Xerta Restaurant

Most people come to Barcelona and think they’ve seen Catalonia. They hit the Gothic Quarter, they eat a mediocre paella on a terrace, and they call it a day. They’re missing the mud. They’re missing the Ebro Delta—that strange, amphibious landscape to the south where the river meets the sea, a place of rice paddies, salt marshes, and some of the most honest ingredients on the planet. Xerta Restaurant, tucked inside the Ohla Eixample hotel, is a high-speed rail line straight to that terroir, minus the mosquitoes.

Walking into a high-end hotel restaurant usually triggers my 'sterile environment' alarm. You expect white tablecloths and service so stiff it feels like a funeral. But Xerta manages to dodge the cliché. Yes, it’s polished. Yes, the lighting is curated. But then you see the open kitchen, a theater of controlled chaos where Chef Fran López and his crew are doing things to seafood that should probably be illegal. López is the youngest chef in Spain to hold two Michelin stars at two different spots, and he didn't get there by playing it safe. He brought the Delta to the city, and he didn't dilute it for the Eixample crowd.

You’re here for the tasting menu. Don't bother with the à la carte unless you’re in a rush, and if you’re in a rush at a place like this, you’ve already lost. The 'Delta' menu is the move. It starts with oysters—not those flabby things you find at a tourist buffet, but Delta oysters that taste like a cold slap of seawater and minerals. Then comes the eel. If you’re squeamish about eel, get over it. In the hands of this kitchen, it’s a revelation—smoky, fatty, and deeply satisfying.

But the real star, the reason you’re sitting in this chair, is the rice. This isn't the yellow-dyed rice you see on the Ramblas. This is 'Arroz del Delta,' cooked with a precision that borders on the obsessive. Whether it’s with duck, eel, or local shellfish, each grain is a tiny bomb of concentrated flavor, holding its shape just long enough to melt on your tongue. It’s the kind of dish that makes you realize how much bad rice you’ve eaten in your life. The wine pairing, curated by a sommelier who actually seems to enjoy his job, leans heavily into local Garnatxas and whites from Terra Alta that cut through the richness of the Delta silt.

The service is professional, bordering on the academic. They’ll explain the provenance of every mollusk and the specific harvest of the rice. For some, it might be a bit much. For me, it’s respect. They’re telling the story of a region that often gets ignored in the shadow of Barcelona’s Gaudí-fueled madness.

Is it expensive? Yeah, it’s a Michelin-starred joint in the middle of the Eixample; what did you expect? But is it worth it? If you want to understand the soul of Southern Catalonia without leaving the 08008 zip code, then yes. It’s a visceral, highly technical, and ultimately honest tribute to the water and the dirt. It’s not for the 'cheapest tapas' crowd. It’s for people who want to taste the geography. Just don't show up in flip-flops; have some respect for the eel.