El Bulli
 

Has anyone ever managed to book a table on a short notice at one of El Bulli's restaurants?

They're already fully booked for 2006 and don't accept reservations yet for next year. Amex Centurion service is unable to do anything about it...

It's tough unless you know someone...or unless you are staying at a hotel in Barcelona where the concierge is well connected with the El Bulli Barcelona catering staff, who are the first people made aware of last minute cancellations. I have had friends call the restaurant and say they would be in the area for a few days and asked to be informed if anything became available at the last minute....they got in, but with only a couple hours advance notice.

Thanks for your answer... Any idea which hotel concierge might be proficient in this matter?

Hotel Arts is where I learned about the catering connection and where they were able to get me in at to El Bulli at the last moment. Also, even if you don't get in, it's quite a nice place to stay. But contacting the concierge before arrival and asking about the possibility, I was politely told "not a chance".

Well this is definitely the hotel I wanted to stay at but I'm not ready to take the chance of going there without being able to eat at El Buli's so I'll just wait for next year in order to secure a reservation at the restaurant...

FYI, "El Bulli" is not a person but the name of the part of Roses where the restaurant is located. While they are not accepting any more reservations for 2006, this does not mean they have no more tables. Some are held back for hotel concierges, visiting dignitaries, etc. People can sometimes - not always - call a few days ahead of time and get in.

Or (on a facetious note) just go to San Sebastian, and eat at either of Martin Berasategui (Lasarte), Arzak or Akelare. Ok, there won't be frozen hydrogen on the menu, but it is the gastro capital of Spain.

Not so facetious...for many years, Akelare has been, and after eating at El Bulli, remains, my favorite restaurant in Spain. The El Bulli "experience" is unique, but for a chef who consistently challenges, excites and surprises you, Pedro Subijana (IMHO) rules. And San Sebastian (again, IMHO) is the best place in Europe to consistently eat and drink well at every level.

For all of you who PM'ed me asking how I actually got the reservation at El Bulli, here goes: Four of us went to Barcelona thinking where there's a will, there's a way, and we were determined to eat at El Bulli. The Hotel Arts concierge previously had said to each of us, via email, that getting into El Bulli was next to impossible but to check with him when we arrived. We did. He said the same thing. We asked him for other restaurant recommendations, which he willingly gave us. Knowing the Barcelona food scene relatively well, we had not heard of any of them, but tried the first two and raved to him about them....how good they were, what a great recommendation, how could we ever thank him, would he like to join us for lunch the next day. Turns out it was his day off and he did. The theme of conversation was El Bulli...had he been there, how do people get in, what had he heard about it, etc. We figured if we were going to get there, this guy was our only hope, as we had tried calling El Bulli directly each morning and were told the same thing...nothing available. On our third bottle of Vega Sicilia Unica, the guy cracked. He said he wanted to make a few phone calls. He left the table and came back about 15 minutes later with a smile on his face. Reservation for 4 the next evening. We asked him how he did it and said that the hotel often works with the Barcelona El Bulli catering team for special events and he had a few friends on staff who were always the first to know of cancellations. We were ecstatic and asked if he would like to join us, but he politely declined. No money changed hands, but he seemed to appreciate the wine.

Was it worth it? Yes and no. It is an experience. The overall concept of food and presentation is creatively brilliant, in a chemistry lab sort of way. If you are not ready for your limits to be pushed, don't go (i.e. deep fried fish skeleton (bones only, no fish). Surprisingly, it was not as expensive as you would expect....about half the price of lunch with the concierge the day before (but mainly due to the wine). Would I go back? If I were in Barcelona or nearby and had the opportunity, of course. But I would not make another special trip to Barcelona as if I were in search of the Holy Grail. And if I could choose to return to any one restaurant in the world again before the big trip south, it wouldn't be El Bulli.

It's worth it... at least once in a lifetime. Sr. Luis Garcia takes care of the resvs. I think we got in by flattery & letting them know we'd eaten at the 'competition' (not that I'd consider El Raco con Fabes anything similiar at all - great restaurant/real food/totally different), but I think there's a bit of a competition between the chefs. Worth a try.

I also was told of a colleague of my husband's that got in with a 500E tip to the Arts concierge. I'll stick with flattery!

If you do get a resv, be sure & check out the drive there / length of time it takes / easier ways to do it, etc, before taking off for your dinner reservation from Barcelona! A private car & driver is highly recommended.

Check out this thread:

http://flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=510536

He claims they are taking resvs for lunch - news to me, but good news!

2007?
 

Any idea when the cycle starts for getting reservations in 2007? Is it possible to "pre-register" for a reservation? Etc.

No pre-registering, but I believe the day is Oct. 15th - check Epicurious or Chowhound for more details.

So, I sent my email at exactly 8:02 AM on Oct 15 (El Bulli time zone).
I haven't heard anything back. Should I expect a return email even if I don't get a reservation?

It was several days to a week before we heard. Yes, they should tell you if a no - we had to change dates (very embarrassing story...) & Sr. Garcia first said 'sorry, but no,' then we heard back from him a few weeks later that 'something had become available.' He may just have been dying to meet a someone in person so stupid they booked the wrong month... ;)

Good Luck!!! Are you driving from BCN or staying in Roses?


P.S. In BCN, don't miss Cal Pep - totally different experience, but wonderful food & lots of fun!

Still haven't heard. Will likely stay in Roses if we get a Saturday dinner reservation. If Sunday lunch, will probably just drive in for the meal.