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El Celler de Can Roca
Menu · Prices · How to Book
⁎⁎⁎
THREE MICHELIN STARS
Address: C/ de Can Sunyer, 48, 17007 Girona, Catalonia, Spain
Cost: €€€€€
Opening times:
Mon & Sun; Closed
Tue – Sat; 12:30pm-2:30pm, 7:30pm-9:30pm
Must try dish: Feast Menu
Website: El Celler de Can Roca
This ever evolving restaurant from the three Roca brothers has twice been voted the world’s number 1. We’ll take you through the 2022 menu, prices, and how to actually make a reservation.
Need to know
- How to make a reservation
- On the 1st of every month at midnight, tables get released for 11 months in advance. Bookings are made online through the restaurants official website only.
- How to get there from Barcelona
- Take the AVE / Renfe train from Barcelona-Sants to Girona (tickets can be purchased up to 6 months in advance on the official Renfe website). Then take a 10 minute taxi ride or a 20 minute bus ride (Bus L5) to the restaurant.
- Is there a dress code?
- Smart casual. There's not an official dress code as such. No rules stating men must wear a shirt and tie, and women must where high heels for example. However, this being a 3 MICHELIN star restaurant obviously no flip-flops, beach wear or shorts. And diners tend to get slightly more dressed up for the evening service, but nothing too over the top.
- Food
- There are two tasting menus and no a la carte.
- The Feast menu is 15 dishes, going up to 32 including the extras.
- The aptly named Tasting menu is 7 dishes, going up to 24 including the extras.
- Drinks
- The vast and impressive celler at the restaurant contains 80,000 bottles of local and international wines. For non-drinkers there's actually a very enjoyable non-alcoholic beer called Freedom, from the Castelló Beer Factory. An aromatic IPA using Simcoe, Citra and Mosaic hops.
- Price
- Feast menu: €250
- - optional matching wines: €130
- Tasting menu: €215
- - optional matching wines: €85
It's finally time to visit the World Famous Restaurant
Almost a year after making our reservation, it was finally time to see what all the fuss was about. At the time of booking there was excitement. That fades through out the year as you forget about it. But it picked up again drastically as we got out of our taxi, walked passed the famous sign outside, through an almost pitch black alleyway that leads into a beautiful patio seating area, in front of the old brick building, and with views into the modern dining area through its glass walls.
The restaurant is a collaboration between brothers Joan Roca (Chef), Josep Roca (Sommelier) and Jordi Roca (Pastry Chef). First opened in 1986 next to their parents restaurant in Girona, they later moved to the current location, a short distance away, in 2007.
World's 50 Best Restaurants Hall of Fame
El Celler de Can Roca has won numerous awards over the years, picking up 3 MICHELIN stars along the way. Among those awards are the World’s Best Restaurant in 2013 and 2015. And they now permanently hold a place in the Worlds 50 Best Restaurants ‘Best of the Best’. An award set up for all the previous winners that are therefore no longer entered into the competition.
Our reservation was for a Wednesday evening. If I was to choose, I probably would have gone for a lunch sitting. However, to get any sitting is a success.
Feast menu or Tasting menu?
We decided to go all out, food wise, and chose the Feast menu. There’s not a huge difference in price, and it’s not every day that you’re going to be dining here. The evening starts with a complementary glass of Catalan sparkling wine.
The menu starts by NOT starting. In which I mean, before any of the items from the Feast menu arrive, 17, yes 17, appetizers are slowly brought to your table. I’m going to show you every one of those dishes, and I’ll give you my opinion on each. So, let’s get started.
The first 4 appetizers arrive together, and we’re told the order in which to consume them in. They include an “escudella” in clay oven, vegetable aspic and pickles with an escudella broth, a truffle brioche, and sitting on the spoon is Bruna cow’s fresh milk cream from Formatgeria le Xiquella with veal and truffle consommé.
- My opinion - Hit
- What a great start. The flavour combinations of all four. The soup is light, but hearty. The veal and truffle consommé, sitting on the spoon, is amazing with an incredible taste. But the best though is the truffle brioche, soft and delicious and not overpowering at all.
“more flavour than any I’ve had before”
The second set to arrive includes 5 food items, sitting on a piece of wood, that also tells a story of the restaurant’s history with dates. The first date is 1986, the year the restaurant was founded. And the food is a Poularde cannellone.
