Restaurant Enigma is the latest addition to Albert Adria’s culinary empire in Barcelona, Catalonia. Today, this is the restaurant that comes closest to the famous El Bulli, the restaurant that changed the culinary world. Ferran and Albert Adrià can be seen as the ones responsible for the Spanish molecular cuisines and changed the way chefs think about textures in the kitchen. With Engima, Albert Adria created a playground where he can once again push the boundaries of the culinary world.

Enigma is located on the Carrer Sepúlvedain the centre of Barcelona, near the other restaurants of El Barri, the culinary triangle of Albert Adria. The restaurant’s interior is unique in the world. It has been described as a giant futuristic igloo where diners are disconnected from reality. The walls and ceilings are designed as grey, shiny clouds, and Albert describes the 700 square meter space as a “technologic cave”. The walls, chairs and tables have round, futuristic shapes and the ensemble has a unique extra-terrestrial feeling. Everything is custom made and the renovations costed around 3.2 million euros.

Guests enter with a personal code and are led to the first dining space through a small entrance hall. Here, they receive a first cocktail and the first bites. After the drinks selection, they are led through different sections, like the seafood section, the tepanyaki section and the main dining room. In each area they receive a series of bites and dishes, often prepared by the chefs just in front of them. The kitchen brings together influences from all over the world but Spanish food is of course at the centre of the experience. Fish and seafood are very well represented in the menu.

More than 40 dishes and bites are served and contrary to the interior, many of them are focused on the simplicity of the product. Like the asparagus, served only with sea salt but cooked in different textures. Or the croute, served on its own with nothing more than a pigeon broth. Some dishes are rather shocking, like the brain servings. But others are on the other side of the ‘shock-spectrum’, like the first bite – a strawberry with lemon. Enigma offers a gastronomic journey in groups of maximum 6 people, that lasts for about 3,5 hours. Staff is professional, discrete and dressed in an avant-garde outfit, giving the service an outer world feel.

Restaurant Enigma is a next-level gastronomic experience. Created by one of the greatest culinary innovators in the world, Albert Adrià, this restaurant offers an insight into the chef’s culinary mastermind. In more than 40 courses, served in several futuristic dining areas, guests can taste, smell, feel and experience the future of gastronomy.

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Written by Sven & Frank