After closing all the restaurants he had with the ElBarri group, due to a pandemic, the Michelin star Albert Adrià returns to the culinary scene with Enigma. However, the Catalan chef and the youngest of the Adrià saga is going to completely turn the concept upside down.
it does eradicating the concept of tasting menu (leaving only a letter), also charging the reservations (not totally, but almost) and eliminating dinner services to leave a kitchen non-stop that goes from 1:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., at which time Enigma will close.
With the intention of opening its doors on June 7, Adrià has assured various specialized media that it is “put an end to fine dining and now give the opportunity to fun dining“, which we would translate as having fun eating -something very groundbreaking, it seems-.
Beneath those wickers, Adrià proposes that only 50% of the local capacity is through reservations, while the other half will be free to gradually fill each service. In this context, Albert Adrià also proposes some fun afternoons in which the ‘afternoon’ will be one of the strong points of Enigma’s new journey, also endorsing the presence of signature cocktails.
As explained by the Barcelona chef, the new Enigma it will not have dishes from the old Enigma nor from Tickets, the restaurant that was his most informal bet and more focused on tapas, and that also closed after the pandemic.
The idea is to pursue a dynamic venue, as the chef explained to GastroActitud, in which “eat à la carte, have a snack, have a drink”. Concepts that abounded in Barcelona before the pandemic, such as Tickets itself or Dos Palillos, as well as other Adrià brands such as Hoja Santa.
Adrià’s return to the kitchen also coincides with the return of another classic of Catalan hospitality such as Carme Ruscalleda, who reopened the mythical Santa Pau restaurant, in San Pol del Mar (about 20 kilometers from Barcelona), together with her son Raül Balam.
Pictures | Enigma Concept
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