- My opinion - Hit
- The smallest cannellone I've ever seen, but it packs more flavour than any I've had before. Fantastic.
1997 is a pork trotters carpaccio, and the year they developed new cooking techniques.
- My opinion - Hit
- Very enjoyable, not quite as much as the cannellone, but very tasty.
The Caesar’s mushroom tartalette next. 1998 – The year younger brother, and award winning pastry chef, joined the kitchen team.
- My opinion - Hit
- My new favourite. Crunchy at the bottom, soft on top and just the right flavour combination.
2007 – The year the restaurant moved to it’s current location. And this time we have a truffle cream, egg yolk and bacon.
- My opinion - Hit
- It seems to be getting better and better with every dish now. Again the truffle is not too overpowering. The mix of all three components complement each other perfectly.
The final item on this board is the blue crab fritter. We were advised to eat it all in one go, as it contains liquid. The year is 2020, a time in which the menu went though an extensive change of direction.
- My opinion - Hit
- We ended this set of five in style. A nice crunch on the outside and an explosion of crab as soon as you take a bite.
“a surprise on the tongue, and so refreshing”
Three completely different spoons arrive next, containing the next 3 items. From bottom to top (the order in which they should be consumed) is a prawn marinated with rice vinegar, head juice & crispy prawn legs seaweed velouté on the wooden spoon, an Olivada, including aloreña, cordobesa, cornicabra, Kalamata & Verdial with piparra, and finally on the top spoon is spring pickles with walnut “romesco” sauce.
- My opinion - Hit
- All three are definitely hits.
- Prawn: The first one I tried and my least favourite. A quality tasting prawn, although as it was slightly warm, neither hot nor cold, there was something about it that didn't wow me.
- Olivada: Now this one did wow me. I thought it was a type of mustard at first glance, but an olivada is a Spanish dish similar to the French tapinard, made up of tiny olives and olive oil. It was a surprise on the tongue, and so refreshing.
- Spring pickles: For me, this selection really did get better with every spoon. This last concoction was like multiple flavours of a Thai curry. It's amazing just how much flavour can exist in such a small portion.
The first dish not accompanied by any others is the kale with anchovy and truffle.
- My opinion - Hit
- I'm not a huge fan of kale or anchovy, so I thought we were going to have our first 'miss'. However, the subtlety of the tastes and the way it's been put together, it's another 'hit'.
I’ve never had the famous Catalan calçots looking this elegant before. Razor clams with calçot is up next. If you want to see what calçots usually look like then check out my article on the best calçots in Barcelona here.
- My opinion - Hit
- No barbequing of this calçot, which is the usual way of doing it. Goes well with the clam, sauces and oil. Very fresh tasting.
Crustacean velouté with caviar now. And, we’ve still got another 2 dishes after this one before we even start the actual Feast menu.
- My opinion - Hit
- Another well balanced dish. The velouté (sauce) brings everything together and awakens the palate.
The last two before the menu for real starts arrive together. Oyster with game, Palo Cortado and truffle in an attractive white bowl, and a Foie nougat with hazelnuts and cocoa. You start with the oyster and then onto the foie.
- My opinion - Hit
- The liquidised oyster (not fishy tasting at all), joined by the dry sherry is so on point and bring the senses in your mouth alive. Then onto the foie nouget. Incredible mix of savoury and sweet. Might actually be the dish of the day so far.
Bread to accompany the main courses
We’re now brought 3 different types of homemade bread before the main dishes arrive. A tomato bread with sultanas, a farmhouse brown bread and a crispy puff pastry type of bread.
- My opinion - Hit
- All really good with crispy crusts and soft in the middle. The tomato bread was my favourite taste.
The start of the Feast menu Vegetable dishes
So now it’s time for the Feast menu to begin. And it opens with a vegetable surf and turf, consisting of different seaweeds, herbs and flowers.
- My opinion - Hit
- The actual menu is off to a flying start. A wonderful mix that complement each other well.
A real piece of theatre now. The dish steamed in front of you using a Catalan white wine. The dish in question is Xarel · lo steamed peas with pistachio pesto, citrus gel, Montseny wasabi sprouts, pea sprouts and Montseny wasabi oil.
“the flavour is enticing”
- My opinion - Hit
- Massive 'hit'. My new favourite. The wasabi isn't too strong, the peas seem fluffy and crunchy at the same time and the flavour is enticing.
