Casa Leopoldo, one of Barcelona's emblematic establishments, will close its doors again this Sunday. The news comes just over two years after it reopened in the Raval neighborhood. The decision was announced by the CEO of Banco de Boquerones, Bruno Balbás, via an Instagram post. This company had taken over the business in April 2024.
Sources close to the management have cited financial difficulties as the primary reason for the closure. According to these sources, a lack of customer traffic had been a persistent problem, and the possibility of closing had already been considered last December.
“"It has not been an easy decision at all. We have tried with all our hearts. We leave grateful to all the people who have accompanied us during this time and who have made all this possible with their effort. We hope that the story of Casa Leopoldo and the wonderful Rosa Gil will remain alive in all our memories. You have until June 28th to visit us and enjoy one last meal with us."
In its latest iteration, Casa Leopoldo aimed to return to its origins and history. The establishment featured two rooms dedicated to the writer Manuel Vázquez Montalbán, considered the restaurant's ambassador, and to Rosa Gil, granddaughter of the original founder, Leopoldo Gil. It also included the Sala Bohemia, conceived as a space for relaxed conversation, as Balbás explained on the reopening day, April 20, 2024.
With nearly a century of history, the restaurant has a long trajectory on Sant Rafael street in El Raval. Its story dates back to the founder, Leopoldo Gil, who opened the first establishment on Aurora street. The current location, at Sant Rafael street 24, opened just days before the outbreak of the Civil War, in July 1936. Later, the founder's son, Germán Gil, known as 'El Exquisito', took over the business. In the nineties, management passed to Rosa Gil, the founder's granddaughter, who was a key figure for two decades until its closure in 2015.
Casa Leopoldo has been a cultural and literary meeting point, serving as the favorite restaurant of the fictional detective Pepe Carvalho, created by Vázquez Montalbán. During its heyday, it regularly hosted personalities such as Eduardo Mendoza, Terenci Moix, Maruja Torres, and Juan Marsé. The writer André Pierre de Mandiargues wrote the novel Al margen there. The establishment also had strong ties to the bullfighting world and was a place where people of various political leanings converged.
After Rosa Gil's departure in November 2015, her daughter managed the business for a period. Subsequently, in 2018, entrepreneurs Romáin Fornells and Òscar Manresa attempted to revive it, followed by Rafa Peña of the restaurant Gresca, who transformed it into a venue for select tapas. Casa Leopoldo even operated as a Chinese restaurant with an affordable daily menu.
