The landmark Catalonian restaurant may have closed its doors in 2011, but many of its chefs can still be found cooking around the world today.
When Ferran Adrià first stepped into the kitchens of El Bulli in 1984, he began a new chapter in global gastronomy. After his younger brother, Albert, joined as a pastry chef one year later, the duo would embark on a 20-year campaign to break the rules and expectations of fine dining. Through a pioneering application of science, storytelling and hospitality, El Bulli earned the title of The World’s Best Restaurant five times over, a place in the Best of the Best hall of fame and had a two-year waiting list for reservations.
The restaurant then firmly closed that chapter when it announced its shock closure in 2011, much to the dismay of prospective diners across the world. But the transformative blueprint it created can still be found at restaurants globally today, thanks to the legions of chefs who gained experience within its kitchens.
Whether you were on the infamous waiting list, were lucky enough to get a seat and long for something similar, or were just too late to the party, here are the restaurants helmed by El Bulli alumni that will get you close to the mark.
1) Disfrutar, Barcelona
@disfrutarbcn
Disfrutar was founded by three chefs who worked together at El Bulli
A two-hour drive down the Catalonian coastline from El Bulli in Barcelona, Disfrutar is considered by many to be the spiritual successor, having earned its own place among the Best of the Best group as The World’s Best Restaurant 2024. Founded by a trio who met while working as junior chefs at the landmark Roses restaurant, every element of Disfrutar feels in line with the Adrià brothers’ legacy. Chefs Oriol Castro, Eduard Xatruch and Mateu Casañas adhere closely to their mentors’ culinary vision, channelling unbounded creativity through a transportive and thought-provoking dining experience that plays out over 30 mind-bending courses. Iconic dishes such as the gilda and panchino are as memorable as their names are intriguing, with personalised hospitality and a touch of tableside theatre completing the package.
2) Gaggan, Bangkok
@gaggan_anand
Guests are expected to get hands-on with dishes at Gaggan
The mastermind behind The Best Restaurant in Asia 2025 was the first ever Indian chef to intern at El Bulli. And, while his time at the restaurant was limited, Anand claims its impact was long-lasting. The Adrià influence is felt throughout the Bangkok eatery, with its rule-breaking spirit paired with molecular gastronomy. The latest iteration is closer to a house party, replete with music, colours and humour, rather than a traditional fine-dining experience. Those lucky enough to bag one of the 14 seats at its chef’s counter will be forced to get hands-on with courses like the punchy Yoghurt Explosion or the cerebral-shaped Onion Has A Brain; creations so adored they have guests licking the plate – a practice Anand deeply encourages, so much so there’s even a dish called Lick it Up.
3) Enigma, Barcelona
@enigma_albertadria
Albert Adrià can still be found in the kitchen at Engima in Barcelona
While Ferran Adrià may have hung up his apron, the younger of the two brothers can still be found in the kitchen today. Enigma opened in 2017 and, as to be expected from the name, comes shrouded in a touch of El Bulli mystery. To enter the restaurant, guests must use a secret code and were previously asked not to post any photos from their experiences on social media – a rule that has since been relaxed. Inside its striking silver-hued interior, Adrià whips up more than 25 creative courses that feel straight out of the El Bulli playbook: think spoonfuls of rich pig’s ear in jamón broth and impossibly delicate lime mille-feuilles with wasabi ice cream and black sesame. Don’t skip the wine pairing – Enigma’s cellar runs deep with more than 1,000 bottles sourced from across Spain.
4) Alta, London
@alta.london
Atla will open in September 2025 and offer Basque dishes made with British ingredients
Botswana-born chef Rob Roy Cameron spent nearly a decade in Spain training under the Adriàs at El Bulli, eventually becoming Albert’s right-hand man for the opening of his restaurant 41 Degrees in Barcelona. In London in September 2025, he is set to open Alta: his homage to Northern Spain’s Alta Navarra and its penchant for cooking over fire. Spanning two floors with space for more than 100 diners, Cameron will marry traditional Basque recipes with small-scale British produce across a selection of small and medium-sized plates. Expect escabeches made with British oils and vinegars, Lake District-reared ex-dairy beef masterfully charred over fire and homemade txistorra (northern Spanish sausage), rounded off with a Basque cheesecake, of course.
5) Alinea, Chicago
@alinearestaurant
To celebrate Alinea’s 20th anniversary, Achatz is taking the restaurant on a global tour in 2025
Grant Achatz was a 25-year-old sous chef when he spent just a few weeks as an intern at El Bulli to get to grips with its pioneering work with molecular gastronomy. After opening his eyes to its endless possibilities, he returned to the US with a clear vision for his own culinary style, opening Alinea five years later in 2005. Achatz’s stewardship has earned the restaurant its reputation as a bastion of American fine dining in the years since, and ups the El Bulli playfulness to new heights through creations such as edible balloons and black truffle ‘explosions’. Dessert? ‘Painted’ on the table by chefs under dimmed lights to a thumping soundtrack under the fog of chocolate-scented smoke.
6) Somni, Los Angeles
@somnirestaurant
Somni spotlights Zabala’s Catalan and Basque roots while embracing his Californian surroundings
Somni, meaning dream in Catalan, originally opened in 2018 as a collaboration between chef Aitor Zabala, who trained at El Bulli from 2006 to 2009 before moving into a wider role within the Adrià creative team, and Jose Andres, a fellow alum. After its closure during the Covid-19 pandemic, Somni returned as a solo venture for Zabala in 2024 at a new location and promptly made history as LA’s first three Michelin star restaurant just six months into its revival. Somni’s food is grounded in Spanish cooking but pulls from a range of international influences inspired by the city’s make-up. From Parmesan feathers to shiso tartare tempura, everything is expectedly intricate and complex.
7) Noma, Copenhagen
@nomapch
Chef René Redzepi trained at El Bulli in 1999
René Redzepi’s first chapter with El Bulli came as a guest, eating one “mind-blowing” meal in 1998. The next followed just one year later, working behind its pass for a season to broaden his horizons. Now renowned across the world as the mastermind behind Nordic gastronomic titan Noma (another former World’s Best Restaurant and member of the Best of the Best hall of fame), Redzepi’s food stays true to El Bulli’s DNA through the provision of thought-provoking culinary journeys, with the Copenhagen restaurant focussing on foraged produce. Dishes are designed to challenge as much as they are to sate: brain custard comes served from a reindeer skull, while chocolate desserts may take the form of a photorealistic starfish. While Noma announced the planned closure of the restaurant in its current format in 2025, it recently opened dining reservations for the 2026 season, as well as its 10-week residency in Kyoto, Japan, and five-month season in Los Angeles, US.
8) Mugaritz, San Sebastián
@mugaritz
Dishes at Mugaritz are designed to challenge diners
“When I did a stage at El Bulli in 1993, I had a mini crisis,” says Andoni Luis Aduriz, the chef behind adventurous restaurant Mugaritz. At the San Sebastian institution, Aduriz takes the hyper-creative cooking agenda and runs with it, unequivocally blurring the lines between performative art and gastronomy – going as far as removing the ‘restaurant’ sign from its exterior a number of years ago. Creations range from the scientifically brilliant single sheet of transparent kombu, created through a clever application of enzymes, to the eye-opening, belly button-shaped Navel of the World, where a cloudy serum of toasted walnut oil and kefir emerges from the opening to mimic how humans are first nourished in the womb.
Read more about El Bulli and the other incredible restaurants in the Best of the Best group. Each has topped the annual poll of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants over its history.
