Quirat, el restaurante de Víctor Torres en el hotel intercontinental

Chef Víctor Torres may not be very well known in Barcelona, ​​but he is in Girona, where he leads the culinary offerings at the Michelin-starred restaurant Les Magnòlies in Arbúcies. He joined the kitchen in 2016, replacing Xavier Franco, who in turn had taken over from Victor Trochi, the chef who earned the restaurant its first Michelin star. The award has been maintained to this day. Torres has also worked in the kitchens of Mugaritz, Michel Bras, and Fäviken, three very different establishments from which he says he learned a great deal.

This new venture marks a significant change for the chef, who returns to his hometown of Barcelona. “Quirat is a challenge. Hotel cuisine still raises some concerns among diners, and although this is changing, there's still a long way to go. It's also true that the Barcelona clientele is different from that of Arbúcies, so we'll see how it goes. We've worked very hard, we're very enthusiastic, and I'm very happy with the team I have here” says Víctor. This enthusiasm and excitement are evident in the service, the dedication of everyone involved, and the attention to detail. The restaurant serves dinner only, from Tuesday to Saturday, so Torres plans to divide his time between Arbúcies and Barcelona.

The menu is well-rounded and balanced, featuring standout dishes like foie gras with pickled Santa Pau beans, lobster with elderflower vinaigrette, and a sobrasada and anise fritter. While beans are typically paired with butifarra sausage in Catalan cuisine, Torres substitutes foie gras here. This ingredient lends the dish a rich and elegant flavor that complements the beans perfectly. However, a touch more sweetness in the beans would have been ideal. The lobster is generously portioned, shelled, and cooked to perfection, resulting in a plump and flavorful bite. Finally, the sobrasada fritter is a highlight. It's substantial and marks the end of the savory courses and the beginning of the sweet ones. The sobrasada is made by his family in Mallorca and is the only item on the menu that remains unchanged. “Customers love them, and I always say that if we had a stall dedicated solely to them, we’d sell them all” Torres jokes. It’s a unique recipe that manages to bring together two such distinct, and different, flavors as anise and sobrasada in perfect harmony.

The other dishes, such as the exquisitely sliced, short ribeye steak from a blonde cow; the rich, creamy langoustine tartare, now a staple on restaurant menus; the toast with eel and bone marrow; and the osmotically infused tomato, all met expectations in terms of both technique and flavor. The desserts were particularly original. The strawberry and yogurt dessert, with its intense touch of blue cheese that breaks the sweetness of the combination, and the chocolate and corn dessert, with its different chocolate textures and a touch of childhood reminiscent of honey-soaked popcorn, were both noteworthy.