Monocle Weekend
Edition: Sunday

This week’s dispatch is courtesy of a newcomer on Barcelona’s natural-wine scene, Bangkok’s renovated hospitality stalwart and a homeware pop-up along the Rue du Bac to kit out your Parisian pied-à-terre. Plus: we break bread with the Galician chef-restaurateur making a hero of the region’s produce and propose a toast to fruity botanicals on the banks of Lake Como. Here to set the stage, Tyler Brûlé gives us a taste of things to come.

On a quiet street off Las Ramblas is Bar Manifest, the newest addition to Barcelona’s increasingly impressive natural-wine scene (writes Liv Kessler). The former Irish pub was taken over by three Finns earlier this year: musician Eric Filipus, entrepreneur Tomson Tukiainen and artist Kaisla Laranta were united by their love of good food and natural wine. Their restobar serves small plates of labneh with pico de gallo, langostino (small lobster) mince and octopus with salpicón, a Latin American salad mixture. This accompanies the substantial wine list from French, Catalan and Andalusian producers.

“We wanted to create a natural-wine bar that would serve serious wine in a not-so-serious way,” says Filipus. “It was designed to be a space where internationals and locals can mingle.” The decor mixes accents of antique bistro tables with Nordic design and the atmosphere feels decidedly laid-back. At Bar Manifest, you’ll find a patchwork of people doing what Barcelona does best: having a drink, dancing and talking it out.
Carrer del Marquès de Barberà 11, Barcelona

Galician chef-restaurateur Iago Pazos founded Abastos 2.0 in Santiago de Compostela’s Abastos marketplace in 2009 (writes Claudia Jacob). Since then, he has opened O Loxe Mareiro, a rustic seafood restaurant that plates up the catch brought in from the Ría de Arousa on Galicia’s west coast. Here, he chats to us about seasoning the last tomatoes of the season, an escape to Porto and using his Japanese grill.

Where do we find you this weekend?
Sunday is my day off. I have a house in a village that is my refuge. It’s a contemporary building on the outskirts of Santiago, surrounded by nature, and I call it Aldea X.

Ideal start to a Sunday? Gentle start or a jolt?
A serene start. I’m up early to make the most of my only free day. Lately I’ve been reading about food sovereignty, agriculture and terroir.

What’s for breakfast?
Single-origin filter coffee – it’s a ritual. Then bread with butter and eggs bought from a producer called Elena at the Abastos market.

Lunch in or out?
At home. Simple pleasures. I like to cook whatever meat I can find at the market over a fire on a small Japanese grill.

Walk the dog or downward dog?
I take myself for a walk.

A Sunday soundtrack?
Avishai Cohen, Brad Mehldau and Salvador Sobral.

Sunday culture must?
Quarterly getaway to the Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Serralves in Porto.

News or not?
Just enough to keep me up to date but not saddened by the harsh realities of the world. The New York Times food articles dazzle me with their beauty.

What’s on the menu?
Market cuisine so that I’m using only local and seasonal products. The last tomatoes of summer from a friendly producer are the best. I cut them into slices and season with oil, salt and pepper.

Do you lay out an outfit for Monday?
I gather and fold the week’s laundry and start again.

This week, Monocle’s Japanese recipe writer has prepared a fragrant pork salad packed with plenty of raw vegetables, a hit of chilli and a sprinkling of fresh coriander. Marinate the meat for 12 hours for the most tender results.

Serves 2

Ingredients
450g pork collar, sliced into thin strips

For the pork marinade
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 shallot
15g coriander stems, finely chopped
1½ tbsps light-brown sugar
2 tbsps fish sauce
1½ tbsps light soy sauce

For the quick-carrot pickles
2 tbsps rice vinegar
1½ tbsps light-brown sugar
Large pinch of sea salt
1 carrot, julienned

For the salad
1 small cucumber
4 radishes
1 red onion
¼ white cabbage
10g coriander, roughly chopped
10g fresh mint leaves
2 tbsps ready-to-use crispy fried onions
2 wedges of lime (optional)

For the dressing
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
½ red chilli, finely chopped
3 tbsps rice vinegar
1 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsps light-brown sugar

Method

1
Add all of the marinade ingredients into a bowl and mix with the pork. Wrap and keep in the fridge for at least an hour (or ideally overnight).

