Il Milione by Lasarte unfolds as an intimate exploration of flavour and luxury.
A Table Above the Stars
High above the kitchen of Lasarte, Barcelona’s three-Michelin-starred temple of precision, a single door opens to another world. Once inside, the light dims and an invisible heartbeat marks the beginning of Il Milione, a luxurious and intimate experience that feels part dining, part narrative.
Only one table is served per service. Eight guests at most, seated around an iroko-wood slab that seems to float in the dark. Below them, through a glass wall, the kitchen moves with quiet rhythm; above, the ceiling glows with a soft amber pulse. Every sound, scent, and shimmer has been composed. This is Lasarte’s secret table and perhaps Europe’s most ambitious private dining room.
Exploration, Not Repetition
For Martín Berasategui and Paolo Casagrande, perfection is never a place to rest. After leading Lasarte to global acclaim, they turned upward, literally, to create something more personal and experimental. The result is Il Milione, named after the ‘Book of Wonders’ dictated by Marco Polo in the 13th century, a chronicle of journeys that blurred the borders between history and myth.
Casagrande, born in the Veneto region of Italy like Polo himself, treats the reference not as nostalgia but as a metaphor for curiosity. The menu is a voyage through cultures, techniques, and sensations, guided by the same exploratory spirit that defines his cooking. “We wanted to go beyond perfection,” he says, “to challenge ourselves in a new dimension of emotion.”
The Language of the Senses
The room is the result of a collaboration with the Barcelona-based design studio Makeat, that transformed the former chef’s table on the mezzanine into a multisensory environment. Every detail has been built for touch and response: Zwiesel hand-blown glasses so light they feel like feathers; Guy Degrenne cutlery that shifts from silver to copper across the meal; chargers hand-painted by artist Daniel Zlota with natural pigments from rice, coffee, and soy, depicting Venice, San Sebastián, and Barcelona, the three homes of Casagrande’s soul.
Soft aromas change as the meal unfolds. Light temperature and soundscapes evolve in sync with the dishes, creating an atmosphere that heightens perception without distraction. It’s not spectacle but harmony, a lesson in restraint from a team that could, if it wished, dazzle endlessly.
A Menu of Wonders
The 13-course tasting menu, priced at €490, is exclusive to Il Milione and completely separate from Lasarte’s. It begins with Bound by the Seas, a series of hypnotic, beautifully plated, appetisers linking cultures through sea and land. Then continues with Silk Delight, a golden croissant served with butter and caviar, perhaps the most elegant “breakfast” ever conceived, followed by Origins, the iconic Berasategui’s mille-feuille of foie gras, smoked eel and green apple, reborn as two luminous bites flambéed before the guests.
The oysters sequence, presented as Pearls of the Sea is a study in texture, echoing ancient trade routes; Rising Tide merges marine and forest aromas in a sensory storm; A Millenary Story reimagines risotto through ancient Chinese and Indian rice varieties tinted with red cabbage; and Seduction brings marinated venison in koji, orange, and Espelette pepper.
The desserts by Xavi Donnay, crowned World’s Best Pastry Chef 2020, mirror the journey’s contemplative close: Hoshigaki, inspired by Japan’s ancestral technique of drying persimmons, folds blue cheese, olives, and dates into a blend of sweet, savoury and umami; Nectar blends miso, almond, pear, and yuzu; and Ode to Cocoa transforms chocolate into five textures that conclude the voyage.
Craftsmanship Beyond the Plate
Every element has been considered. The butter knife was designed exclusively for Il Milione. The table linen, by Matarranz, is stitched in double Vainica embroidery. Even the lamps, woven from recycled fishing nets through the Galician project Proxecto Bolina, tell a story of heritage and reinvention.
The choreography of the service, led by Joan Carles Ibáñez, is ballet-like; dishes arrive in synchrony; wines are poured as if in conversation with the light. Pairings range from an Il Milione Harmony of European wines (€340) to a Krug Champagne Harmony (€850).
A Philosophy of Quiet Daring
Unlike other immersive dining rooms, Il Milione resists theatrical excess. There are no lectures, no projections, no metaphors explained, only the invitation to enjoy. As Ibáñez puts it, “The story is told from the dishes outward, not from the outside inward.” Guests are encouraged to sense rather than think.
The experience lasts around three and a half hours, yet time bends inside this cocoon. An astrolabe placed discreetly on the table marks each stage, a nod to navigation and to the idea that every meal is, in its way, a journey.
If Lasarte is a cathedral of technique, Il Milione is its inner chapel. Casagrande’s cuisine retains the rigour of his Basque mentor, Berasategui, yet here it breathes with the delicacy and a global perspective.
Il Milione embodies a question rather than an answer: what lies beyond excellence? And in that question lies its beauty.
For Berasategui, Casagrande, Ibáñez, and Donnay, the reply is not ‘more perfection’ but an exploration of craft and hospitality.
Il Milione
Restaurante Lasarte by Martín Berasategui
Carrer de Mallorca 259, Barcelona
www.restaurantlasarte.com/es/il-milione
