Review: Berbena

A locals spot where you can spend an entire evening and have no idea where the time went.


What were your first impressions when you arrived?
Big windows, exposed brickwork, wooden tables, a scattering of bar stools. The first impression is more casual neighborhood bar than major gastronomic destination. What’s the crowd like?
Locals reign supreme. Few tourists have heard of Berbena and even fewer venture off the beaten track to the posh end of town above Avenida Diagonal. What should we be drinking?
A meticulous selection of artisanal coffee, craft beer and Spanish and Catalan wine, the majority of which is natural, organic and biodynamic. Meanwhile, the water, which is purified using a reverse osmosis system, is free (free!). The exclamation point is because this hardly ever happens in Spain—the country where mineral water is strictly served by the bottle and where tourists often get a shock at the end of a meal when they discover they’ve spent more on water than wine. Main event: the food. Give us the lowdown—especially what not to miss.
There are daily batches of home-baked bread that smell like your grandma’s kitchen, comfort food like hearty beef with wine stew and gooey slices of Spanish omelet, platters of locally sourced cheese and charcuteries—all made for sharing. More than 80 percent of Berbena's produce is organic and even more is local and seasonal. And how did the front-of-house folks treat you?
Chef Carles Pérez de Rozas has returned to Barcelona and back home to his culinary roots after working in some of the fanciest kitchens around the world. He and his team love what they do and it shows. What’s the real-real on why we’re coming here?
We'd like to imagine that you'll probably stumble in here for a quick bite. You'll find a table by the window. One thing will lead to another and, before you know it, it’ll be midnight, and you'll realize you’ve spent hours snacking and sipping and chatting. And you won’t regret a single second of it.
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