2
To prepare the salad, slice all the vegetables except the coriander very thinly. Keep them in ice cold water until needed.

3
For the pickles, heat the vinegar, sugar and salt in a saucepan over a low heat until it reduces. Then pour over the julienned carrots and set aside until needed.

4
In another bowl, mix all the dressing ingredients together until the sugar dissolves.

5
Preheat the grill to 200C. Place kitchen foil over a baking sheet and lay out the pork strips.

6
Place under the grill and cook for five to six minutes on both sides, or until charred at the corners and cooked through.

7
Drain the salad to get rid of any excess water and split between two plates, along with the pickled carrot, fresh coriander and mint. Top with grilled pork and fried onions. Pour over the dressing just before serving.

Thailand’s hospitality flag flyer Dusit Thani has revealed its rebuilt flagship in Bangkok and the refresh is likely to set a new standard for service in the Thai capital (writes James Chambers). The original 1970s building, once Thailand’s tallest, was demolished in 2019 to make way for a mixed-use development and the 257-key hotel is the first element to be ready.

A new position on the same prime Silom plot affords every room an unrestricted view over the picturesque Lumpini Park. André Fu designed the interiors and the Hongkonger (a bold choice for a Bangkok landmark) has gone to great lengths to create a modern Thai aesthetic while paying subtle homage to history and craftsmanship in the colour palette and furniture detailing. Fans of the original hotel will be pleased to see a spire back on the rooftop and, given the emphasis on wellness, it’s reassuring to see the in-room technology kept to a minimum.

Dusit Thani operates Thailand’s top hotel school so a commitment to traditional service runs deep. Monocle’s visit coincided with the pre-opening team from head office carrying out guest simulations to test and train staff, including one dummy scenario with a famous DJ getting snapped in the lobby by a camera-wielding fan. Though genuine VIPs will probably wait until December when the top suites are due to open, a comfy window seat in any of the entry-level rooms can make anyone feel pretty special.
dusit.com

Zara Home’s aim to move upmarket is perfectly reflected in its pop-up store at 117 Rue du Bac, which it will occupy until next spring (writes Josh Fehnert). Nestled in the well-heeled 7th arrondissement, opposite iconic department store Le Bon Marché, the space unfolds over three floors including a mezzanine level.

Guests are greeted with a space for collaborations, including one with florist Nina Charles. There’s a hook-up with local favourite Café Dose for coffee and snacks, a bookshop and a personalised, while-you-watch printing and embroidery service offering monogrammed totes bearing the 117 Rue du Bac branding (courtesy of Atelier Saint-Lazare, winner of a 2024 Monocle Design Award). At the top of the restored spiral staircase, you’ll enter L’Appartement, a space kitted out like a rather fetching Parisian pied-à-terre, complete with furniture for Zara Home by Belgian architect and designer Vincent Van Duysen, antiques and design classics from Galerie Patrick Seguin, including a Pierre Jeanneret desk. Elsewhere you’ll find dressing-room-like spaces housing a sportswear capsule collection, pieces by Zara Woman and smaller “Editions” collections of furniture and homeware.

On the lower level, things are a little dimmer: the focus is on bedroom furniture, textiles and a children’s playroom. Inditex-owned Zara Home might have more than 400 shops across 70 countries but it’s looking particularly at home on the Left Bank – if only temporarily.
zarahome.com

For more retail updates and new openings from Paris and beyond, pick up a copy of Monocle’s October issue on newsstands now.

The shores of Lake Como make fertile territory for botanical varieties (writes Lucrezia Motta). For spirits aficionados Marco and Irene Rivolta, the picturesque landscape around Italy’s deepest lake is intertwined with their family’s history. “For centuries, locals have foraged in the meadows around Lake Como for herbs and flowers to prepare traditional medicines and remedies,” Irene tells Monocle. “We wanted to keep this old tradition alive.”

The spirit has a herbaceous base and citrus notes, while the label’s geometrical design takes inspiration from the famous lake and its mountainous surroundings. Enjoy in a gin and tonic garnished with an orange peel and juniper berries.
rivogin.com

For more trips, tips and tricks from our team of editors and correspondents around the world, pick up thelatest issue of Monocle, or better still,subscribetoday. Have a super Sunday.