Restaurant Fontané Girona – A Tribute To Catalan Soul By The Roca Brothers
Looking for a detailed review of the newly opened Restaurant Fontané Girona? You’ve come to the right place!
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The Legacy of The Roca Borthers
As a food traveler, I’ve always believed that the best way to understand a place is through its flavors. The stories simmering in its stews, the memories folded into its bread.
On my recent trip to Catalonia, Spain, that belief found its most exquisite expression at Restaurant Fontané Girona, the newest culinary venture by the legendary Roca brothers.
It wasn’t El Celler de Can Roca. The famed three-Michelin-star temple requires reservations many months in advance. Good luck to spontaneous travelers like me.
But dining at Fontané, located within the Espirit Roca Hotel in the village of Sant Julià de Ramis just outside Girona, with a mere few days’ notice (shout out to our Amex travel concierge) felt like a moment of quiet destiny.
I shared this meal with my dining companion Ian from Travel Massive, a fellow explorer of the world through taste. Together we were welcomed into the elegant, soulful world of the Rocas.
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Restaurant Fontané Girona – An Ode to Señora Montserrat
The hotel itself is spectacular — perched on a hill, overlooking the Catalan countryside. Minimalist yet exuding warmth, it’s a place where everything feels intentional: the architecture, the light, the silence.
It houses their one Michelin star restaurant Esperit Roca. It will also soon become home to their new culinary academy — a place where future generations of chefs will be taught in the same spirit that defines the Roca brothers’ work: humility, creativity, and devotion to the land.
Restaurant Fontané Girona is named after Montserrat Fontané, the matriarch who sparked her sons’ lifelong passion for cooking. Her humble diner in Girona is still open today and serves up daily set lunch menu for under 20 Euro.
The menu at Restaurant Fontané Girona is a heartfelt ode to Montserrat and to Catalonia itself. Simple, rooted, full of memory. Every ingredient tells a local story.
From the vegetables grown in the Rocas’ own garden at Mas Marroch to the wines, predominantly sourced from Catalan vineyards.
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Fontané – The Tasting Menu Experience
We chose the tasting menu, a very reasonable €70 experience that felt like a dialogue between past and present.
It began with a refreshing mint soup, cool and bright as a Mediterranean breeze. Then came a cod fritter — crispy on the outside, tender and comforting within. Like a Spanish grandmother’s hug disguised as a tapa.
The next course, a seasonal harvest salad from Mas Marroch, was a poetic celebration of the land.
Tender sprouts, pickled young vegetables, mountain herbs, Ermesenda cheese cream, and confit tomato. A garden symphony that reminded me how deeply the Rocas respect seasonality and place.
Then came the black pudding soup with Catalan “pilota” and pickled vegetables — a dish that grounded us with its earthy flavors and rustic soul.
It tasted of home, of Sunday lunch, of stories told over slow-cooked meals.
The cod loin confit with sanfaina and garlic shoots mousseline followed — silky, delicate, a perfect balance of the sea and the soil.
And then, a poularde cannellone, stuffed with tender chicken breast cooked at low temperature, the kind of dish that whispers of tradition carried forward through technique and care.
Equal parts decadent and comforting, and topped with shaved truffle – it was my personal favorite of the night.
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Sweet Endings, Roca Style
Dessert was an ode to nostalgia. Catalan cream flavored with cinnamon, served with purée, ice cream, and seasonal baked apple mousse — comfort and refinement intertwined.
To close, petits fours, each a small, sweet punctuation mark at the end of an elegant story.
We paired the meal with wines from the Rocas’ own cellar — including their sparkling wine (do not miss it!).
The wine list at Restaurant Fontané Girona is exceptional, a true showcase of the region’s viticultural excellence.
My advice to future diners? Arrive early. Take time to explore the hotel, to feel the serenity of the space, and to let anticipation build before your first bite.
Fontané is more than a restaurant — it’s a meditation on Catalan identity, family, and memory.
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Restaurant Fontané Girona – A Teaser Before Grand Finale
As we left, I couldn’t help but think that this meal was a perfect appetizer before the grand entrée — the day I finally dine at El Celler de Can Roca itself, perhaps in 2026, ending the experience with one of Jordi Roca’s whimsical desserts.
Until then, here’s to Catalan cooking, worthy of independence. And to the Rocas, who remind us that food, at its best, is a bridge between generations, landscapes, and dreams.
Images: Gaby Aziz & Ian Cumming
Have you been to Restaurant Fontané Girona? How did you like it? Let us know in the comments or tag @eightyflavors on socials!
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