Delicious Spain

Spain is literally studded with Michelin-star restaurants. A visit to such a restaurant is like chatting with an Oscar-winner. You please your self-esteem, feast your taste, and collect thousands of likes in social networks. So don’t waste time for needless doubts and enjoy a culinary journey around stylish places combined with beach rest.  

Hot Culinary Spots

Every food blogger knows what is tapas and paella, tried Iberian jamon and talked up Jerez and Kava. This culinary symphony would not be complete without seafood, which is an attraction for millions of tourists visiting Spain, and certainly we cannot fail to mention fine dining. There are as many as 145 Michelin-star restaurants in the country awarded with one, two, or even three stars.  Today, the country of corrida and flamenco ranks 5th in the world by the number of Michelin-starred places leaving Britain and Scandinavia behind. The Michelin management tasted Spain in the last century and immediately took the country to the note as they were filled with admiration for it. But it was molecular gastronomy that brought Spain to the front. Thanks largely to it, Spain has become a hot culinary spot that attracts gourmets from all over the world. Over the past few years, young people rich in extraordinary ideas have burst in the culinary community. Daring, creative and well-trained young chefs are ready to experiment with traditional tastes. Spanish cuisine provides unlimited opportunities for such experiments as it embodied the best from its neighbors: France, Italy, and of course North Africa. Foodies and simple delicious food lovers are attracted not only by tastes but also by affordable prices, especially in comparison with those at similar restaurants in France and Switzerland. So, let’s get acquainted with the most famous food spots in Spain.

Saint Sebastian Could Not Even Dream About It

San Sebastian is located far from the popular tourist destinations and long 5 hours’ drive from Barcelona. But fine dining admirers should definitely drop into this town neglected by the tourists. Why? To see its Paris-like architecture and also for reputed Michelin-star restaurants, creative cuisine, and famous names. San Sebastian is associated with the name of Ferran Adrià, who was hit top 10 chefs in the world some years ago, and with his El Bulli restaurant. Restaurant was closed due to the world financial crisis and Ferran went to Barcelona, but the students of the famous adherer of molecular cuisine continue to work in San Sebastian. Moreover, there are four of the nine 3-star Michelin restaurants in Spain. Our favorite is the Azurmendi, where Eneko Atxa, a young 3-Michelin star winner, exercises his talent creating dishes, which look like works of art. Let’s mention his oysters in tempura with algae, wrapped in sea fog… Do not ask how it looks and what it tastes like. You just have to see and taste it. Prices in the restaurant are not so stratospheric, especially if you order from the a la carte menu.

Our another favorite is the 3-Michelin star Arzak with its unique Flavor Laboratory storing 1,500 imaginable and unimaginable products, which inspire the chefs (father and daughter) for their culinary masterpieces. The serving of dishes is very interesting. For example, they serve seafood on a tablet showing the scenes of underwater life. Also, one can not help but look into the 2-star Mugaritz, which was unanimously ranked number one in the world by TripAdvisor users. Andoni Luis Aduriz, a student of the already mentioned Ferran Adrià, perpetuates his talent here. Be ready for a long process including a three-hour feast of tastes and an excursion to the holy of holies, the kitchen.

What’s worth trying

Azurmendi. Salmon canneloni with apple and olives, pigeon in nuts, jamon and eggs foam, lobster in herbs with tea aroma, grilled octopus with flower clods, white truffle dessert.

Arzak.  Anchovies with pickled strawberries, jamon “smoke”, lobster “Sea and Garden”, chicken stuffed with sweet “shot”, sea ruff pudding, lotus root with fish.

Mugaritz. Crab with crane’s bell flowers, crayfish praline, clams in cinnamon butter with sweet beans, warm salad of plants, roots, flowers, leaves and seeds seasoned with nut oil and cheese sauce, goat cheese ice cream with nuts soaked in Armagnac.

Barcelona, Barcelona!

Martin Berasategui can be called the Spanish Alain Ducasse or at least Joël Robuchon: choose for yourself. He is the only chef in charge of several 3 Michelin stars restaurants. Since you are already in Barcelona, why not visit his famous Lasarte at the Hotel Monument? Berasategui is not interested in molecular cuisine, he prefers to find new in more traditional food and his manner is more like that of a three-star French cuisine chef. Martin pays most attention in his work the quality of ingredients, which must be fresh and authentic, while not forgetting about the sacred trinity of Spanish flavors: olive oil, garlic, and wine. In Barcelona Lasarte you will not only enjoy flavor blasts but will meet tiny dishes and creative serving usual for the restaurants of such level.

