Terra

near Girona, Spain

There are parts of the Costa Brava you’ll want to avoid – and parts you’ll want to escape to. Sant Feliu de Guíxols, a 90-minute drive from Barcelona, is the latter. Shaking things up in the seaside town is Alàbriga Hotel & Home Suites, a 28-suite design darling with a Michelin-star restaurant overlooking Sant Pol Beach. Owners Valeri and Svetlana Scherer are a formidable duo – he’s an artist and she’s a former editor of Russian Vogue – who pride themselves on their taste. Their pick in culinary superstars is just as flawless. Catalonian chef Paco Pérez earnt the restaurant its first star in 2018, and now Abraham Artigas takes the helm with a menu mixing the traditions of the Empordà region with his own travels, having cooked everywhere from Brazil to Ghana. We are presented with cod chunks that have been cooked for five hours, bathed in tiger’s milk, wrapped in spinach and topped with grated tuna heart, the tuna tasting like the white truffle of the sea. Succulent, slightly sweet pork belly is next, its flavour coming from the pig’s diet of hazelnut and figs. You’re wise to save room for dessert but you should also save room in your suitcase. The crockery’s as delicious as the food and is available to buy.