Spanish, traditional at the base with a modern-creative streak. There's a five-course tasting menu at €56 (served to the full table), plus an à la carte and a separate cocktail list on the restaurant's own site.

The street-level bar is the informal side, for tapas at any hour, with the kitchen cooking in view behind the counter. Its short carta changes with the seasons: Iberian ham, cheese and ensaladilla sit next to a brioche of aged picaña steak tartare, an oxtail bikini cooked for four hours with Comté and rocket, the bestseller, homemade empanadillas of bonito or of trotters and cheek, L'Escala anchovies and a paloma of tuna ensaladilla. The pheasant cannelloni and the creamy rice from the dining room can be ordered at the bar too. More than 20 wines are poured by the glass, from Spain, France, Portugal and Italy, and Barbudo is a special house for Estrella Galicia 1906.

Downstairs, the mood changes to a cosy, dimly lit room with tablecloths, where Fuentes cooks a wider, more elaborate carta of classic, slow-cooked dishes with French-leaning fonds and sauces: callos, garbanzos with oxtail and foie, a veal cheek bourguignon cooked for more than six hours with Robuchon purée, his signature XXL pheasant cannelloni with mushroom duxelles and manchego, cod a la vizcaína and seafood rices, with fish from the lonjas of Isla Cristina and Vigo. Meals open with a tasting of the house Patio de Viana picual oil. The Esencia tasting menu, five courses and dessert served to the whole table, costs €56 before drinks, with an optional pairing.

The cellar holds more than 150 Spanish and international wines, with a section of special bottles. Groups of 8 to 40 can book set menus, and cocktail-style menus cater for 30 to 100.