El Celler de Can Roca

One hour east of Barcelona sits Girona, a quaint little town whose claim to fame is ancient Roman walls which still stand today. You can walk on them - and you should. There's also a cathedral, of course. And a museum which was better than expected. But that's about it.

Hardly a place you would expect to find one if the finest restaurants in the world.

"The Cellar of the Roca Brothers" sits in a residential neighborhood and is visually out of place with is modern wood wall among older, whitewashed, concrete apartment complexes. 

Their parents still own a bar right up the street. And it was in the basement (cellar) of that restaurant where the elder two  brothers - Joan and Josep - began this journey in 1986. In 2000, youngest brother Jordi joined the restaurant in full. Joan is the chef. Josep the sommelier. And Jordi the pastry chef.

This history matters. In fact, the history of the restaurant informs the entire experience here. If you miss the timeline on their website, fret not. An abbreviated timeline is presented as a series of small bites early in the meal. In fact, every inch of this restaurant is about these three brothers. From the 3 beautiful stones on your table to the breads (one made by each brother) and even the opening drink - a mix of 3 consommes (also one made by each brother) presented as uniquely as any dish I have ever been served, with each brother's profile displayed when their consomme was poured. Check out the photos below!

We met Chef Josep on the street as we entered. He was escorting in some friends (or VIPs). Seeing us, he generously held his hands to his heart, bowed over and over while gently saying "Thank you... Thank you..." As we got to the door of the restaurant, he held it open for us to enter. 

That level of extreme hospitality - with you as the star, as if you were doing them the favor of being there - emanated from every pore of this place. I arrived with the highest of expectations. And this restaurant effortlessly met and exceeded each one. 

This is one of the more difficult reservations to obtain in Europe and I can see why. The dining room is small with perhaps 15 tables in a triangle surrounding a leafy forest. It has the energy you hope a restaurant has. Comfortable. Formal. Lively. Enjoyable. A tinge of excitement. You know you're in for a treat. You can feel it.

The menu is enormous. 5 hours is the minimum time you'll be here and I've read of others spending far more than that. We came for lunch so we could day-trip out and back from Barcelona. Lunch and dinner menus are identical and I would recommend doing lunch for that reason, unless VERY late-night dining is your thing. If you come for dinner, you will be there well beyond midnight.

OK...the food. Let me tell you about this food! From the diversity of each dish, to its composition, plating, flavor, meaning. All of it sang at the highest of levels. Very few places make you groan over and over again with each varied dish, but this place is one that does.

I expected more molecular gastronomy, being in the shadow of el Bulli. But there was nothing "magical" about these dishes. They didn't transform ingredient A into ingredient B or spherify or snow or any such thing. Most of the plates had ingredients that were fully recognizable in their standard form. Which means the magic is straight up in the cooking! This place just knows how to make incredible food.

And so smart. The opening 2 bites were a mushroom bread that was a steamed mushroom bread. A deep, unctuous umami bomb that coated your mouth in rich, warm tones. They follow with a wispy mushroom bread with ice cream in the middle, cleansing your palate from the initial bite in texture, in tempurature and in flavor - while using the exact same ingredient and concept!

This tiny brownie-looking bite was actually a merging of the 3 brothers: truffle and fois (chef), chocolate and hazelnut (pastry) and, of course, wine. It looked normal, but was indescribably delicious.

Razor clams with...chickpeas? Wow did that work, for flavor, texture and everything else. The food here was simply stupendous in flavor, design, execution, plating and every other way you want to look at it.

And please don't skip out on the wine pairing - something Cellar is known for. Each wine is so perfectly matched with the dish along with being tremendous in its own right. Phenomenal descriptions of each vineyard, their owners, etc. were provided to help you connect to and understand each one. 

As an example - a two-part dish was paired with two identical wines from the same vineyard, but different vintages. The first was made by the father who owned the vineyard. The second, but the daughter who recently inherited the mantle. Being able to taste the similarities and vast differences of these two wines, which come from the same grapes on the same vines on the same grounds brought such life to the experience, as well as brilliantly pairing with each individual part of the dish.

Service as a whole was unreal. Quiet but available. Fully present but hidden. Deferential and thankful. Could not be better, throughout the entire dining room. This is quintessential 3 star dining. It's just perfect on every tier. Even when a guest at the next table over made a rather uncouth and offensive comment to an attractive server, the staff handled it brilliantly.

Three dishes make my all-time favorites list. And this restaurant lands at #5 on my list of favorite restaurants.

Meeting 2 of the 3 brothers on our way out was a perfect and fitting ending. I wish there was a way to convey to chefs like this what their efforts have truly conveyed, without being just another person gushing "It was SOOO good!!!". I haven't yet figured that one out.

What I have figured out is that El Cellar de Can Roca is worth every effort to visit. Get a reservation. Take the train out to Girona. And treat yourself to what is surely one of the best restaurant experiences on planet earth.