Restaurant in Olot, Spain
Locally rooted tasting menus, no global waitlist
Equilibri is Olot's most considered contemporary dining option — a Franco-Catalan kitchen built on locally sourced Garrotxa ingredients, with à la carte and two set menus including the Descobrir tasting menu. Best approached across two visits: executive lunch first, tasting menu second. Easier to book than the region's headline names, and well-suited to a special occasion dinner for two.
Yes — with some caveats. Equilibri is the strongest case for a considered, locally rooted dinner in Olot. Opened in 2016 by chef Sergi Roca, the restaurant is built around a clear idea: contemporary Catalan cooking that leans on ingredients grown or sourced within the region. The room is modern and well-appointed, the cooking respects produce without over-complicating it, and the format — à la carte or one of two set menus , gives you enough flexibility for a first visit or a return. If you want the full picture of what Equilibri does, plan at least two visits: the shorter executive lunch menu for a low-commitment introduction, and the Descobrir (Discover) tasting menu when you're ready to go deeper.
The space is considered and calm , modern without being cold, which makes it a sound choice for a date, a birthday dinner, or a quiet celebration that doesn't need the theatrics of a larger-city restaurant. The layout favours intimacy over scale, so this is not the place to bring a large group expecting a lively atmosphere. It works leading for two to four people who want to pay attention to what's on the plate. The kitchen is led by two cooks , one French, one Spanish , and that Franco-Catalan grounding shows in the balance between technique and restraint. The food is grounded, not showy.
On a first visit, the midweek executive lunch menu is the right entry point. It's shorter, lower commitment, and gives you a read on the kitchen's sensibility without the full investment of a tasting menu. On a second visit, the Descobrir tasting menu is where the kitchen's intent becomes clearest , this is the format designed to move through the senses, course by course, using the surrounding Garrotxa region as its larder. If you're visiting in the right season, the menu features calçots , the typical Catalan green onions grown in Equilibri's own garden, served with romesco vinaigrette and toasted almonds. This is one of the few dishes with a clear sense of place and timing, so if you're planning around it, confirm availability before booking. A third visit, if you find yourself back in Olot, is worth trying the à la carte to see how individual dishes hold up outside the tasting arc.
Booking at Equilibri is relatively direct compared to the region's headline names , you are not competing with global waitlists here. That said, Olot is not a large city, and the restaurant has a specific following, so booking a week to ten days in advance is a sensible minimum for dinner, particularly on weekends. For the midweek lunch, you may have more flexibility. The restaurant sits at Carrer Sant Ferriol, 47 in Olot's Girona province , reachable by car from Girona in under an hour, and a natural stop if you're travelling through the Garrotxa volcanic zone. For more on where to stay and what else to do nearby, see our full Olot hotels guide, our full Olot bars guide, and our full Olot experiences guide.
Reservations: Book 7–10 days ahead for weekend dinner; midweek lunch is more accessible. Dress: Smart-casual is appropriate given the modern room and the cooking's ambition , no formal dress code confirmed, but jeans and trainers would feel out of step. Budget: Specific pricing is not publicly listed; expect mid-to-upper range for the region given the tasting menu format and the restaurant's positioning. Format: À la carte, executive lunch menu (midweek), and Descobrir tasting menu available.
Olot's most discussed restaurant is Les Cols, which operates at a different scale and ambition , if you're comparing the two, Les Cols is the more architecturally and conceptually ambitious option, with a stronger international profile. Equilibri is a more grounded, personal proposition. For a full picture of where to eat in the area, see our full Olot restaurants guide. For wine context in the broader Garrotxa and Catalan region, our full Olot wineries guide is a useful companion.
| Venue | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Equilibri | — | |
| Quique Dacosta | €€€€ | — |
| El Celler de Can Roca | €€€€ | — |
| Arzak | €€€€ | — |
| Azurmendi | €€€€ | — |
| Aponiente | €€€€ | — |
Key differences to consider before you reserve.
Equilibri is a reasonable solo option if you are comfortable with a set-menu format. The midweek executive lunch is the lower-commitment entry point and likely easier to book as a single cover than a full Descobrir tasting menu sitting. That said, with no bar seating confirmed in the venue data, solo diners should call ahead to clarify counter or table arrangements before assuming it works the way a counter-service restaurant would.
Equilibri does not operate on the months-long waitlists that define the region's headline names, so a week or two out is generally sufficient for the midweek executive lunch. For weekend dinners or the full Descobrir tasting menu, aim for at least two to three weeks ahead to have a choice of dates. Olot is not a high-volume tourist city, which keeps booking pressure manageable compared with restaurants of similar ambition in Barcelona or Girona.
Yes. The Descobrir tasting menu is the right format for a birthday, anniversary, or considered celebration dinner. The room is described as modern and calm rather than formal, which suits occasions where the focus is the food rather than the ceremony. For a grander, more architecturally dramatic occasion, Les Cols in the same city operates at a higher level of ambition and spectacle, though it also demands more planning and budget.
Les Cols is the primary alternative in Olot and operates at a different scale entirely — more architecturally ambitious, more internationally recognised, and harder to book. If you are within driving distance, the Michelin-starred options in Girona city offer broader choice. Equilibri sits between a neighbourhood restaurant and a destination tasting-menu experience, so the right alternative depends on how much ceremony and complexity you want.
Bar seating is not confirmed in the available venue information, so it is not something to plan around. Equilibri's format centres on the à la carte, the midweek executive lunch, and the Descobrir tasting menu, all of which are table-service formats. check the venue's official channels at Carrer Sant Ferriol, 47, Olot, before your visit if informal counter dining is a priority.
The room is described as modern and considered rather than formally stiff, which points toward neat casual to smart casual dress without strict expectations. A tasting menu dinner warrants more care than a midweek lunch. There is no dress code stated in the venue record, but the format and setting suggest that turning up in beachwear or sportswear would be out of place.
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