A year on, La Sosenga remains the most quietly persuasive argument in the Gòtic that ambition and modesty can share a dining room. Marc Pérez cooks from the Catalan past — the restaurant is named for a medieval preparation — without ever wielding the research as a weapon: dishes arrive built rather than overbuilt, a skate wing with ganxet beans, braised pork jowl, sweet-potato churros with smoked-milk ice cream, all of it food made to be eaten instead of photographed. The room is small, the pacing is unhurried, the natural wine list is chosen with a sommelier's care rather than a shopkeeper's ideology, and the whole thing runs on a monthly rotation that keeps the kitchen honest. The number at the end continues to look like a typographical error for what's on the table. Our one standing caveat holds: a concept this clean has nowhere to hide, and an off night shows immediately — the occasional dish still arrives carrying one element too many, the kitchen's enthusiasm outrunning its editor. But that is the complaint of a critic looking for something to complain about. This is honest modern Catalan cooking at a price that ought to embarrass half the Eixample.
La Sosenga cooks Catalan food with a contemporary hand: seasonal product, classic foundations, and flavors that feel rooted rather than “invented for effect.” The vibe is bistronomy in the best sense—serious cooking without stiff formality—so the meal flows easily and the plates arrive with a calm sense of purpose.
What we like is the balance. Dishes feel thoughtful and well-built, but not overworked; there’s technique, yet the food still reads as “made to be eaten,” not admired. The room has that small, intimate energy where you can actually talk, and the pacing usually keeps the experience relaxed.
If we had one note, it’s that this style lives or dies by consistency: when the kitchen is fully locked in, it’s a standout; when it’s slightly off, you notice because the concept is so clean. Overall, it’s a restaurant we’d happily recommend—an honest, modern expression of Catalan cooking that avoids gimmicks and does the fundamentals really well
