Disfrutar

Barcelona is home to a lot of very high-end restaurants, but the atmosphere at these places is far more casual than you would expect. Despite being one of the best restaurants in the world, you’d struggle to find a fine-dining spot more laid back and actually pleasant than Disfrutar. The three owners were each previously head chefs at elBulli (the place where they started putting foam on plates), and they’ve brought all that expertise here, without any snobbishness.

The dining room is bright and breezy, with an open kitchen and very friendly staff, and the food is exactly as spectacular as you would imagine. What you see on your plate here is rarely what you taste in your mouth, whether that’s a panchino (or bao bun) filled with beluga caviar or a “gazpacho sandwich” that's actually just sliced bread that's filled with tomato-flavored meringue and a refreshing gazpacho sorbet.