VIRENS — Restaurant in Barcelona

Yesterday we had dinner at Virens, the restaurant located inside the Almanac Hotel. The restaurant looks business elegant, with dark marble tables and big window walls looking towards the street. The maitre welcomed us epxplaining the menu and we dediced to try the degustation menu called Gastrobotanica (55 euros - 6 dishes). The cuisine level is high, with elebarated dishes and armonic flavours. The chef has the ability to enhance vegetables as protagonists of the dishes, by capturing unique unexperienced flavors from even carrots and leek. In particular, we most appreciated the pepper tartare, risotto with artichokes and leek sablè. We were sorry that the service didn't reflect the cuisine level, as we experienced a couple of unwelocoming episodes. In particular, as the wine and first dish arrived, we had to ask for water for the second time, which still didn't arrive (while in restaurants at that level, you shouldn't even have to ask for water). Also, we had to ask for bread for two times, and it arrived at the end of the experience, which was really frustrating, as we thought the maitre would ask us if we wanted bread, instead we had to ask for two times and wait for one hour for it to arrive. Also, we had to make active efforts to establish a connection with the maitre or the woman who served us. In the overall, the food was worth the price, the...

We dined at Virens during our recent trip to Barcelona, but unfortunately, it didn’t live up to expectations. On paper, Virens ticks all the right boxes, with a focus on vegetables, local produce, and natural wines from regional producers.

The restaurant feels formal, with constant changes of cutlery—even when it hadn’t been used—which felt excessive rather than enhancing the experience.

The starters were a highlight. However, things quickly declined. Our next dish had a notable amount of sand from the mushrooms, and the tempura onions had lost their crispness, becoming soggy in the broth. When we mentioned the sand, the replacement dish arrived with the same problem—a disappointing lack of attention to detail.

As for the wine, the service fell flat. The wine list doesn’t list the name of the Natural producers, leaving us to guess at the origin of each bottle. Our server couldn’t guide us at all and merely brought the bottle so we could look it up ourselves.

For a restaurant with this ambiance and price point, we expected a better experience.

We’ve had many great meals in Barcelona, so we expect high quality and care, but we always approach new places with an open mind. However, the mistakes at Virens felt amateurish, and given the restaurant's concept and pricing, we expected much more. Unfortunately, we left feeling...

My partner and I had a fantastic experience. The food was great, and our server was extremely nice. They really care about their customers here. I am prediabetic, and they were more than happy to make some dietary adjustments for me. I also like how the chef uses natural ingredients.

We tried the “green experience” tasting menu. Here are some of our favorite items: the croquettes, the kimchi empanadas, the green tea bread, the eggplant dish, the risotto, and the creme brulee.

The kimchi empanadas were extremely flavorful. The cream-filled croquettes were also flavorful and crispy, and I loved the filling, too. The croquettes were also warm, and it was nice to eat them after we had some of the colder items on the menu.

The bread was nice and crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. It came with some olive oil and butter. I loved the olive oil—it had a little kick to it!

The eggplant dish was excellent. I am not a big eggplant fan, but this dish was flavorful, and the texture was nice.

The risotto was nice and creamy, and I loved the texture. The crispy carrots on top were also great.

The creme brulee was absolutely delicious. Unfortunately, I couldn't eat the whole thing because I'm prediabetic.

We enjoyed our time here, and we would love to come back. Muchas...