elBulli1846 — Museum Review

Condé Nast Traveler

4 hours ago

Zoom out. What's this place all about?
If you missed elBulli the first-time round—when over a million reservation requests a year competed for just 8,000 dining spots—here's its second serving. elBulli1846 is the museum dedicated to the restaurant crowned the world's best five times, before the ovens were switched off for good in 2011. The key ingredient in its success? Boundary-breaking chef Ferran Adrià, who, alongside brother Albert, used culinary alchemy as a palette cleanser from French Nouvelle Cuisine. Adrià pioneered molecular gastronomy—though he prefers the term 'techno-emotional cuisine'—and popularized the supersized tasting menu, whereby dishes became concepts and meals became multi-hour epics. (Case in point, the '1846' in the museum's name refers to the total number of recipes invented in elBulli's kitchen-lab). Today, the former restaurant building serves up food for thought: audio-visual installations deconstruct its backstory, before deeper questions are posed—where does cooking come from, and why do we eat the way we do? If Adrià is, as The New York Times once wrote, 'the Picasso of food,' then elBulli1846 is his culinary art gallery.
A museum's permanent collection is its defining feature: How was this one?
Sixty-nine exhibits trace the surprising evolution of elBulli—from a 1960s beachside shack named after a pair of bulldogs to a three-Michelin-starred powerhouse with its own publishing house. The kitchen is the natural highlight: A big screen plays archive footage of Adrià choreographing his cooks, while once-revolutionary tools, such as freeze-dryers, are displayed like surgical equipment. In the dining areas, which appear frozen in time as if in service, look for table 25; it was the most asked-for spot (once you see the ocean views, you'll get why). Beyond progressive culinary techniques, another revelation is the almost scientific precision to elBulli's operations—a tantalising insight into how a fine-dining experience was engineered from the inside out.
Exhibits keep us coming back. What can we expect?
Sixty-nine exhibits trace the surprising evolution of elBulli—from a 1960s beachside shack named after a pair of bulldogs to a three-Michelin-starred powerhouse with its own publishing house. The kitchen is the natural highlight: a big screen plays archive footage of Adrià choreographing his cooks as they bring a recipe to life, while once-revolutionary tools, such as freeze-dryers, are displayed like surgical equipment. In the dining areas, which appear frozen in time as if in service, look for table 25—it was the most asked-for spot (once you see the ocean views, you'll get why). Beyond progressive culinary techniques, another revelation is the almost scientific precision to elBulli's operations—a tantalising insight into how a fine-dining experience was engineered from the inside out.
What did you make of the crowd?
Gourmands geeking out; coming here really is a pilgrimage for those in the restaurant sector. Though the installations are inspiring whether you're a passionate home-cook, love fine dining, or are intrigued by the systems that make ground-breaking projects happen.
On the practical tip, how were the facilities?
The indoor-outdoor space is well engineered with wide paths and ramps. There's also a wheelchair available to borrow, plus lockers.
Any guided tours worth trying?
An audio guide can be downloaded to your smartphone (bring headphones), while in-person guided tours in English, which last for 2.5 hours, can be pre-booked in advance. It's obvious that elBulli1846 is a real passion project for staff, whose enthusiasm, knowledge and hospitality live up to that three-Michelin-star hype.
Gift shop: obligatory, inspiring—or skip it?
The shop runs heavy on reading material, most of which crosses that glorious intersection of beautifully aesthetic coffee-table books that you can actually sit down and read. There's also a quirky-but-nerdy selection of branded items, from postcards of iconic dishes annotated with the various elements, or a notebook with a flowchart of Adrià's creative process on the cover. You need none of it, but you'll want everything.
Is the café worth a stop?
Devastating but true: There's no café.
Any advice for the time- or attention-challenged?
Top-line advice? Don't turn up hungry. Over two hours, you'll work your way through an academic tasting menu of food-as-art—without a morsel of the edible exhibits you were hoping for. While the visit won't satiate the regret of never having eaten at elBulli, it still offers a moreish experience. Fabulously curated, warmly hosted, and set beside a beach, it's a day trip worth savoring—just not on an empty stomach.