La Prensa Restaurant Zaragoza: Marisa Barberán and David Pérez
How a 1970 bulk-wine shop became one of Zaragoza's two Michelin-starred restaurants, and why La Prensa is closed for refurbishment in October 2026.
Photo: David Abián, CC BY-SA 3.0 ES
La Prensa in Zaragoza is chef Marisa Barberán’s restaurant. She has run the kitchen since 1985, and her husband David Pérez, the owner and sommelier, is the son of the man who opened the business as a bulk wine shop in 1970. It holds one Michelin star, first awarded in November 2012 and renewed in the Michelin Guide Spain 2026. Don’t book a trip around it yet, though. When I checked the official website on 9 October 2026, it said the restaurant was “closed for refurbishment” and that a reopening date would be announced. And no, there are no burgers here: La Prensa serves tasting menus only.
La Prensa Zaragoza at a glance
La Prensa is a one-Michelin-star contemporary restaurant at Calle José Nebra 3 in Zaragoza, and it is currently closed for refurbishment.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Status | Closed for refurbishment, per the official website (checked 9 Oct 2026). No reopening date announced |
| Address | Calle José Nebra 3, 50007 Zaragoza, Spain |
| Phone | +34 976 381 637 (the official site also lists +34 647 770 054) |
| Chef | Marisa Barberán, head chef since 1985 |
| Owner and sommelier | David Pérez, who also runs the dining room |
| Founded | 1970, as a bulk wine shop |
| Michelin Guide | One star since November 2012, renewed in the 2026 guide |
| Guía Repsol | One Sol since 2013 |
| Menus | Tasting Menu €95, Gourmet Menu €130 (VAT included) |
| Burgers | None. Tasting menus only |
From 1970 wine shop to Michelin star: the La Prensa timeline
La Prensa took 42 years to go from a neighborhood wine shop to a Michelin star, and the restaurant or the major guides document every step.
David Pérez’s father opened the business in 1970 as a bulk wine shop. A bar came later, then a small dining room for tastings and homemade food, according to the official site and Pérez’s interview with GoAragon. No source I found gives the founder’s name, so I have left it out rather than guess.
| Year | Milestone | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | David Pérez’s father opens a bulk wine shop | Official site, GoAragon |
| Later years | A bar and small dining room for tastings and homemade food are added | Official site, GoAragon |
| 1985 | Marisa Barberán joins as head chef | Guía Repsol, GoAragon |
| 2000 | The bar closes and La Prensa becomes a full restaurant | GoAragon, Guía Repsol |
| Nov 2012 | First Michelin star | Official site |
| 2013 | One Sol in Guía Repsol | Guía Repsol, official site |
| 25 Nov 2025 | Star renewed in the Michelin Guide Spain 2026 | Official site, Zaragozala |
| Oct 2026 | Closed for refurbishment, reopening date to be announced | Official site |
La Prensa Zaragoza timeline, in years since 1970: bulk wine shop opens (1970), Marisa Barberán becomes head chef (1985), full restaurant (2000), Michelin star (November 2012), Guía Repsol Sol (2013), closed for refurbishment (October 2026). (Chart: Burger Breton, built from the restaurant’s official website, GoAragon, Guía Repsol and Zaragozala; rendered with QuickChart (Chart.js, MIT))
Marisa Barberán, the chef of La Prensa
Marisa Barberán has been La Prensa’s head chef since 1985, and she is the person who turned a wine-shop dining room into a starred kitchen.
She started cooking there 15 years before La Prensa became a full restaurant, and 41 years later she is still in the same kitchen. To me, that is the most telling fact in the whole story. The star did not come from a chef passing through on the way to a bigger city. It came from someone who built the kitchen up from a tasting room. She and David Pérez are married, and the work splits cleanly: she cooks, he handles the wine and the dining room.
Michelin describes her cooking as “Contemporary”, with “an honest approach, the use of the best seasonal ingredients”. Guía Repsol names her caldereta de gamba roja, a red prawn stew, as a signature dish, and says the restaurant keeps its own vegetable garden. Both details come from Repsol alone. I cannot confirm that either will survive the refurbishment.
