On the northern edges of Barcelona, 10 minutes up the Ronda de dalt motorway ring road, is an unattractive urban sprawl called Santa Coloma. It’s not a smart address. It’s not where you expect to find a very good Michelin-star restaurant. Once upon a time, Santa Coloma might have been a nice little village. There’s not much to charm the visitor, today, except the intriguing Lluerna.

Lluerna doesn’t shout at you as you pass. There’s a small sign above the door but it’s easy to miss it. I assumed Google Maps was mistaken and I ended up touring the one-way traffic system of Santa Coloma.

But once inside, the sommelier Mar Gómez made us welcome and we chose the menu de presentació, 5 courses for 57 Euros.

First on the table was a frozen mojito stick. Intense and fresh. The cod foam was a bit too garlicky perhaps.

Full list of dishes (remember, all this for 57 Euros…)

  • Mojito sòlid
  • Oliva Gordal farcida de campari amb taronja
  • Escuma de bacallà
  • ‘Ajo blanco’ de codium i bonítol
  • Ou ecològic, patata i pernil ibèric
  • Risotto de ceps i foie
  • Peix de platja sobre espinacs eco i salsa de cloïses
  • Garrí ibèric marinat i amanida d’anisats
  • Cremós de formatge de cabra, iogurt, remolatxa i gerds
  • Coulant d’avellana, albercoc i maracuià
  • Coca de llardons
  • Xarrup d’infusió de canyella amb brandy
  • Bombó de mojito

In between the mojitos, there’s a lot of classy cooking. The portions are neither too small nor too much, they are well presented and there’s a great variety. The mackerel was perfection. The risotto with mushrooms and foie was exquisite, served in a tiny le Creuset and the Iberian suckling pig was fabulous.

It’s an odd wine list. My friend knows his Spanish wines, but there weren’t many familiar names on the list. We went for a Menorcan Syrah, recommended by sommelier Mar, for 20 Euros. Different, light, and really not bad. And there was a gorgeous Auslese to accompany  the excellent desserts… desserts which came in 3 stages, prepostre, postre and pospostre!

Food 9/10, decor 7/10, service 10/10.