Bar Nou — Barcelona, Spain

We are familiar with Barcelona’s many innovative hospitality concepts, but even we have to admit that we didn’t see this imaginative project from creative director Miguel Àngel Vaquer, coming. At Bar Nou, located just of the Universitat de Barcelona campus area, chefs are turned into DJs and placed behind an elevated booth in the preparing of tapas. The house specialty is the traditional Catalan dish ‘pa amb tomàquet’ – tomato-rubbed bread – which is prepared in a novel way by letting patrons select their own choice of bread, tomatoes, salt and olive oil. The idea of merging tradition with contemporary ideas is evident in the décor, created by Maio, a local architectural firm with a penchant for flexible systems and the ad hoc. A vaulted ceiling system was installed to create a homey atmosphere, while bright yellow furnishings and neon light installations mirror the energy of the bustling Catalan capital.