al kostat

The story

al kostat Barcelona: Jordi Vilà's Catalan Cuisine, Michelin Recommended

A rooted, joyful take on Catalan cooking

At al kostat, chef Jordi Vilà cooks the Catalan cuisine he believes in: one that is rooted in the region’s rich recipe tradition, yet speaks directly to today’s diner. The kitchen’s philosophy is straightforward—respect for local product, care for the craft, and a clear-eyed love for the everyday act of eating well. The restaurant describes its food as “cuina de diari” (daily cooking) made with excellent product, turning the primary act of eating into a festival of the quotidian. This is a Catalan restaurant that wears its identity with pride, offering a menu of plats, platillos, and tapes designed for sharing and for bons vivants.

The man behind the stove

Jordi Vilà is a chef with deep roots in the gastronomic landscape of Catalonia. A National Gastronomy Award winner, he has been awarded three Repsol Suns and named Best Restaurant in Barcelona by the Macarfi Guide. His career includes two decades of consecutive Michelin stars, and al kostat itself holds a Michelin Recommended distinction for 2026. Vilà’s cooking is an expression of landscape, territory, and culture—a cuisine that loves the product and the local suppliers who work the land, the hunt, and the sea with the same sensitivity the kitchen brings to its work.

What’s on the table

The menu at al kostat is a generous, changing document. It moves from platillos i tapes like a chicken croquette with anchovy butter and a Catalan-style nigiri of marinated squid and pork jowl, to classics such as brandade of cod with green beans and pickled cauliflower, or a steak tartare with garlic, pepper, butter, and smoked eel. Grilled dishes include an oyster with scrambled egg, a fricandeau of tuna ventresca with mushrooms, and the kitchen’s own pork sausage with samfaina. The restaurant also features “Les tres pastes catalanes” (the three Catalan pastas)—gratinated macaroni with roast meats, fideuà with pork rib, and a duo of cannelloni—as well as a section dedicated to seasonal zucchini flowers. Desserts are equally Catalan in spirit: crema catalana, a flan with vanilla ice cream, and a coca de llardons made entirely in-house, from the pastry to the lardons to the pine nuts.

For those seeking a deeper dive, al kostat offers a Menú Salvaje (wild game tasting menu) that delves into the Catalan hunting tradition. At 168€, it features hare, roe deer, partridge, wild boar, duck, and pheasant, prepared according to the season’s availability. Dishes such as a rustic pheasant soup with egg and thyme, partridge casserole with almonds, and a tatin of hare showcase the kitchen’s skill with game, served as a full table experience by reservation.

The atmosphere

Al kostat is a place that takes its food seriously but not itself. The welcome is warm and inclusive—the kitchen even notes, in a characteristically direct aside, that they like “tastaolletes i torracollons” (foodies and chatterboxes alike) and that everyone is welcome. It is a space for those who understand that Catalan cuisine is not a museum piece, but a living, evolving tradition.