It’s always a good sign when restaurants recognise the need for a bit of a shake-up, especially on the fine dining circuit where the competition is ferocious and the dining public’s expectations are nothing short of terrifying. So the revamp of Moo at the Hotel Omm in February­—now Roca Moo and Roca Bar respectively—was a clever move, especially at a time when the world’s financial woes are heralding a mass return to a more simple, less extravagant lifestyle.
Don’t get me wrong, you can still come and do the tasting menu and live like a lord if you want to, but as Joan Roca, who shares the gastronomic directorship of the hotel with his brothers Jordi and Josep, said in his opening speech, “We’re celebrating 10 years and it’s time for something fresh, new and more accessible.” The décor certainly is and the space seems much lighter somehow with cleaner lines and a garden planted with birch trees that mirror those around the lauded Roca brothers El Celler de Can Roca in Girona.
Food-wise, chef Felip Llufriu continues as head of the fine dining aspect of Roca Moo, but the kitchen has been integrated into the dining room, adding some fairly spiffy ‘show’ cooking to your dining pleasure. Prices have gone down and now include a new €45 lunch menu that gives you a taste of the Roca genius without the price tag. If you want to go all-out, Joan Roca’s 8-course tasting menu is €100 (not including wine) and sees the classics re-imagined: tortilla with Catalan white sausage, pork cannelloni with milk ‘skin’, and sea bass with artichokes and truffles, among other seasonal crowd pleasers.
Roca Bar—separated by an open book-case so both spaces benefit from the trademark Hotel Omm buzz­—is a more laid-back haunt where you can snack on tender steamed buns, Iberian ham sandwiches, tapas and oysters, and sip from an excellent wine list, while you’re at it. It’s one of the few hotels in town that really does bring in a crowd of regular locals, and I’d say Roca Moo has at least another 10 good years to go.