El Periódico has published a gastronomic review of L’Aliança in Anglès, in which journalist and critic Pau Arenós highlights the work of Cristina Feliu and Àlex Carrera, the establishment’s century-long history and some of the standout dishes from its tasting menus.
Under the headline “Restaurant L’Aliança: the bold couple sowing rural fine dining in a 1919 house”, the article presents L’Aliança as a project capable of developing ambitious, contemporary cuisine from Anglès without giving up its family heritage, connection to the local area or the distinctive personality of the building.
The review explores both the past and present of the restaurant and recognises Cristina Feliu’s work in the dining room and wine cellar, as well as Àlex Carrera’s leadership in the kitchen.
More than a century of history
L’Aliança is located in a building constructed in 1919 that has had many different lives over the years. It has served as a social club for farmers and livestock breeders, a village café, a meeting place, a music venue, a gastronomic restaurant and a bistro.
Since 1953, the establishment’s history has been closely linked to the Feliu family, first as managers of the café and later as owners and driving forces behind the restaurant.
Pau Arenós’s review particularly highlights the dining room, which retains its personality, charm and many of the features that have accompanied the building over the decades.
This space is not merely the setting where the menus are served. It is also an essential part of the experience, helping guests understand where L’Aliança comes from and how the current project continues to engage with all of its previous stages.
A story of loss, continuity and renewal
The journalist also recalls his first visit to L’Aliança in 2000, when Lluís and Josep Maria Feliu, Cristina’s father and uncle, were running the restaurant.
Lluís Feliu, a self-taught chef, succeeded in transforming the family project into a gastronomic restaurant awarded a Michelin Star. His death on Christmas Eve 2013 was a devastating blow for the family and led to the temporary closure of the establishment.
Cristina Feliu later decided to reopen it with a simpler proposal, preserving the family spirit while adapting the restaurant to a new reality.
Àlex Carrera’s arrival in 2019 marked the beginning of a new stage. His addition to the team allowed the project to become more gastronomically ambitious and move towards more technical and elaborate cuisine.
In 2020, L’Aliança was once again awarded a Michelin Star, confirming the strength of the proposal developed jointly by Cristina and Àlex.
Fine dining from Anglès
Pau Arenós describes L’Aliança’s proposal as an example of “rural fine dining”: cuisine based on technique, precision and complex constructions, developed in a town of fewer than six thousand inhabitants.
The location is a fundamental part of the restaurant’s identity, but it is also a challenge. Unlike establishments situated in major cities or tourist destinations, guests have to make a deliberate journey to visit L’Aliança.
This reality requires the team to approach every service with great rigour and to offer an experience compelling enough for the restaurant itself to become the main reason for the trip.
The renovation of the kitchen, which has been expanded and modernised, has enabled Àlex Carrera and his team to tackle more complex preparations and work with greater comfort, space and precision.
Cristina Feliu, leading the dining room and wine cellar
The review also highlights the work of Cristina Feliu, who oversees the dining room and wine cellar.
Located on the mezzanine that once hosted some of L’Aliança’s livelier chapters, the current cellar contains a selection of wines that complements and expands the restaurant’s gastronomic narrative.
The selection combines established labels with wines from distinctive producers, with particular attention paid to projects connected to the local area.
Cristina’s work helps create a warm, personal and coherent experience in which service, pacing and wine pairings are just as important as the dishes themselves.
Vermouth hour as a tribute to the restaurant’s origins
The gastronomic journey begins with Vermouth Hour, a sequence of appetisers that recalls the period when Cristina Feliu’s grandparents ran the village café.
These opening bites revive familiar, popular flavours while presenting them through contemporary techniques and formats.
Among the creations highlighted in the review are a Russian salad roll, a garlic mushroom bonbon, a roast chicken comb and the classic pairing of anchovy and marinated anchovy.
More than simply the start of the menu, this sequence tells the story of L’Aliança and connects the current proposal with the memory of the 1950s café.
The standout dishes in the review
Throughout the tasting menus, Pau Arenós highlights several creations that he considers particularly successful.
These include cuttlefish tartare with a delicate veil and Santa Pau beans, a reinterpretation of the traditional empedrat that combines ingredients, technique and culinary memory.
He also singles out the vegetable mille-feuille with roasted garlic cream, a plant-based dish notable for its precision and intensity.
Another of the main highlights is battered Figueres onion with Miner cheese from Espinelves, a creation that has been part of Àlex Carrera’s proposal since 2019 and has become one of the restaurant’s signature dishes.
The review also praises the pig’s tail with sea cucumber and capipota sauce, a combination that brings together tradition, produce and highly accomplished technique.
The journey is completed with dishes such as Blanes prawn with acidic consommé, a combination of tuna and beetroot, a reinterpretation of duck with pears and desserts based on Girona apples.
Adapting without losing identity
El Periódico’s review presents L’Aliança as a project that has known how to adapt to every period without abandoning its essence.
Over more than a century, the building and the family have experienced change, loss, transformation and new beginnings. Each stage has helped shape the restaurant as it exists today.
Cristina Feliu and Àlex Carrera continue this story with a proposal that looks towards the future while preserving the memory of the café, the family and the town.
It is a cuisine that moves forward without giving up, wins diners over through flavour and demonstrates that fine dining can also flourish while remaining deeply rooted in a rural setting.
You can read Pau Arenós’s gastronomic reviews and articles in the gastronomy section of El Periódico.
