El Palace Barcelona has announced the opening of its new restaurant, Amar Barcelona, in partnership with former El Bulli Head Chef, Rafa Zafra.
Amar Barcelona embodies the love and passion which El Palace Barcelona and Rafa Zafra have for Barcelona, the Mediterranean Sea, Catalan culture, the local seafood, and gastronomy.
Eva Pous and Elena Prats Rubies were responsible for the restaurant’s interior design, and have drawn from the hotel’s ethos, in which history and modernity evolve in parallel, giving rise to interesting dialogues between the heritage of the building and the dynamism of a modern space celebrated for its creativity of the past and present.
The interiors feature elegant blue and gold tones complemented by ionic columns dating back to the opening of the hotel in 1919 and which have been restored in black and gold to evoke luxurious and palatial settings.
The space has been created with careful consideration given to colour and light, from the gold representing the sky, to the blue representing the sea together creating a warm, welcoming, and enveloping environment.
Two original teardrop crystal chandeliers juxtapose with minimalist architectural luminaires to create a strong visual dialogue of contrasts. The focal point of the restaurant is a rectangular gold bar flanked by luxurious velvet blue and gold-accented chairs and wood and brass accents. The original gold mouldings and original decorative elements have been carefully restored.
Access to the restaurant will be via a separate gold-leaf tunnel entrance. On one side of the entryway, guests will find jewellery cabinets exhibiting the aquatic jewels of Amar Barcelona, leading to a private dining space on the other side that has a capacity of up 10 people.
“The opening of Amar Barcelona marks a special day in El Palace Barcelona’s modern history,” comments Friedrich Von Schönburg, Managing Director, El Palace Barcelona. “When I joined El Palace Barcelona back in 2020, I already knew I wanted to bring a new, modern dining experience to the hotel and was looking for the right chef and partner to make this dream a reality.
“As soon as I met Rafa and his team (Ricardo Acquista and Anna Gotanegra), I knew they were the perfect fit to create a new dining destination here at El Palace Barcelona that is modern and fresh, while also respectful to the hotel’s rich heritage.”
