Proximity cuisine with high-quality products: the luxury proposal of the Mercer Restaurant

The Mercer Restaurant is a surprise. Not only because of its unique location in Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter or the architecture of its ancient walls, it surprises as well for the cuisine offered by the chef Harry Wieding. who serves simple dishes such as grilled mussels, smoked chicken sausage or eggs with ham and mushrooms. The secret of Wieding: extol the ingredients, raise sausage, artichoke or a fig, to bring them up to the five-star emblematic Hotel Mercer Boutique 5* GL. Therefore, in his proposal, the chef does not lose sight of two essential qualities that are, for him, product quality and proximity.

Inside the Mercer Restaurant

“The gastronomic experience that I propose is based on discovering and tasting dishes made with top quality ingredients and treated in the best way possible,” explains Wieding to Horse Magazine. The chef runs away from the artifices and builds minimalist dishes based on three or four ingredients. In fact, his most successful dishes at the Mercer Restaurant are those prepared grilled and smoked, a sample of sobriety in his cuisine.

To Wieding, the proximity cuisine is transcendental –the Mediterranean prawn, els bolets of the Brava Coast– as it ensures product freshness and helps maintain balanced health. “What generates nature is what the body needs at all times of the year, like tomatoes in August or peas in March,” he says, or mushrooms which now offers in one of his dishes (egg – braised yolk, ham, mushrooms). His other invitations are trout caviar grilled with potato foam and fennel; the marinade chicken and foie salad; the sea black pudding, with ray, cuttlefish, onion or cider; or, in the desserts, hazelnut and vanilla souffle; or plum grilled sorbet. High-quality pieces cooked with finesse and passion.

Harry Wieding –Young Chef Award of 2013 and winner of two Soles Repsol– arrived last summer at Mercer Restaurant, and since then, together with the subchef Marc Ramos, has been responsible for presenting his structured proposal in two tasting menus (Mercer, €60 and Festival, €90). All this is accompanied by a wine list with 170 references from the main producing regions of the world, with special emphasis on Spanish and Catalan.

The result is a refined and artistic invitation where the creations of Wieding reflect the influence of his first teachers –”my mother, my grandmother and my grandfather”– and other great chefs that marked his career.

“Cooking is art?” we asked in Horse Magazine. And the chef answers us: “Totally. I have eaten many artworks of great artists called chefs, cooks, fathers, mothers, grandparents …”.

Mercer Restaurant: a privileged environment

And if the palate is a special guest of honor at the Mercer Restaurant, the view is also a principal element in this dining experience that invites all senses to enjoy. The room for diners has the presence of the Roman wall of Barcelona (from the first century) and the tower defense 28 with original frescoes of the twelfth century. The environment has been complemented by clean lines and light colors extolling the stone walls.

Besides the restaurant, the gastrobar Le Bouchon offers a more casual option. With traditional or more original tapas but always based on local products in that game between the new and the old that seems to characterize every aspect of Mercer.

A cocktail bar, the service terrace bar or the delicious breakfast offered in the restaurant complement the varied gastronomic offer. A hotel to enjoy luxury, to be pampered and to surround yourself with beauty and history for a few days.

Ancient architecture

One aspect of value in the Hotel Mercer is without doubt the history behind its walls. The stone is the star material of the walls that reflects the architectural life of Barcelona, accumulating styles from the I to the XIX century. The Roman wall of Barcino, from the first century, is part of this unique building in which peculiarities can be seen in each of its corners. The twenty-eight rooms of the hotel retain the high ceilings and original wooden beams.

The architect Rafael Moneo, winner of the Prince of Asturias Award for the Arts in 2012, spent four years restoring Mercer. His project of rehabilitation allowed rescuing a valuable cultural heritage and integrating it into the modern architecture of the hotel. With a simple and contemporary furniture design, the interior team of Mercer Hotels has achieved a perfect balance between modernity and respect for the past.

Its medieval facade, lined with balconies, welcomes guests through a large gate made of solid wood. Inside, behind the hall, a courtyard with orange trees framed by columns of the XVII century helps natural light to reach the interior. Next to the courtyard, the gastronomic restaurant of the hotel, the gastrobar Le Bouchon and the Mercer Cocktail Bar are located.

The two watchtowers of the Roman wall crown the hotel terrace overlooking the dome of Santa Maria del Mar, the Basilica of St. Just i Pastor and Barcelona Cathedral. In the evening, the terrace is only open to hotel guests and offers a unique view of the roofs of the oldest part of Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter.

The whole hotel is full of historical references. Its library, located on the main floor, is situated between the 28 and 29 bastions of the Roman city wall and it includes medieval frescoes discovered during the restoration of the structure. Also at the reception, there is a sixteenth-century beam with medieval paintings. Its rehabilitation, it has required the collaboration of Heritage of the Generalitat de Catalunya and the University of Barcelona.

The historic footprint in all the rooms of the Mercer Hotel (Mercer Restaurant included), contributes to build a special atmosphere in all the environments, combining in a masterful way the strength of the past with the most current style.

MERCER HOTEL BARCELONA
Adress: Carrer dels Lledó, 7
Telephone: 93 310 74 80

Translator: Raquel  Sánchez 

Images by Jordi Blancafort and Mercer Hotel