The paella pans will soon be sizzling.
Telefèric Barcelona, a celebrated restaurant in Spain that made its U.S. debut in Walnut Creek in 2016 and in Palo Alto three years later, is making its way down the Bay Area.
The third outpost will open Thursday in the South Bay. The location is the massive Old Town Los Gatos space that was formerly home to the Catamount restaurant and before that, the California Cafe for 31 years.
Owners and siblings Xavi and Maria Padrosa, the children of Telefèric Basque-born chef/matriarch, moved to the United States to oversee their first Bay Area place, along with executive chef Oscar Cabezas — and stayed to expand the concept.
“We’re really excited about Los Gatos,” Xavi Padrosa said. “We bring a lot of life into a town.”
Six paella variations are offered — Lobster, Crab, Carne, Mixta, Negra and Veggie — and carts will transport small plates of Gambas al Ajillo (garlicky shrimp), Pulpo Telefèric (Galician octopus with truffle oil), Patatas Bravas (aioli-topped potatoes) and other tapas. Large plates include a 40-ounce Catalan Tomahawk steak and El Secreto Ibérico, acorn-fed Iberian pork with shiitake mushrooms and mojo verde.
At the Bay Area restaurants, the lobster is the top-selling paella but Padrosa recommends diners try the negra, which is “our No. 1” at the family’s restaurants in Spain. That squid-ink version features scallops, octopus, shrimp, clams and mushrooms.
A new small plate will debut on the Los Gatos menu before being offered in Palo Alto and Walnut Creek. It’s called a Spanish Wellington, and it arrives with a needle, he said. “We give it a ‘booster shot’ of a caramelized onion sauce.”
As with the Palo Alto location, the Los Gatos space will feature El Merkat, with Spanish products to make your own charcuterie board at home, paella kits, grab-and-go offerings and sangria.
Besides sangria made three ways (the white wine version is the serrano pepper one), Telefèric Barcelona specializes in gin and tonics and offers a long list of Spanish wines and cava.
In the weeks and months following the opening, Telefèric Los Gatos will launch Flamenco Night with dancers and Paella Master Classes, both in-person and online.
Maria Padrosa worked with Studio Tarruella Trenchs, a noted Barcelona architecture firm, to transform the space into one with a casual, natural-looking Mediterranean aesthetic. Think Spanish tiles, oak and an indoor garden. Overall, there is seating inside for 150 and on the patio for 80.
“They’ve done some of the best restaurants in Spain and around the world,” Xavi Padrosa said. “For us, it’s very important to give that Spanish authentic feeling in the restaurant.”
The Padrosa family operates two restaurants in Spain, and their culinary history goes back a generation.
Their mother, Soledad Urabayen, opened the family’s first restaurant, Rondes, more than 25 years ago in Sant Cugat del Vallès. It was later nicknamed Telefèric Barcelona because of the toy gondola or cable car (telefèric) at the eatery’s entrance.
Details: Open for lunch and dinner at 50 University Ave., Los Gatos; www.telefericbarcelona.com
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