Toc al Mar

The story

Toc al Mar, Aiguablava – Beachfront Seafood Grill in Palafrugell, Spain

On the sand of Aiguablava

Toc al Mar sits at the water’s edge on one of the Costa Brava’s most beautiful coves. The setting is direct and honest: tables on the sand, the Mediterranean within earshot, and the scent of burning holm oak in the air. This is a restaurant built around a single, unwavering focus — seafood cooked over live fire.

The grill is the engine

Since opening in the spring of 2011, the team led by Santi Colominas, Sandra Baliarda and Ruel Rodeles has kept the embers burning every service. Holm oak wood fuels the grill and the wood-fired oven, imparting a subtle smokiness to everything it touches. The kitchen works exclusively with wild fish from local boats: orata, sea bass, red porgy, grouper, scorpionfish, dentex, and true red lobsters from Cap de Begur. Palamós prawns, rock octopus, cuttlefish, clams, and mussels all arrive daily, caught within hours of service.

Rice dishes from the wood-fired oven

Alongside the grilled seafood, rice dishes are a cornerstone. The menu changes with the season, but staples include a brothy lobster rice, rice with artichokes and cuttlefish, a version with sea urchins and prawns, and the dark, earthy arròs fosc de l’Empordà. The kitchen also makes a distinctive square paella, finished in the wood-fired oven for that extra layer of aroma. The rice is not an afterthought — it is as central as the grill itself.

A philosophy of place

The team’s philosophy is simple: good people, good product, good fire, and a space where everyone feels at home. The restaurant has grown since its early days, but that spirit remains. The Michelin Recommended recognition reflects the consistency and clarity of what they do — no tricks, just the finest seafood from the coast, cooked over embers on the shore where it was caught.