Fran Agudo

The Path

Barcelona is the scale Fran Agudo works in: tapa, snack, small plate. In that format, the discipline is in compression — keeping flavour legible, structure tight, and each bite carrying its share of the plate. At Mediamanga, where he has been gastronomic director since 2020, that means traditional cuisine handled with restraint. At Mont Bar, the language shifts toward more creative, avant-garde plates, but the brief remains the same: compact food that asks for close attention. Fran Agudo started in the pressure and precision of El Celler de Can Roca as a stagier, where repetition and detail shape the work. He then moved to Tickets, where they rose to head of kitchen sections, a role that sharpened pace and kitchen control while expanding what a plate could communicate. The move to Mont Bar in Barcelona as head chef marked the point where the work became distinctly his. The progression from section work to leadership reads as a steady climb, but the underlying task stays consistent: balancing technical rigor with personality, and keeping the dish exact without flattening it. Today, Fran is gastronomic director of Mont Bar and chef of Mediamanga, working both rooms with the same pace and discipline. The pairing suits a cook whose range runs from tradition to invention, and who treats small-format cooking as a serious format rather than a reduced one.

The Work Today

Since 2020, Agudo has been gastronomic director at Mediamanga in Barcelona. There, the focus sits on Spanish tapas and small plates, with traditional cuisine kept clear and readable. The work depends on recognizability and precision: familiar flavours presented so they land cleanly. That same year, he also became gastronomic director at Mont Bar in Barcelona. The difference between the two addresses defines the craft: traditional cuisine on one side, creative avant-garde cuisine on the other. Together they set up a useful tension, with one room grounded in familiar references and the other moving through technique, refinement, and contrast. His own line on the bar-side approach is direct: "The haute cuisine brought into a bar where technique and refinement come together in a family atmosphere of tapas, snacks and small plates."

Signature

Fran's signature dishes include Asparagus in Salt, Coca Bread (Catalan Flatbread) with Tomato Butter, Razor clams with Ponzu Donostierra Style, Shiso Leaf in Tempura with Red Prawn and Tosazu, and Carbonara - a New Interpretation with Espardenyas (Sea Cucumbers). Read together, they show a cook working through contrast, crispness, salinity, and familiar formats adjusted just enough to register differently.

In Their Words “The haute cuisine brought into a bar where technique and refinement come together in a family atmosphere of tapas, snacks and small plates.”

Acclaim

Fran's honors include 2 Michelin stars.