Carlos Casillas.
Carlos Casillas was born in Ávila in 1999. Though as a teenager he imagined a future in engineering and the sciences, the kitchen became the path he wished to follow.
An unexpected certainty.
His approach to gastronomy began unexpectedly. A visit to the Basque Culinary Center awakened in him the certainty that he wanted to devote himself professionally to the kitchen. He trained there for four years, completing his studies with the finest academic record of his year. During this period he also formed part of the Culinary Avant-Garde Laboratory and was selected among the Basque Culinary Center's 100 Young Talents.
Alongside the great names.
His training continued alongside some of the great names of Spanish gastronomy. He passed through La Tasquita de Enfrente, Paco Pérez's Miramar and Ambivium — experiences that helped shape his vision of cooking and his understanding of produce, technique and territory. He also collaborated with Ferran Centelles at Bullipedia, taking part in research on the history of wine.
Returning to Ávila.
In 2021 he returned to Ávila to begin building a project of his own. With his team he opened MûD Wine Bar, a space in which he began to develop the idea that would later give rise to BARRO: restoring the bond between gastronomy, territory, producers and local culture.
A cuisine bound to Ávila.
In April 2023 he opened BARRO in his native city. Since then, Casillas has made the restaurant the stage for a creative cuisine deeply bound to Ávila. His proposal begins with knowledge of the territory, its produce and its memory, yet seeks to carry them into the future through research, creativity and new techniques.
His trajectory swiftly earned the recognition of the gastronomic critics. In November 2023, BARRO received its first MICHELIN Star, making Carlos Casillas the youngest chef ever to earn one in Spain and the first cook to bring this distinction to Ávila. In the same edition, BARRO also received the MICHELIN Green Star for its commitment to a sustainable gastronomy.
In 2025, Carlos Casillas received the MICHELIN Young Chef Award, a recognition that honoured not only his youth but a way of understanding cooking as a means of protecting, interpreting and projecting the territory.
“A cuisine that looks ahead without losing sight of its roots.”
CARLOS CASILLAS — BARRO, ÁVILA
A project born of Ávila.
For Carlos Casillas, BARRO is far more than a restaurant. It is a project born of Ávila, one that uses the kitchen to speak of its landscapes, its producers and its culture.
The table is set.
CARRETERA DE SALAMANCA, 4 · ÁVILA — THURSDAY TO SUNDAY · LUNCH 13:00 · DINNER 20:00
BOOK A TABLEor by telephone: +34 680 250 343
