Restaurant in Barcelona, Spain
Michelin-recognised value at the €€ mark.
A Michelin Plate contemporary restaurant in Eixample, Imprevisto offers 7- and 10-course tasting menus at a €€ price point that few Barcelona rivals can match. With a 4.8 Google rating and an owner-run team keeping service personal, it's the clearest argument for serious seasonal cooking without a four-figure bill. Book the 10-course menu for the full experience.
With a Google rating of 4.8 across 454 reviews and a Michelin Plate for 2024, Imprevisto sits at a price point (€€) that makes it one of the more practical arguments for tasting-menu dining in Barcelona. If you want structured, seasonal cooking with genuine technical ambition but aren't ready to commit to the four-figure bills that come with Disfrutar or Lasarte, this is where to look first.
Imprevisto occupies a specific niche in the Eixample dining scene: serious contemporary cooking delivered without the ceremony of a fully starred room. The venue is run by four young owners, two in the kitchen and two on the floor, and that small-team dynamic keeps service personal without being stiff. The name itself is deliberate — it translates loosely as "the unexpected" — and it signals the kitchen's commitment to discovery and seasonal movement rather than a fixed repertoire.
First-timers should know that the format here is tasting-menu driven. You're choosing between a 7-course or a 10-course menu, and for weekday lunches, a shorter à la carte is also available. If you're the kind of diner who wants to order freely from a long menu, this probably isn't your format. But if you're open to being guided through a sequence of dishes built around seasonal produce, the 10-course menu is the clearer argument: more range, more opportunity for the kitchen to show its hand, and better value for the price tier.
The beef tartare with horseradish, blackberries, pickled mustard seeds and demi-glace is the one confirmed dish from the database , and it tells you a lot about the kitchen's sensibility. This isn't clean minimalism or shock-value experimentation. It's detailed, layered cooking that works through contrast: sharp pickled mustard seeds against the richness of demi-glace, the sweetness of blackberry cutting through the heat of horseradish. The approach suggests a kitchen that thinks carefully about each element on the plate rather than assembling for visual effect.
Imprevisto's tasting menus are structured around seasonal ingredients, which means the progression of the meal shifts over the year. In practice this is worth factoring into when you visit: Barcelona's spring and autumn produce cycles tend to deliver the most interesting sourcing for kitchens working at this level, though the menu will be calibrated to whatever is leading available at the time of your booking. The 7-course format is the entry point and is sufficient to read the kitchen's style, but the 10-course menu gives the progression more room to breathe , early courses tend to be lighter and more acidic, building through textural complexity before landing on richer proteins and finishers. If you're making a special-occasion booking or trying to compare the experience to a higher price-tier venue, go to 10 courses.
The à la carte option at weekday lunches is worth flagging for a different type of visit. If you're in the Eixample on a Tuesday or Wednesday and want something more flexible, this is a more relaxed way to access the kitchen's cooking without committing to a full tasting sequence. It also makes Imprevisto accessible to solo diners who want control over pace.
| Address | Carrer de Mallorca, 308, Eixample, 08037 Barcelona |
|---|---|
| Price range | €€ |
| Cuisine | Contemporary, tasting menu |
| Format | 7-course and 10-course tasting menus; à la carte at weekday lunches |
| Awards | Michelin Plate (2024) |
| Google rating | 4.8 (454 reviews) |
| Booking difficulty | Easy |
| Dress code | Not specified; smart casual is appropriate for the price tier and neighbourhood |
See the full comparison below.
Booking difficulty is rated easy, but that doesn't mean walk-ins are guaranteed. For a weekend dinner or a specific occasion, a week or two of lead time is sensible. Weekday lunches, where the à la carte format applies, are likely more flexible. Barcelona's dining scene is busy year-round, so booking in advance is the safer approach even for an easier-to-book venue.
At €€ for tasting-menu cooking with a Michelin Plate and a 4.8 Google rating across 454 reviews, yes , the value argument is strong. You're getting structured, seasonal contemporary cooking at a price point well below what Barcelona's €€€€ tasting-menu rooms charge. If you're comparing on value, Imprevisto sits well ahead of Cinc Sentits or Enoteca Paco Pérez for anyone watching their budget without wanting to give up quality.
The format is tasting-menu led , 7 or 10 courses for dinner, à la carte for weekday lunches. First-timers should arrive knowing they're handing control of the meal to the kitchen. That's the right approach here: the kitchen is building a progression, not assembling dishes on request. The room is described as unpretentious, service comes from two of the four owners, and the price tier keeps it accessible. Go with the 10-course menu on your first visit if you want the full picture of what the kitchen can do.
No dress code is listed, but the €€ price tier and Eixample setting suggest smart casual is the appropriate register. You won't need formal attire, but this isn't a jeans-and-trainers room either. Think a step above casual without overdressing for a starred occasion.
