The Sun (XIX) is usually associated with joy, abundance, clarity, and good omens. In contrast to the uncertain journey proposed by other tarot arcana, it appears as a luminous promise: the moment when doubts clear, the path becomes visible and things finally seem to occupy the place they deserve.
Perhaps that is why it is hard not to think of that card when looking at the trajectory of Otsu. Since it opened its doors a year ago in Poblenou, this chic specialty coffee shop has become one of those places that circulates by word of mouth.
Otsu is a space where creativity seems to spill forth in bursts, where surprise always finds a nook and where every new idea is sustained by a community ready to embrace it with enthusiasm.
Thus, from the freedom of creativity, their tarot-card-inspired ice creams were born, a fleeting and viral proposition – they have dazzled the Instagram algorithm – inviting diners to savor a randomly chosen arcana.
Behind the success is Fer Villanueva, chef and founder of Otsu. Before turning to cooking professionally, the entrepreneur spent years in the tech sector and in marketing, an unconventional path that, however, helps to understand the project’s personality. “I always felt the need to build something where I could unite creativity, hospitality and design. Otsu was born from that quest”, she tells Condé Nast Traveler.
Specialty coffee, cooking and atelier
“More than opening a cafe, I wanted to create a place where cooking would be a way of telling stories and where people could pause for a moment in the middle of the daily rhythm,” explains Fer Villanueva. The result is a space halfway between a cafe, a kitchen, and an atelier.
A definition that might sound ambitious until you see how they work. Here, specialty coffee coexists with experimentation, design and a constant search for new ways to interpret gastronomy.
Each dish is conceived as a piece of design or an artisanal work, curated with time, intention, creative freedom and its own narrative. It’s not merely about serving food, but about creating an experience around it. This philosophy reaches its apex in the Weekend Specials, one of the house’s defining features.
