Agreste de Fabio & Roser
By Suzy Taher
Fabio is an Italian chef while Roser is from Barcelona. The two met on the Camino de Santiago. He was cooking in a Michelin-starred restaurant and she was a naturopath. Their meeting changed the path of their lives and led to their opening this restaurant.
Fabio runs the kitchen and Roser handles the front of house. Based in a former bus terminal that dates to 1925, the restaurant has a distinctive interior with two well-lit dining rooms. The steep hills of the El Coll neighborhood are reminiscent of Lisbon. The food is a combination of local and Italian, all with a good dose of flair. The canelones come bathed in béchamel, decorated with a crisscross of colors that would be equally at home on a gallery wall.
Desserts are unusual: kataïfi pastry with mild cheese and ripe persimmon, for example. While the menú del día is excellent value, Agreste de Fabio & Roser is creative and beautiful enough to make it a special occasion or lunch with friends’ destination.