Alkimia

Alkimia, Jordi Vilà’s Catalan cooking in Barcelona

Alkimia is a Barcelona restaurant led by chef Jordi Vilà. Its cooking examines the past, present and future of Catalan food, moving from the tradition’s center to its edges and opening it to a more radical contemporary expression. The restaurant places particular value on the instant when a dish comes together and treats cooking as a path understood through practice.

La Taula de Cuina Catalana

La Taula de Cuina Catalana is a €188 dining experience. The menu begins with dishes such as panadó en cru with puff pastry and veal allipebre, Mallorcan brioche with sobrasada and bottarga, bread with tomato and sardine, anchovy and tuna belly with hazelnut and beetroot, and vermouth granita with strawberries. Vegetable courses include tempura courgette flower filled with smoked eel and samfaina, and tomato with cold caper soup. From the sea come a chilled fish and shellfish sarsuela and wild fish with oyster suquet. Meat courses include pickled foie micuit with mongeta del cuc, bread crisps and cherries; tripe and cured pork belly; and roast pork. Desserts include seasonal fruit with yoghurt ice cream, coca de llardons, hazelnut Mont Blanc and a fritter. The restaurant advises that dishes may contain ingredients beyond those listed and asks diners with allergies or intolerances to consult the team.

Jordi Vilà’s à la carte menu

The à la carte selection gives individual prices. Dishes listed in the Spanish profile include sea bass tartare, prawn and Oscietra caviar with bocatto di cardinale (€110); pickled foie micuit with mongeta del cuc, bread crisps and cherries (€56); tempura courgette flowers filled with smoked eel and samfaina (€42); lobster served two ways (€85), with the legs in a tomato salpicón and the tail with macadamia-and-galangal romesco; wild turbot with oyster suquet and oysters with pickled garnishes (€86); rice with sea cucumbers and kale (€90); milk-fed veal sweetbreads with roast tomatoes and caper sauce (€65); cured squab with anchovy jus and leek tatin (€72); and grilled wagyu beef fillet with mushroom romesco, chard and potato (€135). Desserts include seasonal fruit salad with redcurrant sorbet and yoghurt (€18), coffee-liqueur cake with hazelnut and grilled-orange nectar (€20), coca de llardons (€18) and chocolate fondant with vanilla ice cream (€23).

La Taula del Migdia

La Taula del Migdia is a €110 lunch proposal. It includes panadó en cru with puff pastry and veal allipebre, Mallorcan brioche with sobrasada and bottarga, and anchovy and tuna belly with hazelnut and beetroot. First courses include tempura courgette flower filled with smoked eel and samfaina, tomato with cold caper soup and a chilled fish and shellfish sarsuela. Diners then choose between two meat or fish dishes of the day. Dessert brings seasonal fruit with yoghurt ice cream, coca de llardons and a fritter.

Awards and history

Jordi Vilà has received Spain’s National Gastronomy Award. Alkimia also cites three Repsol Suns, recognition as Barcelona’s best restaurant from the Macarfi Guide and 20 consecutive years holding a Michelin star. The restaurant nevertheless describes the response of the diners at its tables as its most valued recognition.

Private rooms and events

Alkimia’s private rooms, known as aldavant, are at the front of the same principal-floor premises as the restaurant. These classically styled dining rooms accommodate groups of different sizes, with each event adapted to the client’s needs. Reservations are handled at reserves@alkimia.cat.

Catering Jordi Vilà

Vilà also runs a catering project for celebrations and events. It draws on experience dating to 1998, when he opened his first establishment, El Abrevadero, followed by Alkimia, Alkostat, Vivanda and the Va de Cuina takeaway shop. The service accompanies clients from initial planning to the final toast, with locally rooted Catalan cooking, respect for traditional recipes and a creative approach. The contact is Laura Claret on 668 554 033 or at eventsjordivila@alkimia.cat.

Manual de Autodefensa de la Cuina Catalana

The restaurant promotes the Manual de Autodefensa de la Cuina Catalana, a campaign warning of the pressures that globalisation, large-scale industry and cultural change place on Catalan cooking. It presents nine figures alongside nine arguments in defense of that culinary tradition. Related merchandise is sold at Alkimia, Alkostat, Vivanda and Va de Cuina: poster (€16), T-shirt (€17) and mug (€12).

Jordi Vilà’s other establishments

Vilà has several other businesses. Alkostat brings his study of Catalan culinary tradition into an everyday format. Va de Cuina is a takeaway shop with dishes such as Escudella Street, Alkostat macaroni and Alkimia’s sweet-and-sour cucumbers. Vivanda is a neighbourhood restaurant in Sarrià serving Catalan tradition to contemporary diners. Alkostat del Mar is the more maritime, Empordà-inspired version of his cooking, on Sa Riera beach in Begur, inside Hotel & Spa Finca Victoria with Majestic Hotel Group.

The team

Alkimia’s 2024/2025 team is listed as Ananda Catalan, dining-room manager; Pam Tárrega, server; Bernat Vilarrubia, head sommelier; Aleix Dotú, dining-room manager; Sònia Profitós, dining-room manager; Jordi Vilà, head chef; Cristina Beired, head chef; Marcos Valyi, head chef; Aleix Bravo, head pastry chef; and Adrià Moreno, chef de partie.

Location and contact

Ronda Sant Antoni, 41, principal floor, 08011 Barcelona · Phone: (+34) 93 207 61 15 · Email: reserves@alkimia.cat · Hours: Monday–Thursday, 1–3:30 p.m. and 8–10:30 p.m.; Friday, 1–3:30 p.m.