If you’ve ever sat at a fancy dinner and been served a plate dotted with colourful gels or flavour-infused foams or even other-worldly spheres of some ingredient that definitely isn’t usually spherical, it’s pretty safe to assume that chef Ferran Adrià served as some inspiration.

Often called “the father of modern occidental gastronomy”, Adrià’s three-Michelin-starred restaurant, El Bulli, was long the pinnacle of extra-fine fine diners, with foodies from around the world making the pilgrimage to the Spanish restaurant.

That was, of course, until Adrià closed his restaurant to transform it into a museum. Renamed El Bulli 1846, it was the first restaurant in the world to be turned into a museum, and now that museum is transforming once again.

In collaboration with Airbnb, El Bulli 1846 will welcome just two guests for one night only this October for a “once in a lifetime” overnight stay. 

“The mission of El Bulli restaurante was about pushing limits. We had reached what we felt was the limits of what can be done in a gastronomic experience at the maximum level,” Ferran Adrià said. “Now I’m excited to push new creative boundaries, to share this way of seeing the world with the guests who stay here and to introduce them to our latest chapter as El Bulli 1846.”

Drawn from a ballot system, the lucky winners will gain unprecedented access to exclusive parts of the building and sleep in a “plated” bed inspired by the distinctive cuisine and serving style of the El Bulli (complete with the famed spherical olive).

Ferran Adrià himself will be there to chat all about El Bulli’s culinary influence, and dinner will be served not in the former restaurant, but at Ferran’s favourite restaurants in a neighbouring town. Then, after check-out, guests will also be treated to dinner at Enigma in Barcelona, run by Ferran’s brother Albert (who also happens to be the 2nd best chef in the world according to The Best Chef Awards).

But it’s not all just about the food – the restaurant-turned-museum-turned-Airbnb is close to the picture-perfect seaside town Roses on the east coast of Spain, right near the French border, with money-can’t-buy views over secluded Costa Brava beach.

And the best part? Bar the cost of travel to and from Rose, the whole experience is free!

The exclusive stay in El Bulli 1846 will be available for 1 night from 16-17 October 2024. You can request to book from April 18 at 2:00 AM AEST at airbnb.com/elbulli1846 

Guests will be driven from Roses to El Bulli 1846. The stay is suitable for up to two adults and includes offsite dinners.

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