After the Foam and Fame, a New Direction

By JOSIE SEXTONPublished: April 16, 2013

BARCELONA, Spain — Don’t expect molecular gastronomy at the Adrià brothers’ latest Barcelona restaurant. In fact, don’t even mention it.At Pakta (from the Quechuan word for “union”), the head chefs, Kioko Li, Jorge Muñoz and Albert Adrià, have created as literal a fusion as possible given their backgrounds. Which is to say, straightforward Japanese-Peruvian Nikkei cuisine with a touch of the Adrià hyperbole, or at least it will be once they have the “tradition” mastered, according to Mr. Adrià.

He and his brother, Ferran, spent more than 20 years on Catalonia’s coast, hacking away at tradition with their deconstructivist cooking in the world-famous restaurant El Bulli. They transformed conventional foods into forms like foam and vapor, earning three Michelin stars but never making a profit; El Bulli closed in July 2011. Now Pakta, their first new space since closing, is taking another direction.

In an interview at Pakta, which opened a few weeks ago, Albert Adrià was quick to dismiss the suggestion that his dishes included El Bulli’s trademark foam. “There isn’t any,” he said, later correcting himself: “Actually, yes, there is foam, in one dessert.” More traditional food, he suggested, keeps people coming back.

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While he and his more eccentric brother are business partners, they now play separate roles in their ventures. For his part, Albert Adrià considers himself practical in restaurant matters. He has placed Pakta in a small, one-room space, on the edge of a bustling working-class neighborhood. Its furnishings reflect Japan, with minimalist wood, and Peru, with floor-to-ceiling spools of brightly colored yarn.

On a recent Wednesday evening the place hummed, with 25 of its 32 comfortably close seats occupied, mostly by curious local couples on date night. Prices are scaled for a less elite clientele than the brothers cultivated at El Bulli, and for a troubled Spanish economy. Two tasting menus are offered: 20 courses and 5 desserts for 90 euros (about $115) a person, or 15 courses and 4 desserts for 68 euros (about $87), drinks not included.

The small plates are inspired by the Nikkei cuisine of the Japanese who migrated to Peru about a century ago: fresh fish combined with corn, ají peppers, yuca, potatoes and, in Pakta’s case, a host of creative flourishes —  algae from around the world, flavorful flower petals, succinct wild herbs and bursting soy “caviar” bubbles.

These spherifications, as they are called in molecular cooking, show up throughout the more Japanese dishes. (On one nigiri, the bunched green bubbles were described as sea grapes.) On the Peruvian side, ají-spiced ceviches are modified with tomato, beetroot and iced leche de tigre (a tangy, milky liquid), or buttery sea bass, sweet potatoes and peels of acidic kumquat.

In a move toward an even more deep-seated tradition, diners are instructed to eat practically everything with their fingers, though spoons, chopsticks and eventually a fork and knife were provided for meatier dishes.

Although Mr. Adrià insists that at Pakta he is selling food, as opposed to a feeling or experience, he conceded that the Catalan coast was never far from his thoughts. “We are working to keep that spirit alive,” he said, adding that his brother “comes in and says, ‘Now this smells like El Bulli.’ ” 

A version of this article appeared in print on April 17, 2013, on page D4 of the New York edition with the headline: After the Foam and Fame, a New Direction.

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