Fame arrived for Daniel Brühl in 2003, with the release of Good Bye, Lenin! It was a production that attained international success, but that provoked special interest in Catalonia because of the origins of the German actor. With a Catalan mother and born in the Gràcia neighbourhood, Brühl has not only shown himself to be fluent in Catalan in interviews he has done here in the media, but he also reveals an enthusiasm for Barcelona, whether in programmes for German television or in books like Un dia a Barcelona, in which he visits his favourite local areas, shops and bars in the city. Yet, it is in the gastronomy that the actor has found a refuge in Berlin with the flavour of the Catalan capital.
In 2011, the actor began as a restaurant entrepreneur in Berlin when he opened his Bar Raval. It’s a project with Galician resident in Berlin Atilano González, based on the idea of offering diners in the German capital the same experience they would get in Barcelona.
Opening a tapas bar in a big European city may not seem the most innovative business idea, and the fact is that it is the most common options among Spanish restaurant owners abroad. However, what makes Brühl’s proposal different is the care taken over the product -looking to recreate the best dishes found here and not just coming up with versions that will merely satisfy the palates of non-experts- and a design that transports the diner to a typical Barcelona eatery, even though it is in the Kreuzberg neighbourhood.
The Bar Raval in front of the Boxhagener Platz park in Berlin
In fact, the creation of this Hispano-Catalan bubble in the heart of the German capital was one of the actor’s aims when he opened the restaurant. “Bar Raval is a place where I can talk Spanish and can experience Spanish culture eating, drinking and watching La Lliga,” says Brühl in an interview with El País.
Bar Raval has already become one of Berlin’s top eateries, not just because of the fame of its owner, but also for the quality of its menu. From the ever-popular patatas bravas, to croquettes of all types and the bar’s star dish: Iberian tataki. Yet, transporting the quality of Spanish tapas to the centre of Europe comes at a price. In the case of Bar Raval, about 25 euros per diner.
The project’s success has been such that getting a table is far from an easy matter, unless done more than a week in advance, and the dishes are so popular that they even form the basis for a recipe book ¡Tapas! Die spanische Küche der Bar Raval. It is a publishing success from Brühl himself, despite his not taking charge of the hobs himself.
At the start of 2017, the actor opened his second restaurant in Berlin. Bar Gràcia also serves tapas, but with an extra level of sophistication, thanks to the collaboration with the owner of La Pepita bar in Barcelona, Sofia Boixet, who has one of Brühl’s favourite eateries in the Catalan capital.
Despite repeating his strategy, the actor rules out setting up a franchise network. What he wants to do is create unique places, but always with the taste of Barcelona.