Beautifully presented is the Swiss chard with Iberian fat emulsion. Swiss chard is a leafy green vegetable. Here they’ve compressed them into three cubes and created a pickle and a sauce for each. Amontillado sherry, candied garlic and l’Escala anchovy.
- My opinion - Miss
- The 19th dish of the evening and my first 'miss'. Just my personal preference, but I didn't enjoy the flavours or textures so much. I felt the anchovy was especially too strong for me here.
Grinfola frondosa, known as the dancing mushroom in Japan, is a type of fungi that grows at the bottom of trees. Here it is accompanied with chestnut, onion and clove consommé, yuzu puree, pine vinegar gel, orange, grapefruit and lime wedges, grilled chestnut, soy sauce and more mushrooms.
- My opinion - Hit
- Back to the 'hits'. Such warm and homely flavours.
Next up is the celeriac and pear, with a smoked celeriac purée, caramelized cream, roasted celeriac broth, crunchy celeriac sprouts, tarragon, coffee, pickled celery, pickled rhubarb, candied anise and some sherry vinegar. What is celeriac? It comes from the same plant as celery, grown for the edible root.
- My opinion - Hit
- It's a mix of sweet and savoury. Bigger than it at first looks, as you unravel the celeriac. Not at the top of my list of 'hits', but a 'hit' none the less.
Beetroot tartare, prepared in 5 different ways. Including a smoked tartare, with walnut milk, a stalk tarte and a chutney (the yellow one).
- My opinion - Hit
- If you're not a fan of beetroot, you may end up loving this dish. There are some impressive creations with varying tastes. The smoked version is strong in flavour. The yellow chutney is delicious and would go very well along side an Indian curry.
A revered vegetable in Catalonia, here we have the candied artichoke heart, with artichoke vermouth sauce, mustard sauce, beurre noisette sauce, oloroso emulsion and artichoke petals.
- My opinion - Hit
- It's quite something what they can do with one vegetable and make it exciting.
The start of the Feast menu Seafood dishes
We enter a seafood journey starting with Pickled sea urchin. It’s joined by potato and ‘tan’ purée, pickled egg plant seeds, charcoal-grilled sweet potato, bottarga, Ibarra chilli pepper seeds, coriander purée, saffron “allioli”, red seaweed, sea grape seaweed, vinegar jelly, lemon zest and nasturtium flowers.
- My opinion - Miss
- My first time trying sea urchin, and as much as I wanted to like this dish, it was just too strong a flavour for me. It's wonderfully put together, and the other ingredients work well, but way too fishy for my taste.
We continue the main course seafood journey with a langoustine with sagebrush plant, vanilla oil and toasted butter. The langoustine, also known as the Norway lobster or large prawn is one of the most important crustaceans in Europe.
“decent size, meaty and succulent”
- My opinion - Hit
- The prawn is of a decent size, meaty and succulent. It's been lightly grilled, and goes perfectly with the vanilla and butter foam.
We conclude the seafood dishes with turbot prepared in three different ways. Top right in the photo above is the charcoal-grilled turbot fins with a pilpil of oxalis flower. Bottom centre is the turbot carpaccio with grapefruit and black olive tartar. And finally top left is the turbot supreme confit with garlic oil.
- My opinion - Hit
- Charcoal-grilled turbot fins: If it was this dish only it would be a 'miss'. Didn't enjoy the taste and too fishy for me.
- Turbot carpaccio: An interesting and clever concept. Thought I wasn't going to like this one, but was pleasently surprised.
- Turbot supreme confit: My favourite of the three. Sweet and garlicy, but not too much. Looks small, however it's quite filling.
The start of the Feast menu Meat dishes
We start the meats with lamb cooked 5 different ways. Each comes with it’s own mini side dish. From top to bottom we have Suckling lamb stew with couscous of celery, basil and cardamom. Next is the suckling lamb sweetbreads with capers in sherry vinegar and couscous of celeriac, mint and liquorice. Third is pickled suckling lamb trotters and brains with couscous cauliflower and aniseed. Then suckling lamb belly in its juice with couscous of apple, tarragon and cinnamon. Finally, sautéed lamb loin in it’s juice and couscous of cucumber, fennel and pink pepper.
- My opinion - Hit
- A joy to the senses to have lamb so differently prepared one after the other. My favourites were the stew and the loin. The only one I wasn't sure about was the trotters and brains.
