More than 1,000 gastronomic, critic and restaurant experts from 27 regions around the world have just named Disfrutar “The World’s Best Restaurant” in Las Vegas on June 5.
The restaurant belongs to the ultra-creative chefs Oriol Castro, Eduard Xatruch and Mateu Casañas, three Catalans who decided to revolutionize Barcelona’s already outstanding gastronomic offering back in 2014.
Disfrutar features a “clearly avant-garde cuisine where dishes stand out for their great, markedly Mediterranean identity. In short, a restaurant with daring, fun and modern cuisine searching for taste as its main proposition,” reads their website.
As you might guess, visiting this place is not for all budgets. Dishes start at €100+, but their “Chinese bread with caviar” or their “transformable dessert table” definitely worth it.
At the restaurant, diners are offered two parallel menus, both around 30 courses. With 30 dishes to taste, the feast can take several hours. So be mentally prepared for an out-of-this-world gastronomic experience.
According to patrons, table interaction is a tradition, but it’s executed with a touch of elegance and humor.
In the words of “The World’s 50 Best Restaurant” experts, Disfrutar offers “imaginative dishes executed with exceptional technical skill and served in the most entertaining way possible” and states that, “no matter what menu you choose, one thing is certain: you will have the dining experience of a lifetime.”
Disfrutar, which in English means “enjoy,” first appeared in the competition in 2018, reaching the 19th spot. In 2019, it climbed to No. 9, No. 5 in 2021, No. 3 in 2022, No. 2 last year and finally No. 1 in 2024.
“If someone had told us 10 years ago, when we started Disfrutar, that we’d be here in Las Vegas and being crowned The World’s Best Restaurant 2024, we’d have thought they were crazy. It’s just a dream,” said Xatruch.
“We cannot believe this… We have around 70 people working at Disfrutar and 120 people across our teams. They will be so happy, we couldn’t be here without them,” Casañas added.
The trio also thanked their country and all the people who have contributed to their success.
But the night would bring more surprises for Spain as two more of its restaurants made the top 5 list.
- Disfrutar, Barcelona
- Asador Etxebarri, (Axpe, Vizcaya)
- Table by Bruno Verjus, Paris
- Diverxo, Madrid
- Maido, Lima
This is not the first time Barcelona has brought home international recognition for its entertainment offering.
Back in 2022, Paradiso was voted the best bar in the world in The World’s 50 Best Bar ceremony.
This bar has earned a great reputation among locals and tourists as the best place to choose when feeling like having some good cocktails.
Paradiso is owned by Giacomo Giannotti and Margarita Sader and it’s accessible through a speakeasy-retro style fridge door inside a Pastrami Bar, in Ciudat Vella, one of Barcelona’s favorite tourist hotspots.