Two-star Abac is not worse. Just imagine that the food here is served on Versace dishes, one of the tasting menus is entirely dedicated to the white truffle, and the restaurant’s decoration resembles the interior of a glamorous yacht. Want to try something even more unusual? Book a table in the Moments restaurant. Not only the chef here is a woman awarded a total of six Michelin stars, but she offers visitors a specially created rejuvenating kitchen. You have never tried anything like this before!

What’s worth trying

Lasarte. Prawns with sea urchins flan and sheep milk caviar, green apple Mille-feuille, foie gras with smoked eel, oysters with citrus and smoked mackerel salad, baked pigeon with spinach and porcini mushroom sauce.

Abac. Liquid parmesan gnocchi with bergamot oil and truffle nuts, tartar with veal “snow” covered with mustard veil, avocado and crab tartar with basil, ice cream, spaghetti bolognese with lobster.

Moments. Langoustine tartar with cherries, prawns with tomato petals, venison fillet with parsnip biscuit, sander in curry sauce with mango and vanilla. 

Bravo, Girona!

Girona outranks Madrid by the number of Michelin-starred restaurants. Besides, the most famous restaurant in Spain, El Celler de Can Roca, is here. It has three stars and is ranked first of the World Best Restaurants in 2013. Roca bothers, who create both molecular cuisine and traditional Spanish dishes, of course, customized by them, successfully manage the restaurant. No one knows why, but three is a significant number for the place. Three Michelin stars, three gardens surrounding the restaurant, 3 stones on each table (a hint of the name Roca meaning a stone) and 3 waiters serving each table. Imagine the level of such service. These are not all schticks of the Michelin-starred restaurant. Roca brothers named their desserts in honour of the famous perfumes: Lancome’s Tresor, Calvin Klein’s Eternity, and Dior’s Hypnotic Poison. You really can fill the keynote of the famous perfumes in the fragrances, since the recipes include real flowers. And you will definitely like the creative presentation: for example, brothers make a whole bonsai tree of caramelized olives.

Girona may boast not only the famous fine-dining temple, but also 12 worthy Michelin-star restaurants. Two-star Miramar and Les Cols can also be called the winners of the region. Once Miramar was a simple diner, but thanks to Paco Perez’s efforts and talent it had a second birth. Whatever you order, you can be sure that your dish will be originally decorated and served as Paco Perez is known for his love for the unusual presentation. He also constantly experiments with techniques. His favorite ingredients are seaweed, foie gras, shrimp, and truffles.

Les Cols is run by Fina Puigdevall, who owns and cooks at the restaurant. You can try the most extravagant dishes here. If fairy-tale creatures lived in our world, they would probably spent all their time at this restaurant. For example, desserts here are served in the form of complex floral compositions. The epoch or time you want to dine in depends on the hall. Choose: an ancient XIII century-style room, a futuristic hall or a modern terrace.  And after a hearty meal, you can enjoy the spa.

What’s worth trying

El Celler de Can Roca. Cherry tuna soup, mousse with the seafoam aroma, citrus nectar wrapped in cocoa butter, sheep milk ice cream. Red Paloma shrimp with plankton soup, liver-stuffed mullet, cream of pear, maple syrup, nuts, and cardamom. 

Miramar. Tangerine foam, prawns with candyfloss, olive oil caviar.

Les Cols. Verbena cream fish, crispy biscuits with pepper ice cream, orange honey.

Tastes of the Coats

Quique Dacosta is the only 3 Michelin-star restaurant in Denia, Costa Blanca, halfway between Barcelona and the Costa del Sol. The absolute monarch here is the famous chef Quique Dacosta, whose menu is based on the Mediterranean cuisine. For example, one of the chef’s specialties are bright red shrimps, which may be found only in the Denia coastal water. Relais & Chateaux included Quique’s restaurant in the list of the word top 50 restaurants, and Michelin guide called him a culinary genius. His molecular cuisine is just beyond compare. You put a pink ball in your mouth, and it explodes on your tongue with tomato soup flavor. The performance of tastes lasts 2-3 hours, there are 6 acts and 28 courses.

As for Costa del Sol, where there are more tourists, the two-star Dani García in Malaga, named after the chef, is one of the most well-known. The chef focuses on local fresh ingredients and traditions. But the usual dishes are cooked in a very unusual way. Gazpacho with mussels and crab ceviche fried in a dough with fennel and parsley. Agree, that even when reading the menu, you already desire to taste this masterpiece. You can try a little bit of everything, ordering a tasting menu, or you can ask for a la carte. And here is one more important detail. Since the restaurant is almost on the beach, the atmosphere there is more relaxed and lazy than in all other Michelin restaurants.

What’s worth trying

Quiquedacosta. Black corals, foie gras “Cuba Libre”. The Games of Thrones fans should try a complex dish called “Khaleesi”.

Dani García. Lamb with pistachio praline and green tea, smoked chocolate.