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Aurora Cuito, architect and author of Cool Restaurants Brussels, Cool Restaurants Madrid and Cool Shops Barcelona (all published by teNeues), tells Redhot what’s cool in Brussels, Barcelona and Madrid
1 Where do you live and why?
Barcelona, because it has a great climate and a great cultural life.
2 You’ve written three Cool guides. Which was the most fun city to research?
Brussels, because I had the idea that it was quite boring and I have found out there is a huge bar and restaurant scene, lively and colourful.
3 What makes a venue cool?
One of the most important aspects is good design, and if then you combine it with interesting products or tasty food, that makes a cool place. Of course music, art, and good service also helps.
4 Which is the coolest restaurant in Brussels?
Rosa Art Lounge (Boulevard de Waterloo 36-37), because of its great design.
<< 5 Which is the coolest restaurant in Barcelona?
Moo (Hotel Omm, Rossellò 265), because of its design and ambience.
It’s totally in fashion now.
6 Which is the coolest restaurant in Madrid?
La Broche (Calle Miguel Ángel 29-31), because of its minimalist style and sophisticated food.
7 Which restaurant has the most unusual design?
Noti (Carrer Roger de Llúria 35- 37) in Barcelona.
8 Can you recommend three restaurants, one in each city, specifically for their food?
Barcelona: Botafumeiro (Carrer de Gràcia 81), Drolma (Passeig de Gràcia 70) and Santa Maria (Carrer Comerç 17). Madrid: La Broche (see above), Santceloni (Paseo de la Castellana 57) and La Manduca de Azagra (Calle Sagasta 14). Brussels: Comme Chez Soi (Place Rouppe 23), Resource (164 Rue du Midi), and Agastache ang Tomka (Rue Royale 290).
9 As a diner, what is your pet hate?
When dishes that are supposed to be hot are cold, and vice versa.
10 What is your favourite shop in Barcelona?
Vinçon (Passeig de Gràcia 96). It sells a great variety of design products which are displayed in a very original way. The consumer can have a close relationship with the products and touch or try them.
11 What’s your favourite meal?
Anything that involves fresh fish.
12 Which is the best area for retail therapy in Barcelona?
Born, an old neighbourhood, has been converted into a great shopping area, where you can buy clothes, design items and much more.
13 What is your favourite bar or club?
Club Cibeles-Mond Club (Còrsega 363) in Barcelona.
14 Which record most makes you dance?
Anything by the band Saint Etienne.
15 Who is you favourite architect/designer and why?
Herzog and De Meuron. They are architectural poets, they create beauty but they do not forget about functionality.
16 Which living person do you most admire?
My father, I guess, and anyone who fights for justice.
17 What is your favourite object?
A book.
18 What was the last book you read?
Hotel Savoy by Joseph Roth.
19 What couldn’t you live without?
Books and the person I’m in love with.
20 Which six people (dead or alive) would you invite to a dream dinner party?
A mixture of designers and writers or any other creative minds: Tadao Ando, Nabokov, Karim Rashid, Zaha Hadid, Jim Jarmusch and Isaiah Berlin, and I guess I would cook them a light Mediterranean meal with good wine.
21 What piece of advice would you offer a visitor to Brussels, Barcelona and/or Madrid?
Walk, walk and walk. It’s the best way to get to know a city.
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