History
Manuel, a native of Teruel, arrived in Barcelona in the years before the Civil War with his humble family.
He specialised as a cook in companies as important as the Hotel Ritz and the kitchens of the Wagon Lits company trains.
He founded the bar/restaurant PERÚ in the early 1940s.
Manuel’s skill in the kitchen soon brought him wide recognition and a clientele that came down to the Barceloneta for weekend meals, while still serving as a daily bar for neighbours and workers, as well as for family celebrations. It also offered a wide range of wines not so typical of other restaurants in the area.
The 60s: also a hostel
In 1961 Manuel ventured to expand the business, setting up the Marina Folc hostel, which later became the hotel at Carrer del Mar, 16, as its growing fame attracted merchant seamen and dockers to spend long periods of time in the neighbourhood due to its proximity to the Port.
In the 60s and 70s, Manuel and his son Félix’s team in the kitchen were highly regarded, with their renowned Josephine Baker cod with almonds standing out. She was also highly appreciated for his familiar treatment with customers and dockers in particular who asked for her morning barretxes or faroals (mint with gin).
By the age of 70, her daughter Conchita took over the reins, with the help of her husband, Pepe, who combined his work at the Port of Barcelona with helping out whenever he could in the family business.
La Faraona, a regular customer
It was during this decade that Barceloneta experienced some golden years as a leading player in seafood gastronomy. The celebrations were famous, with large tables and lively diners who would linger over the after-dinner conversation. Like the gypsy parties ‘with a lot of money’ in the neighbourhood of Gracia that brought the great Lola Flores, a good client of the restaurant ever since. It’s a pity that Conchita and Pepe’s discretion didn’t allow them to have photos of those historic moments.
The customers appreciated both the treatment received and, logically, the quality of the food, with dishes such as the famous Zarzuela or their particular version of Conejo en salsa (rabbit in sauce) standing out.
Later, the next generation, with the daughter of Conchita and Pepe: Ma Ángeles, who continues the family saga and the growth of the restaurant. Adding her experience to the knowledge of José Luís, also a cook, who became her husband.
The 80s and the Olympics
It was then, in the 1980s, that the halls became more suitable for celebrations (especially communions) and group gatherings.
And at the end of the 80s, with the great boom of the great works of the Port, Ronda Litoral and, more specifically, the construction of the first skyscrapers in the area, with the Hotel Arts, an agreement was reached through the Banco Pastor to house and feed the workers of the construction company. Electricians, bricklayers, glaziers, welders… became part of the family.
Today
Now, in the last decade of 2010-20, their daughters, Cristina and Sonia have been giving it their personal touch and having one of the most welcoming terraces of Pg Joan de Borbó (our forever Passeig Nacional).
In 2015, the restaurant Perú was renamed Mesón Barceloneta as a symbol of its links to the neighbourhood.
Today, the fourth generation that runs the restaurant is the faithful reflection of a family saga that has managed to maintain the friendly service, the quality of its dishes (possibly one of the best paellas you will find in La Barceloneta) and maintaining the spirit of the family saga and that salty aftertaste that we, the inhabitants of Barcelona’s most seafaring neighbourhood, exude.
