Direkte Boqueria - An Unforgettable Experience

There are so many things to say about Direkte Boqueria, I don’t even know where to start. For us it was one of the best experiences in quite a while!

Direkte Boqueria, Barcelona. Photo © Barcelona Food Experience.

This minuscule restaurant only seats 9 people in 14 square meters, so you are bound to make some new friends by the time you leave. You’re seated around the chefs (Arnau Muñío and Shu Zhang), who prepare the dishes right there, in front of you, with a surgeons’ precision. The restaurant is located inside the busy Boqueria market, but in a quiet corner so that you for a few hours forget all about what is going on in the outside world. When you peek in through the windows you will see that it has a kind of inviting, izakaya kind of flair to it.

The dishes at Direkte Boqueria are protagonized by local, seasonal ingredients, and you can choose between a short (7 dishes + 2 desserts) or a long (10 dishes + 2 desserts) menu. The base is very much Catalan, but with a Korean/Japanese/Chinese flair. The wine list is intriguing: we tried four different wines, and they were all very surprising. Ask the staff for their suggestions, you won’t be disappointed.

Direkte Boqueria, Barcelona. Photo © Barcelona Food Experience.

We began the journey with shrimp with smoked green tea kombucha, which was absolutely divine. A few of the highlights were definitely the king crab in a pork broth with Korean mustard and daikon, and the miso scallops with pickled mushrooms and water chestnut. One of the desserts is already a classic: the smoked matcha cheesecake. What a way to finish the meal.

Make sure to book a few weeks in advance: this glorious place is becoming increasingly popular, especially since it appeared in Forbes as one of 10 coolest places to eat in 2020. This is the kind of treat you won’t forget. Oh, and don’t be late! Or you’ll keep the other guests waiting.

Direkte Boqueria, Carrer de les Cabres 13, Barcelona (La Boqueria).