, Eduard Xatruch, and Mateu Casañas — is the rare heir that kept both. It was named the best restaurant in the world in 2024 and holds three Michelin stars. We came to test whether the cooking earns its reputation. It does, more completely than almost anything else in this batch.
We made two visits across the window, one taken anonymously, both paid in full at the public rate. The card below is the highest the desk has awarded in this round, and it was not a close call.
What we tested
We took the long tasting menu on both visits — a procession of around thirty small constructions that move from playful to genuinely moving. The conceit of Disfrutar is that avant-garde technique should produce delight, not just astonishment. A “multi-spherification” of pesto, a transparent ravioli, a course that plays with hot and cold in a single bite: each is a trick, and each is also, crucially, delicious. That distinction is the whole review.
Scoring against the Premium Standard
| Dimension | Weight | Score (of 20) | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Substance | 30% | 19.5 | 5.85 |
| Execution | 25% | 20.0 | 5.00 |
| Service | 20% | 19.5 | 3.90 |
| Setting | 15% | 19.0 | 2.85 |
| Value | 10% | 18.0 | 1.80 |
| Total | 19.40 → 19.5 |
Substance (19.5)
Where a lesser avant-garde kitchen asks you to admire the idea, Disfrutar asks you to eat — and the eating is superb. The Mediterranean identity is never lost beneath the technique; the flavours are bright, layered, and confident. Across two visits there was no course that read as cleverness for its own sake, which is the trap the entire genre falls into. The high-wire dishes land because the underlying cooking is grounded in real flavour.
Execution (20.0)
This is the only perfect dimensional score the desk awarded in the batch, and it is deserved. A menu of thirty constructions, many requiring split-second timing and exotic technique, was delivered across two visits without a single fault of temperature, texture, or timing. The kitchen’s control over its own complexity is the most impressive technical performance in this round.
Service (19.5)
The floor is warm, precise, and unusually good at explaining ambitious food without lecturing. The three-chef ownership is felt in a kitchen-floor coordination that is near-seamless; courses arrive exactly as the dish requires. On the anonymous visit, the standard held completely.
The setting and the bill
The room (19.0) — bright, Mediterranean, with a glassed kitchen and a private courtyard table — is one of the more joyful fine-dining spaces in Europe and suits the cooking’s optimism. Setting and food are in genuine harmony.
Value (18.0) is the only place the card slips, and only slightly. Our full tasting for two, with the pairing and service, was a serious sum — three-star Barcelona is no longer inexpensive. But the spend buys a meal that few restaurants on earth can match, and the value remains strong for the category.
Verdict
Disfrutar is the best meal in this batch and one of the most complete tasting menus the desk has assessed. It resolves the central problem of avant-garde cooking — that cleverness so often crowds out pleasure — and resolves it course after course, across visits, including anonymously. The only reason it is not a flat perfect score is that excellence at this level costs what it costs. Short of that, this is as close to flawless as fine dining gets.
The Premium Standard: 19.5 / 20
Verification
Every factual claim in this review was checked against external sources before publication, on 2026-04-11. Where a figure could not be independently confirmed, it is described in approximate terms in the text. To challenge a fact, write to corrections@premiumtravelreview.com.
Frequently asked questions
- How is Disfrutar ranked?
- It was named No. 1 on The World's 50 Best Restaurants 2024 and holds three Michelin stars in the Spain selection, awarded in late 2023.
- Who are the chefs?
- Three chefs who trained at El Bulli — Oriol Castro, Eduard Xatruch, and Mateu Casañas — own and run the restaurant together. It opened in Barcelona in 2014.
- What is the food like?
- Avant-garde, technique-driven Mediterranean cooking served as a long tasting menu, full of textural and conceptual surprises that nonetheless taste delicious.
- Why not a perfect score?
- Only the value dimension holds it back slightly; the spend is significant. Every other dimension sits at or near the top of the scale.
