The Barcelona restaurant Agreste is approaching the sea

Two pilgrims, strangers to each other, embarked on the Camino de Santiago in August 2015. He, an Italian chef named Fabio Gambirasi, eager to come down to earth after working in prestigious restaurants in his country. She, Roser Asensio, a massage therapist, passionate about yoga and botany, and at the time more interested in the harmony of body and soul than in the world of catering. A vibrant exchange of glances, and a shared curiosity about the wild herbs they encountered along the way, led to the blossoming of love amidst bergamot, yarrow, pimpernel, fennel and lotus flowers, rosemary, and sage. It all happened so quickly that they were soon living together, planning to open a restaurant in a house that captivated them at first sight, perched on the Creueta del Coll mountain. There they could cook simple dishes, one day build their own home, and create the permaculture garden she dreamed of.

In 2016, they opened Agreste, which started with a daily menu and an affordable menu featuring dishes that combined the chef's taste buds with the ingredients and her Catalan roots, which Gambirasi also held dear. And word soon spread that they had to visit a very peculiar place where the city meets the mountain , next to an old, decommissioned bus station, where peace, a good atmosphere, and tasty cuisine could be felt.

With more seafood, the Italian continues to combine his original cuisine, French and Catalan.

Almost a decade later, and as that restaurant was raising the bar, the first Agreste closed temporarily for renovations. Not exactly a minor renovation, but the ambitious renovation required by a house with the ailments of age, to which they will return when the time is right.

Along the way, the opportunity arose to temporarily move to the Hotel Serras, and the regular guests followed them there, settling for a tubular dining room with floor-to-ceiling windows very different from the original house. Once again, chemistry blossomed, this time between the couple and the hotel owners, which led them to settle in, splitting the new Agreste Mar (Hotel Serras, Colom, 9) and the one in Creueta del Coll into two separate sea and mountain versions.

Adventurous and aware, once again, that the important thing is to enjoy what the trail has in store for you, Gambirasi and Asensio continue to opt for the cuisine that characterizes this chef born in Lombardy, who makes no secret of his admiration for French cuisine, and his adaptation to Catalonia and now to his more seafaring pantry, thanks to this new location much closer to the port. The freshest tomato tartare from Puglia, whose whey they use to prepare a cocktail that accompanies a display of appetizing starters, tastes like Italy; or in one of Agreste's classics, surely the most delicious of the savory cuisine, the 24-month Parmesan capilletti with butter, sage, and 30-month Parmesan, or in the artisanal egg tagliarini with crayfish.

Wild Sea ADDRESS Pg. de Colom, 9, Ciutat Vella

936 06 86 97

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This béarnaise under Tudela asparagus (crunchy and tasty) with samphire and garlic flower takes us to France. And to the nearby forests and the sea, this morel stuffed with Cal Rovira sausage and Sant Carles de la Rápita prawns. The greater presence of fish doesn't mean he doesn't cook meats, and the dish of pickled Kiev corn partridge, with three preparations in harmony, is succulent. The tasting menu costs 100 euros and also includes two desserts: the first a version of strawberries with Modena balsamic vinegar sorbet, the second, only for lovers of abundant sweets, a hazelnut profiterole.