The last main course of the evening is this delightful poularde pithivier with truffle and fresh herb sauce. A poularde is a type of chicken over 120 days old which has never laid eggs. This creates a softer and more refined and rich taste. And the pithivier is a French method of creating a round type of pastry pie, with fillings such as meat or vegetables.
- My opinion - Hit
- Without a doubt one of the best dishes of the evening. The quality of the meat, the juices, the sauces, the texture, the pastry, and that taste. It manages to feel like part comfort food and part haute cuisine at the same time.
The start of the Feast menu Desserts
To start the desserts we have the Rain forest. A cloud is created from distilled mushrooms and positioned over the dish, resulting in droplets to fall on the black trumpet ice-cream with pine honey, black trumpet, dust and pine dust and crunchy leaves of cocoa and pine dust below. Creating an atmosphere similar to a damp forest in the morning. Jordi Roca, the pastry chef, was inspired by his morning walks with his dog.
- My opinion - Hit
- Not only is it a fun dish, but the flavour combinations are very creative. Although it's sweet and savoury, it's definitely more on the sweet side.
More fun now with this ball pool dessert from the younger brother Jordi Roca. Crack open the ball of hand-blown sugar to get to the multicoloured ice-cream balls inside. The filling includes cream of roses, lychee, caramel sphere with caramelized apple and 11 types of ice-cream. The ice-cream balls are mint, basil, fennel, passion fruit, raspberry, coconut, blueberries, apricot, guava, lime and blackberry.
- My opinion - Hit
- The sugar ball is delicious on it's own. Then mixed with the cold contents inside which is full of so many different flavours all at once. Incredible.
To end the Feast menu we are served a vanilla cream with walnut praline. The other ingredients include tobacco gelée, green orange, caramelized walnuts with spices & spiced sponge cake, and toasted butter ice-cream.
- My opinion - Hit
- In my opinion, it was a case of saving the best until last.
The menu may be over, but there’s more to come. The famous Can Roca dessert trolley, with all it’s Petit Fours, is wheeled to every table at the end of the meal. We were given 10 different petit fours to enjoy with our coffee. They included mini oreo cookies, chocolate cookies pineapple squares with coconut, chocolate nuts and the Ferrero Rocher style hazelnut chocolate gold balls.
- My opinion - Hit
- Creative and delicious, like so much of the menu before them. All are great, but especially the Ferrero style gold balls.
Summary
In conclusion, the whole experience was well worth the almost 1 year wait. The food is creative and innovative. I also loved the venue itself, the way every table is spaced out from the others, creating your own little environment to enjoy the whole culinary adventure. We learnt there are 60 members of staff in the kitchen, 30 per shift. The service is outstanding, both friendly and formal. You’re made to feel very welcome. We saw two of the brothers during the evening. Josep Roca visited each table at the start to say hello and posed for photos with some customers. Pastry chef Jordi Roca was at reception as we left. A great end to a truly enjoyable evening.
More from the Roca Brothers
As well as one of the best fine dining restaurants in the world, the Roca brothers also have other establishments in Girona, Barcelona and as far a field as Madrid.
Very close to the famous Eiffel Bridge in Girona is the location for their first and fun ice-cream shop Rocambolesc. You’ll find a wonderful variety of creative ice creams and chocolates.
A short walk away form Rocambolesc is Casa Cacao. An upmarket boutique hotel opposite the river with a beautiful roof terrace and chocolate workshop on the ground floor.
Next door to Casa Cacao is Bar Cacao. A cafe and coffee shop that serves savoury and sweet delights and great coffee.
Las Ramblas | Barcelona
If you want to try one of their famous desserts, but can’t make it out to Girona, don’t fret. There is a Rocabolesc ice-cream shop on Las Ramblas in the centre of Barcelona. They have the same creative confectionaries as in the Girona store, like the ice lolly nose and the golden hand. As well as boxes of chocolates, chocolate bars, and something called a panet. A panet is ice-cream and toppings in a brioche style pastry, which is then compressed and heated in a special machine. It’s hot, cold, and absolutely delicious.
Sant Miguel Market | Madrid
And if you’re in Madrid, the Roca brothers also have you covered. In the famous foodie market San Miguel, in the centre of the city is where you’ll find this Rocabolesc outpost. It’s actually at this location that I tried my first panet.
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See my full list of the best restaurants in Barcelona here.