Barcelona’s Eixample has a new restaurant in Mineral, opened by chefs Cristina Losada and Oliver Peña on Carrer Mallorca, near Mercat del Ninot.
The kitchen focuses on local ingredients and refined technique, with produce sourced from nearby markets including Mercat del Ninot and Mercat de la Concepció, plus vegetables from Can Fisas. According to the owners, reservations have filled up since opening a month ago.
Losada, a sommelier, previously directed Enigma. Peña also worked at Enigma and earned a Michelin star for Teatro Kitchen Bar before it closed. They are joined by long-time colleagues Franco Ferranti, Heyi Feng and Xavi Solé in the kitchen, and Jordi Figueras in the dining room.
The menu includes mackerel with Iberian vinaigrette and penjar tomatoes, tomato salad, quail served grilled and pickled, and tendons and tongue from Menuts Rosa. Desserts and simpler dishes include dream strawberries and a fried Araucana chicken egg cooked in front of diners.
Mineral has seating for 18 at a bar facing the kitchen, plus 12 seats in the main dining room. The bar also gives diners a view of a custom grill made by David Peña, Oliver Peña’s brother and a blacksmith. The restaurant is open for dinner from Thursday to Monday, with an average spend of about €60 per person, excluding wine.
Personal details run through the project, from a romesco sauce based on Oliver Peña’s mother’s recipe to bread from El Taller del Pa in Sants, which Peña collects daily. The name Mineral also has family meaning, linked to Peña’s grandfather’s coal business in Rubí and Losada’s roots in a mining region of Asturias. The wine list includes Catalan and Spanish bottles, some Champagne and a broad by-the-glass selection. For more Catalonia restaurant news, see News.