Red prawns (Aristeus antennatus), the shellfish in Marisa Barberán’s caldereta de gamba roja, which Guía Repsol names as La Prensa’s signature dish (2304×3072 px). This photo shows the raw prawns, not the dish. (Photo: Pasqual Broch, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gambadenia.JPG))
David Pérez, owner and sommelier
David Pérez is La Prensa’s owner, sommelier and front-of-house manager, and the son of the man who founded the business in 1970.
The wine shop is still in the restaurant’s DNA. In his December 2024 interview with GoAragon, Pérez says the goal is for the customer to have a “complete hedonistic experience”. In practice, that means he pairs the wine with Barberán’s cooking and runs the room himself.
La Prensa tasting menu prices
La Prensa offers two set menus: a €95 Tasting Menu and a €130 Gourmet Menu, VAT included, according to its official website.
| Menu | What it includes | Price (VAT incl.) |
|---|---|---|
| Tasting Menu | Snacks, 6 courses, 2 desserts | €95 |
| Gourmet Menu | Snacks, 8 courses, 3 desserts | €130 |
Guía Repsol still lists older prices of €90 and €120. I went with the restaurant’s own figures. Michelin places La Prensa in its €€€€ price tier. None of the sources I checked publish a wine pairing price, and menus and prices may well change after the refurbishment.
La Prensa tasting menu prices: €95 for the Tasting Menu and €130 for the Gourmet Menu (VAT included) on the official site, compared with the older €90 and €120 still listed by Guía Repsol. (Chart: Burger Breton, data from restaurantelaprensa.com and Guía Repsol (checked 9 Oct 2026); rendered with QuickChart (Chart.js, MIT))
Is La Prensa open? Refurbishment status in October 2026
No. La Prensa is closed for refurbishment according to its official website (checked 9 October 2026), and no reopening date has been announced.
I found no press coverage of the closure: no start date, no scope of works, no reopening date. The Michelin Guide page still lists lunch and dinner service days, which I would treat as outdated until the restaurant confirms them. Before you plan a trip around La Prensa, check its website or call +34 976 381 637.
Michelin star restaurants in Zaragoza in 2026
Zaragoza has two Michelin-starred restaurants in the 2026 guide: La Prensa and Gente Rara, with one star each.
If you read somewhere that La Prensa is “Zaragoza’s only Michelin-starred restaurant”, the information is out of date. Gente Rara also holds a star in the Michelin Guide Spain 2026, published on 25 November 2025. Cancook, another Zaragoza restaurant, lost its star in that edition. Across the whole Aragón region, 11 restaurants hold a star, according to Zaragozala and HoyAragón.
| Restaurant | City | Michelin 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| La Prensa | Zaragoza | 1 star (since 2012) |
| Gente Rara | Zaragoza | 1 star |
| Cancook | Zaragoza | Star lost in 2026 |
While La Prensa is closed, Gente Rara is the city’s other starred table. Check that it is taking bookings before you count on it. Will La Prensa keep its star in the 2027 guide while its doors are shut? Nobody has said, and I won’t guess.
Does La Prensa serve burgers? Zaragoza’s burger scene in context
La Prensa does not serve burgers. Its official site, Michelin, Repsol and GoAragon all describe tasting-menu fine dining and nothing else.
If you came to Zaragoza for burgers, the city’s story starts across town. According to Aragón Digital, Zaragoza’s first burger was served at Nevada, on Plaza San Francisco 11. Nevada opened in 1957 as an ice-cream shop, and the burger reportedly arrived through contact with the nearby US air base.
Nevada’s burger is thin and elongated, because round buns were not available back then, and it comes with homemade tomato sauce. The “first burger” claim rests on one press article and a listing, so I read it as local lore rather than settled history. It is still the burger I would put first on a Zaragoza list, for the story alone.
Nevada on Plaza San Francisco 11, which Aragón Digital credits with serving Zaragoza’s first burger. It opened as an ice-cream shop in 1957 (3456×2592 px, May 2021). (Photo: Campeones 2008, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hamburgueser%C3%ADa\_Nevada\_Zgz.jpg))
The modern scene is busier. Madison Smash Burger’s “Miami Vice” won “Mejor hamburguesa de Zaragoza 2025” (Zaragoza’s best burger 2025) on the Off the Road route, according to Zaragozala. For the burger addresses we have verified in the city, see our Zaragoza burger guide.