Yes, particularly the 10-course format. The kitchen's approach, seasonal ingredients, high technical detail, and layered flavour construction, is better showcased over a longer sequence. The 7-course menu is a reasonable entry point if you're not sure, but the 10-course gives the progression more range. At €€, either format represents solid value for what the kitchen is doing.
No booking method, phone number, or website is listed in the available data, so the leading approach is to contact the restaurant directly when reserving. For any tasting-menu format restaurant, always flag dietary requirements at the time of booking rather than on arrival , kitchens working to a set menu need advance notice to accommodate changes without disrupting the progression.
The weekday lunch à la carte format makes Imprevisto a more natural fit for solo diners than many tasting-menu rooms. You're not locked into a full multi-course sequence, and the smaller, owner-run team tends to make solo guests feel less conspicuous than in larger, more formal rooms. If you're in Barcelona solo and want serious contemporary cooking without the occasion-dining atmosphere of a starred venue, this is a practical choice.
| Venue | Cuisine | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Imprevisto | Contemporary | The four young owners of this unpretentious restaurant, two of whom work in the kitchen and two in in the dining room, were keen that the name of their business was not something banal or vacuous, but rather a name that expressed their philosophy and offered the promise of a relaxed dining experience based around continual new discoveries. The end result is a contemporary style of cooking that is high on detail and focuses on seasonal ingredients, as witnessed by the two tasting menus (7 and 10 courses, respectively). The beef tartare with horseradish, blackberries, pickled mustard seeds and demi-glace is teeming with nuanced flavours and textures.; The four young owners of this unpretentious restaurant, two of whom work in the kitchen and two in in the dining room, were keen that the name of their business was not something banal or vacuous, but rather a name that expressed their philosophy and offered the promise of a relaxed dining experience based around continual new discoveries. The end result is a contemporary style of cooking that is high on detail and focuses on seasonal ingredients, as witnessed by the short à la carte (weekday lunches) and two tasting menus (7 and 10 courses, respectively). The beef tartare with horseradish, blackberries, pickled mustard seeds and demi-glace is teeming with nuanced flavours and textures.; Michelin Plate (2024) | Easy | — |
| Cocina Hermanos Torres | Creative | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Disfrutar | Progressive, Creative | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Lasarte | Progressive Spanish, Creative | Michelin 3 Star | Unknown | — |
| Cinc Sentits | Modern Spanish, Creative | Michelin 2 Star | Unknown | — |
| Enoteca Paco Pérez | Modern Spanish, Modern Cuisine | Michelin 2 Star | Unknown | — |
Key differences to consider before you reserve.
Book at least 2 to 3 weeks in advance, particularly for weekend dinners. The Michelin Plate recognition and a 4.8 Google rating across 454 reviews means the room fills reliably. If you want a weekday lunch with the à la carte option, you'll have more flexibility, but don't assume walk-in availability.
At €€, Imprevisto is one of the stronger value cases in Eixample's contemporary dining scene. The Michelin Plate for 2024 confirms the kitchen is cooking at a serious level, and a 7 or 10-course tasting menu at this price point would cost you significantly more at Lasarte or Disfrutar. If you want tasting menu precision without a starred price tag, the answer is yes.
The format is tasting menu led — 7 or 10 courses, both built around seasonal ingredients. At weekday lunches, a short à la carte is also available, which is a useful entry point if you want to test the kitchen before committing to the full format. The four young owners run front and back of house directly, which shapes the room's atmosphere: attentive but unpretentious.
Nothing in the venue data points to a formal dress code, and the owners' stated philosophy is a relaxed dining experience. Neat, comfortable clothing fits the room's character. You're not walking into a white-tablecloth ceremony here — treat it like a serious neighbourhood restaurant rather than a special-occasion formal.
Yes, particularly the 10-course format if you want to see the full range of the kitchen. The cooking is detailed and seasonally driven, and the beef tartare with horseradish, blackberries, pickled mustard seeds and demi-glace is specifically recognised for its layered construction. At €€, you're getting tasting menu ambition without the pricing of a fully starred room like Cinc Sentits or Cocina Hermanos Torres.
The venue database does not document a specific dietary restriction policy. Given the seasonal tasting menu format, flag any requirements when booking — kitchens running set menus need advance notice to adjust. Call or message ahead rather than raising it at the table.
It's a workable option for solo diners, particularly at weekday lunch when the à la carte format is available and the room is typically quieter. The tasting menu format also suits solo dining since the progression is fixed and there's no awkward sharing dynamic. The relaxed, owner-run atmosphere at Carrer de Mallorca, 308 makes it less isolating than a larger formal room.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
