Restaurant in Bellaterra, Spain
Serious cooking at an approachable price point.
Ébano is a Michelin Plate-recognised contemporary restaurant in Bellaterra's residential district, with a 4.6 Google rating across 1,100+ reviews and a €€ price point that makes it one of the more accessible serious dining options near Barcelona. The rice dishes and seasonal fish specials are the kitchen's strongest suits, and the composed, quiet room suits couples and small groups better than large parties.
The most common mistake people make about Ébano is assuming it is a casual neighbourhood restaurant because of its residential setting. It is not. This is a Michelin Plate-recognised contemporary dining room with a serious à la carte, a structured tasting menu, and a kitchen that treats seasonal ingredients with precision. If you are returning after a first visit, the question is not whether to go back — it is how to use the menu differently this time.
Ébano occupies an aristocratic property on Avinguda Film in Bellaterra's quiet residential district, surrounded by chalets and a tree-shaded terrace. The setting is calm rather than buzzy: expect a dining room that feels composed and unhurried, with natural light and a contemporary interior that does not try to compete with the architecture. The energy here is low and deliberate — better for conversation than for groups looking for a lively night out. If noise level matters to you, this is one of the quieter rooms you will find in the greater Barcelona area at this price point.
The kitchen's focus is modern cooking with strong traditional roots. That means the menu moves with the seasons and the market, with daily specials centred on fresh fish sitting alongside a fixed à la carte. The rice dishes are a particular strength: the arroz del corral, made with organic chicken, butifarra del perol sausage, and butifarra blood sausage, is among the dishes that drew Michelin's recognition and is a reasonable anchor for a return visit if you have not tried it. For anyone coming back, move away from safer choices and push toward the daily fish specials, which reflect what is freshest and tend to be where the kitchen shows its most confident work.
At the €€ price range, Ébano is not asking you to take a financial risk. This is the tier where a two-course lunch with a glass of wine is an affordable decision, and a full à la carte dinner with the tasting menu remains accessible without the commitment of a €€€€ booking. The relevant question is whether the service matches what the kitchen is doing , and the answer, based on a 4.6 Google rating across more than 1,100 reviews, is that it broadly does. A score that high across a volume that large suggests consistency rather than a single exceptional night.
Service philosophy at a Michelin Plate venue at this price point should be attentive without being formal, and knowledgeable about the daily specials without reading from a script. Whether Ébano delivers exactly that on every visit is something only a return trip will confirm for you personally, but the rating evidence points toward a room that earns its reputation on repeat. For a regular, the practical advice is to tell the server what drew you last time and ask what has changed , daily specials at a kitchen this focused on seasonality will shift meaningfully week to week.
What the Michelin Plate signals here is worth being precise about: it is recognition of quality cooking, not a star. It means the inspectors found the food worth noting, not that this is among Spain's most technically ambitious restaurants. At €€, that distinction is useful , you are booking a well-executed contemporary Spanish kitchen, not a destination tasting experience on the level of a three-star room.
Reservations: Easy to book; walk-ins may be possible on quieter weekdays, but the terrace fills in good weather so booking ahead is advisable. Dress: Smart casual is appropriate given the Michelin recognition and property setting; there is no indication of a formal dress code. Budget: €€ pricing makes this one of the more accessible contemporary dining options in the area. Getting there: Bellaterra is a residential district northwest of Barcelona; the venue is at Avinguda Film, 2. Check local transport connections or drive, as the neighbourhood is not centrally served. Group size: The calm, composed room suits couples and small groups well; large parties should confirm whether the space can accommodate them.
See the full comparison section below for peer venues across Spain's contemporary dining tier.
| Venue | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Ébano | €€ | — |
| Quique Dacosta | €€€€ | — |
| El Celler de Can Roca | €€€€ | — |
| Arzak | €€€€ | — |
| Azurmendi | €€€€ | — |
| Aponiente | €€€€ | — |
Side-by-side comparison to help you decide where to book.
The rice dishes are the most documented strength here — the arroz del corral with organic chicken, butifarra del perol, and blood sausage sausage is specifically highlighted in Michelin's recognition of the restaurant. Beyond that, the daily specials centred on fresh fish are worth asking about when you arrive. At the €€ price point, ordering from the à la carte is a lower-commitment way to test the kitchen before committing to the tasting menu.
At €€ pricing, the tasting menu here is not a financial stretch, and the format is flexible — individual dishes can be ordered from it rather than committing to the full sequence. That makes it a practical choice for tables that cannot agree on a single format. For the price tier, a Michelin Plate recognition in both 2024 and 2025 suggests consistent kitchen standards, so the tasting menu is a reasonable option rather than a gamble.
Bellaterra is a small residential district, so direct local alternatives at the same level are limited. The practical comparison is the broader Barcelona dining scene: for contemporary Catalan cooking in the city proper, the range of options expands considerably. Ébano's value is partly its setting and accessibility outside the city, so if you need a Barcelona-centre alternative, you are looking at a different kind of experience rather than a direct swap.
The menu structure — à la carte, daily specials, and a modular tasting menu where individual dishes can be ordered separately — gives the kitchen flexibility to accommodate different needs. That said, specific dietary policies are not documented in available venue data, so check the venue's official channels before booking if restrictions are a firm requirement. The seasonal, ingredient-led focus suggests kitchen adaptability, but do not assume without confirming.
The setting is an aristocratic property in a quiet residential district, and the dining rooms are described as bright and contemporary rather than formally dressed. The €€ price range and residential location both point toward relaxed, put-together clothing rather than formal attire. Think neat casual — you will not be underdressed in well-kept everyday clothes, and you will not need a jacket.
Yes, more so than its residential location suggests. The property itself — a characterful building with a tree-shaded terrace — gives the meal a sense of occasion that a city-centre restaurant at the same price rarely delivers. Two consecutive Michelin Plate recognitions (2024, 2025) back the kitchen's consistency. For a birthday or low-key celebration where you want quality cooking without the formality or cost of a starred venue, Ébano is a practical choice.
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