Map of Zaragoza: the marker shows La Prensa at Calle José Nebra 3 in San José. Nevada, home of Zaragoza’s first burger, is about 2 miles west at Plaza San Francisco 11 (iframe 800×450). (Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL)
More chef profiles and Spanish cities
La Prensa is one of several chef-and-restaurant portraits on Burger Breton, alongside our Spanish city guides.
For another Michelin-starred chef portrait, read our profile of chef Vítor Dias and Arcadas in Coimbra. Heading east to the coast? Our Goiko Valencia guide covers addresses and hours. Every city we cover is listed on the Restaurants hub.
How I researched this profile
I built this profile from the restaurant’s official website, the Michelin Guide, Guía Repsol, a December 2024 GoAragon interview with David Pérez, Sobremesa, Zaragozala, HoyAragón and Aragón Digital. I checked every fact on 9 October 2026.
Where sources disagreed, I used the restaurant’s own figures, as with menu prices. Facts that come from a single source, such as the red prawn stew and the vegetable garden, are attributed by name. I have not eaten at La Prensa, so this is a profile, not a review, and it carries no rating.
FAQ about La Prensa restaurant in Zaragoza
Who is the chef at La Prensa in Zaragoza?
Marisa Barberán has been head chef at La Prensa since 1985. Her husband, David Pérez, is the owner, sommelier and dining room manager.
Does La Prensa in Zaragoza have a Michelin star?
Yes. La Prensa has held one Michelin star since November 2012, and the star was renewed in the Michelin Guide Spain 2026. It has also held one Guía Repsol Sol since 2013.
Is La Prensa open?
No. As of 9 October 2026, the official website says La Prensa is closed for refurbishment and that the reopening date will be announced. Opening hours on third-party sites may be outdated.
How much is the tasting menu at La Prensa?
The Tasting Menu (snacks, 6 courses, 2 desserts) costs €95, and the Gourmet Menu (snacks, 8 courses, 3 desserts) costs €130, VAT included, according to the official site. Prices may change after the reopening.
How many Michelin-starred restaurants does Zaragoza have in 2026?
Two: La Prensa and Gente Rara, with one star each. Cancook lost its star in the 2026 guide. Aragón as a whole has 11 starred restaurants.
Where is La Prensa in Zaragoza?
La Prensa is at Calle José Nebra 3, 50007 Zaragoza, Spain. The phone number is +34 976 381 637.
Does La Prensa serve burgers?
No. La Prensa serves tasting menus only. For burgers, see our Zaragoza city guide.
Where was the first burger served in Zaragoza?
According to Aragón Digital, Zaragoza’s first burger was served at Nevada, on Plaza San Francisco 11. Nevada opened in 1957 as an ice-cream shop and still serves a thin, elongated burger with homemade tomato sauce.
Sources
- La Prensa official website: https://www.restaurantelaprensa.com/en/ (checked 9 Oct 2026)
- Michelin Guide, La Prensa: https://guide.michelin.com/us/en/aragon/zaragoza/restaurant/la-prensa
- Guía Repsol, La Prensa: https://www.guiarepsol.com/es/fichas/restaurante/la-prensa-9368/
- GoAragon, interview with David Pérez (10 Dec 2024): https://www.goaragon.eu/david-perez-la-prensa-restaurant-our-goal-is-for-the-customer-to-have-a-complete-hedonistic-experience/
- Sobremesa, “Marisa Barberán para La Prensa, un progreso estelar”: https://sobremesa.es/archive/3830/marisa-barberan-para-la-prensa-un-progreso-estelar
- Zaragozala, Michelin 2026 restaurants in Zaragoza: https://zaragozala.com/living-zaragoza/restaurantes-de-zaragoza-con-estrella-michelin-2026/
- HoyAragón, Michelin restaurants in Aragón (26 Nov 2025): https://www.hoyaragon.es/articulo/gastrolike/restaurantes-estrella-michelin-aragon-donde-estan/20251126095647117143.html
- Aragón Digital, Nevada and Zaragoza’s first burger: https://www.aragondigital.es/articulo/zaragoza-provincia/primera-hamburguesa-zaragoza-nacio-restaurante-sigue-triunfando-70-anos/20260610125259989219.html
- Zaragozala, Madison’s Miami Vice, best burger in Zaragoza 2025: https://zaragozala.com/living-zaragoza/la-miami-vice-de-madison-triunfa-como-mejor-hamburguesa-de-zaragoza-2025/
