Enjoy and the trio of Oriol Castro, Eduard Xatruch and Mateu Casañas crown a decade of achievement
the Barcelona restaurant Enjoy, led by the inventive team of Oriol Castro, Eduard Xatruch, and Mateu Casañas, marked a remarkable year. In June they earned Silver from the World’s 50 Best Restaurants, securing the position of the second-best restaurant in the world. On Tuesday they added a triple Michelin star honor to their list of accolades. A new volume, Enjoy Volume 2, has just entered the market, detailing the restaurant’s work since its opening in December 2014 on Villarroel Street, a pivotal chapter in the city’s dining scene over the past decade.
the trio’s creative capacity is expansive. Each year they craft dozens of recipes, around eighty in total, refining new techniques and perfecting established ones as they push the boundaries of contemporary cuisine.
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the authors share a curated selection of their finest dishes from 2023, explaining why these plates earned three stars and what makes them enduring favorites.
note the last entry hints at a thoughtful forecourt of ideas and flavors.
Flavor Concentration
the concept is intentionally simple, yet it demands careful consideration. the chefs aim to mirror the diners’ tastes and the intrinsic flavors of the ingredients. the dish is finished with a light tomato gelatin and features twelve different sprouts, each with a distinct flavor.
the plate is paired with a note describing each sprout’s character, inviting guests to notice a small detail. a single sprout can carry a symphony of flavors.
great care is shown in using both the finest and the most humble products, such as a simple sprout, to craft a meal where every element matters. guests have likely enjoyed meals where a garnish disrupted the balance; the intention here is to ensure every component on the plate serves a purpose and enhances the overall harmony.
golden egg
this dish builds on a technique developed in 2021: multicolor spheroidization. a sphere can be coated with another ingredient, and the chefs pursue clear, descriptive concepts by imagining this sphere carrying a sauce. shrimp, cold crab, and a golden-brown egg form a recognizable composition that invites close inspection.
this is a fried egg egg yolk is not egg yolk
the dish is presented as a global experience with intensely flavored shrimp and crab sauce, complemented by Asian inspirations that elevate the overall profile.
Calçotada 2023
traditional Catalan fare is reinvented with a new texture for the calçot, achieved through freeze-drying to create a crisper bite. a Romesco miso adds depth, using the skins of calçots, and a dashi enriched with calçot is served in a glass. the tradition is honored while creativity is applied in every step.
Lychee Pearl Necklace
this dish blends two Enjoy techniques: the globalization of 2016 and the luxury approach of 2021. an edible gem centers the plate, containing lychee juice and yuzu, gin, rose water ice cream, forest strawberry, tangerine extract, and a creamy lychee-yuzu sauce atop a sherbet base.
Almond ‘Coulant’
a fresh technique, nixtamalization, is employed to deliver surprising coulants. almonds are paired with Roquefort and pumpkin seeds to create a distinctive texture and flavor that surprises and delights.
White asparagus ‘Bao’
the 2023 technique uses bao paste placed into a siphon and steamed to yield ultra-light textures that carry a wide range of flavors, both sweet and savory. variants include white asparagus, beets, and corn.
Mackerel belly marinated with candied robellones and mushroom vinegar
the kitchen crafts its own mushroom vinegar and pickling solution, balancing sea and land influences. pine nuts, candied fir cones, and glacier fiddleheads accompany the mackerel belly or a candied oyster, creating a mosaic of textures.
black apple
a 2022 technique for fruit is applied to a blackened apple. peeled and vacuum-sealed, the fruit rests at a gentle heat for an extended period, yielding a deeply developed texture and flavor. the plate evokes a traditional apple tartin while pairing with whipped vanilla cream, noisette buttercream ice cream, and crisp pastry shards—an approach refined at Mejorar in 2018.
fig cream
work continues on meringue crafted from fig leaves, paired with a margarita-style slushie that blends fig leaves with candied green figs for a refreshing finish.
rings
to inaugurate a sweet sequence in a poetic way, the restaurant offers chocolate rings studded with flowers and hazelnuts as a playful dessert bite. guests are invited to scent their hands with rose water before tasting, enhancing the sensory experience as a final flourish of the meal.