El Bulli
 

I had a message from someone near the French Spanin border who had heard that El Bulli may be closing. Just tired of it all!!
Has anyone else heard this??

I heard the rumor on another forum. Anything is possible but it seems strange if true, as all chefs consider it Mecca.

I've never heard such a rumor here in Spain :)

So, has anyone here been? I'm wondering whether it might be worth a special trip someday. I've eaten at the Fat Duck in Bray (ranked No.2 in the world after El Bulli) - wow!

I've never been..too much expensive for me :) And it's not easy to book..they say they have booking for one year to another !!

Kate, how did you manage to book for the Fat Duck ? I tried for DH's birthday last year but couldn't even get through on the phone. Maybe it will be a bit easier as long as it's only number 2 :-)

My friend booked so I'll ask her how she did it. I think it was just a case of phoning well in advance (about 3 months) and early in the morning. She managed to get a Saturday night booking!

However this was about 18months ago, so it may be harder now.

Thanks Kate. Mm, from what I remember you have to phone 2 calendar months in advance. I tried from about 8.30am but never got through. This was while it was supposed to be number one, though, so maybe I should try again this year !

Glad to hear that no one else has heard anything.

I plan to try in Oct. for fall of 2007!!

does anyone have updated info or recent experiences at this restaurant? i saw it on anthony bourdain's special and i am fascinated.

I tried to book reservations at El Bulli for 4 people on a weeknight 3 1/2 months in advance (in February) and was told that they were already booked for the entire *year* of 2006, would start taking reservations for 2007 in late Fall of 2006.

Without a press pass or a good lie, it seems difficult to get a reservation a couple of months in advance. I would have tried last minute phone calls to check if people had cancelled but my friends said forget it.

Egullet.com has lots of discussion and reviews of El Bulli by foodie fanatics, and even many famous chefs chime in from time to time. If there's anything to the rumor, it would be discussed there.