The Michelin Stars are the official thermometer of the altitude of the gastronomy of a city, and Barcelona knew yesterday that it arrived at the Michelin Awards Gala 2026 with fever, for the two stars lost beforehand: the prestigious Oria of Martin Berasategui (closed for renovations, although they promise to return this spring) and the Kitchen & Bar Theater (which will definitely lower the shutter).
Fortunately, the heat did not reach fever and the gala ended up turning into a joy with the arrival of the new selection, where Barcelona has swept the Two Star category and has won some restaurants with one star, reaffirming its gastronomic leadership in the national scene.
Restaurants winning their first Michelin Star: new Asian influences.
On the lower end, Barcelona also debuted with two new restaurants earning their first star, and both with a marked Asian influence. We are talking about Kamikaze, by Enric Buendía, and Scapar, an omakase (blind tasting) format menu by Japanese chef Koichi Kuwabara. Kuwabara was a disciple of Albert Raurich at Dos Palillos, and Buendía perfected his calm style at Disfrutar, confirming the influence of El Bulli on this Southeast Asian avant-garde.
Restaurants with two stars
If there was a clear winner in the Catalan capital, it was Albert Adrià, who finally sees his work recognized with the well-deserved second star for his most personal and risky project: Enigma. After the disaster of the pandemic, the genius Adrià poured all his creative strength into this space, a restaurant totally committed to an avant-garde as playful as it is profound.
Ferran Adrià himself has gone so far as to say that Enigma is the closest thing to eating at the longed-for ElBulli today, underscoring the immense impact and minimalist virtuosity that this chef has managed to recover and refine. It surprised no one, except perhaps Albert Adrià himself, whose reaction was as laconic as it was sincere: “It was a surprise to receive the second star, thank you very much, I really didn’t expect it.”
But Enigma was not the only one on the podium. Barcelona took three of the five new Second Stars that were distributed in Spain, a balance that knocks down the myth of the superiority of the Madrid scene in haute cuisine in one fell swoop. Joining Adriàin the exclusive club of two-starred restaurants were Aleia (with Rafa de Bedoya in execution and Pablo Airaudo in culinary direction), located in the elegant Hotel Casa Fuster, and Mont Bar, with Francisco José Agudo in the kitchen, which climbed unstoppably up the list after winning its first star last year.
The Catalan harvest on this step is completed with La Boscana, in Bellvís (Lleida), which added to the double, sealing the regional success.
This year, the gala held in Malaga did not leave us with a new three-starred restaurant in Spain, a decision that, although it may generate some disappointment, consolidates the base of national gastronomy: none of the four Barcelona restaurants with the maximum award has had the fateful fall, and what is more important, none of the existing stars in the rest of the territory have lost their distinction either.
Complete list of the new Michelin Stars in Barcelona
⭐️ Restaurants with their first star (1*)
- Kamikaze (Barcelona)
- Scapar (Barcelona)
⭐⭐ Restaurants earning their second star (2*).
- Enigma (Barcelona)
- Aleia (Barcelona)
- Mont Bar (Barcelona)
- La Boscana (Bellvís, Lleida)
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Restaurants earning their third star (3*).
- No restaurant has achieved the highest distinction in the 2026 edition of the Michelin Guide for Spain.