A historic establishment in Barcelona’s Plaça Reial, once a celebrated taxidermist’s shop that fascinated artists like Salvador Dalí, has reopened its doors as a modern smash burger restaurant. The premises at number 8 of the iconic square, which for a century housed the Museo Pedagógico de Ciencias Naturales, began a new chapter this week as Nook Smash Burguer.
Your browser does not support the video tag.
The transformation of this unique space in the heart of the Gothic Quarter highlights the evolving commercial landscape of one of the city’s most beloved public squares. While the stuffed animals and scientific curiosities are gone, the new tenants have preserved the building’s historic façade, including the original painted signs for the ‘Museo Pedagógico de Ciencias Naturales’ and, on the entrance glass, ‘Vídua de Lluís Soler Pujol’ (Widow of Lluís Soler Pujol).
A Cabinet of Curiosities
Lluís Soler i Pujol, a renowned taxidermist who trained under the esteemed Francesc Darder, a key figure in the history of the Museum of Natural Sciences of Barcelona, founded the original shop in 1889. After initially setting up on a nearby street, Soler i Pujol moved his workshop and museum to Plaça Reial, 10, in 1919. Following his death in 1923, his widow, Carme Valls i Boix, relocated the business next door to number 8 in 1926, where it remained for decades.
Popularly known as ‘El Taxidermista’ or ‘El Museu de les Bèsties’ (The Museum of Beasts), the shop became a landmark. Its windows, filled with preserved wildlife, served as a site of pilgrimage for generations of Barcelona families and captured the imagination of cultural figures including Joan Miró and writer Josep Maria de Sagarra. The establishment finally closed its doors in 1990 and was subsequently sold a year later.
Since then, the location has hosted various restaurants. Notably, it was home to a restaurant also named Taxidermista, co-founded by former professional tennis player Jordi Arrese, who won a silver medal at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. In a curious footnote to modern political history, the restaurant served as the meeting place where the now-defunct Ciutadans (Citizens) party first formed.
A Square in Transition
The arrival of Nook Smash Burguer, operated by the same business group behind the Irish pub Temple Bar on Carrer d’Avinyó, comes amid significant change in Plaça Reial. The opening coincides with the recent announcement that the iconic Karma nightclub will close its doors after 46 years. Just next door, the legendary music venue Sala Sidecar closed in early 2024, reopening months later under new management as Club Sauvage. In 2022, the century-old Glaciar bar also underwent a major renovation, rebranding as a restaurant focused on Catalan cuisine.
Alberto Mejías, a representative for the platform Emblemàtics Barcelona, told Tot Barcelona that keeping businesses open in the square, an area forming part of the city’s “historical and sentimental memory,” is vital. He also commented on the new burger restaurant’s approach to the historic site.
“In this case, they have done a fairly respectable renovation. But it is also up to us, the people of Barcelona, to look after these establishments. The owners and operators need to invest in them, and customers need to go.”
The decision by Nook Smash Burguer to retain the original signage offers a visible link to a peculiar and much-loved chapter of Barcelona’s history, even as the scent of grilled patties replaces the mystique of the city’s old museum of beasts.
