i. Biography
Early Years
The 2006 co-founding of La Taverna del Clínic in Barcelona sets the frame for Toni Sim’s work: chef and co-founder from the start, not a chef folded in later. That matters in the craft readout. A place built with the cooking already inside it tends to develop a tighter identity, and here the restaurant’s rhythm appears to have been established from within its own kitchen. Patatas bravas sits among the restaurant’s named classics, which is enough to place it as a standard-bearer rather than a throwaway plate. Mushroom and foie cannelloni holds the same status. Together, the two dishes point to a kitchen that keeps a record of what it serves well and returns to it until the line between menu item and identity starts to disappear.
Making a Name
Seafood gives the menu another register, and the naming is exact. Cod with cockles, wholegrain rice and algae is identified as one of the famous plates associated with Sim at La Taverna del Clínic, a dish whose structure is carried in its title alone: fish, shellfish, grain, marine plant. The clarity of the naming matches the kitchen’s method of presentation, where the plate is allowed to speak in components. Red tuna fillet in miso soup appears with the same directness. By 2015, the Sol Repsol had arrived, placing recognition alongside an already established restaurant identity. The award reads here as confirmation rather than pivot: a formal acknowledgment of a kitchen whose core dishes were already doing the work.
The Present
The current title remains plain: chef. At La Taverna del Clínic in Barcelona, the work is still legible through the named dishes that define it. Patatas bravas, mushroom and foie cannelloni, pâté with caramelised apple, cod with cockles, wholegrain rice and algae, and red tuna fillet in miso soup give the restaurant its register in the present tense. The strength is in repetition and recognizability; the place is understood through a stable set of plates rather than through constant reinvention.
Signature
Toni Sim’s signature dishes include patatas bravas, mushroom and foie cannelloni, pâté with caramelised apple, cod with cockles, wholegrain rice and algae, and red tuna fillet in miso soup.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Toni
What roles has Toni Sim held?
Toni Sim has held the roles of chef and co-founder of La Taverna del Clínic in Barcelona, with the co-founding role dated to 2006.
What is Toni Sim doing now?
He is chef of the Barcelona restaurant, where patatas bravas and mushroom and foie cannelloni are among its named classics.
