Windsor

What was once an apartment in the chic Eixample district ten years ago is now a smart restaurant with a fresh and modern approach to haute cuisine. Windsor is enthusiastically managed by a young team who value elegance and etiquette first and then introduce innovative ideas that has helped them create an impeccable experience.

Surrounded by a pleasing décor replete with chandeliers, art work, striking red upholstered chairs and luxury mirrors, diners can relax and choose from a selection of delectable culinary creations. Those who seek solitude can choose from their several private dining rooms and the charming garden area is for those who wish to dine al fresco.

The kitchen specialises in modern Catalan cuisine that has gained popularity for being rich yet healthy and wholesome. While remaining open to global influences, the Mediterranean touch cannot be ignored as ingredients are primarily sourced from the coast. The emphasis is on new ways of improving and optimising processes and culinary techniques, while excessive flamboyance takes a backseat.

Start with a salad of Norwegian king crab with avocados and ripe tomato pulp, grilled scallops on confit potatoes with honey or tuna tataki served with mango tagliatelle and broccoli puree. Their meat dishes include beef fillet with 'café de Paris' sauce and black trumpet mushroom parmentier; suckling lamb loin with peach chutney and a light garlic cream, and roast pigeon accompanied by liquorice, foie gras and corn cream.

Seafood lovers can plump for the grilled turbot with citrus powder and orange risotto; coastal baby squid with cucumber, courgette and caramelized onion, and monkfish with Palamós shrimps, toasted garlic and clams and stew juice. Passion fruit emulsion with mango tagliatelle and shortcrust pastry and hazelnut coolant accompanied by vanilla ice cream and a muscavado sugar reduction provide a fitting end to a meal.

Windor's cellar is home to over five thousand bottles and four hundred wines, so that diners never run out of choices and the stewards proffer helpful advice. So choose between Tempranillo de Cavas Hill, Martinez Lacuesta Cosecha and Conde de Caralt Chardonnay fermented in an oak barrel.

Statistics reveal that people in Mediterranean countries have a lower incidence of coronary heart disease than their Western counterparts primarily because the food is low in saturated fats. So Windsor warrants plaudits for promoting this cuisine with touches of innovation.