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Valencia lights the fuse of a Fallas 2024 that is going to be very big. It is not for less because of the expectation that raises the most searched Spanish festival in Google, ahead of the Sanfermines and the Feria de Abril, according to a study conducted by the agency agenciaseo.eu. From March 15 to 19, the capital of the Turia will be more than ever the land of flowers, light and love, and also of gastronomy. Because Valencia has become a hot spot for gastronomy, thanks to chefs like Quique Dacosta, Ricard Camarena or Begoña Rodrigo, but also to other local proposals that are giving a lot to talk about. We have made a selection of some of the best restaurants in Valencia included in our Guide to eat and drink Spain 2023, made by Almudena Ortuño in the part of the Valencian Community. So take note, enjoy the Fallas and give yourself a gastronomic tribute.
Llisa Negra
Although Quique Dacosta already has a gastronomic restaurant in the city, he did not want to renounce to erect a temple of the product. A perfect complement to the traveling cocktail bar Vuelve Carolina or the Mediterranean simplicity of Mercatbar, which deserve their own visit. But let’s go back to Llisa, where there is good grilled fish and rice in all its aspects, as well as salted fish and seafood: that red shrimp from Dénia that can do anything.
Valencia. Pascual i Genís, 10
963 94 60 79 • llisanegra.com
Menús degustación: 49 y 63 • Carta: 65-95 €
De mercado • Propietario: Quique Dacosta
La Salita
It is often heard that Begoña Rodrigo is at her best; this time, it is known. With two decades behind her, she also deserves two awards accordingly. The chef has always offered harmony, because she knows how to balance boldness with beauty and flavor with elegance. In addition to her virtues in the kitchen, La Salita also deserves other reasons to be decorated. A more distinguished room than ever -how beautiful this house is-, Denys Cherkasov’s cocktail bar and the return to tradition, endorsed by L’Hort al Nú. It all sounds good.
Valencia. Pere III el Gran, 11
609 33 07 60 • anarkiagroup.com
Menús degustación: 109 y 139 €
Creativa • Propietaria: Begoña Rodrigo
Ricard Camarena
Ricard’s vegetable path is becoming more and more comfortable. The most important chef in the capital is also the great defender of the countryside. He speaks of the producer and the product, of the cycle of nature and of giving in order to receive, trying to waste as little as possible and taking great care of the equipment. In his dishes he uses everything from zucchini seeds to artichoke stems. So he is creative, but also technical and radical in his discourse, which he has been translating over the years. Based on R&D, but also on tremendous ingenuity, it will be him, and not someone else, who will take what has always been there to the place where it should always be.
Valencia. Av. de Burjassot, 54
963 35 54 18 • ricardcamarena.com
Menús degustación: 165 y 210 €
Creativa • Propietario: Ricard Camarena
Karak
She was the Golden T of the Valencian Community in 2022. Karak has Rakel’s character: explosive and free. If it were true that the cook makes the restaurant, no one could describe the proposal of this unclassifiable chef. Cernicharo spends the day researching to align her dishes with her philosophy. He does not use gluten or sugar, because he aspires to healthy cuisine, without sacrificing strong backgrounds and electric flavors. He still has a long way to go, and that is fortunate for everyone.
Valencia. Músico Peydró, 9
637 29 16 06 • restaurantekarak.com
Menús degustación: 75, 85 y 100 €
Creativa/Fusión • Propietaria: Rakel Cernicharo
Raro
Normality is unbearable. So in Raro they have set out to perpetrate strange, bizarre and implausible stories. And of course, remote dishes. From carbonara croquettes to salads with duck, through gyozas of sausage or a sea bass that resembles a dogfish. Perhaps a fluorescent cocktail. Sara, Sergio and Ibai form a trio that is not very normative and already know what it is to play hard, on account of a previous and successful delivery (Mamúa). The gocha cuisine, the attentive service and the accessible price are three precepts for their adventure.
Valencia. Paseo Alameda, 10
663 988 404 • rarorestaurante.com
Menú degustación: 30 € • Carta: 25-30 €
Fusión
Casa Carmela
On the wish list of the visitor to Valencia, it is always included to eat paella near the beach, but also in the city. Real paella, of course. Luckily, Toni Novo’s house remains, founded by his great-grandparents in 1922, to serve the bathers of La Patacona. Casa Carmela respects the liturgy of the firewood and the wooden spoon; it guarantees the perfect point of the rice and a flavor according to the tradition. Because paella is just that: family.
Valencia. Isabel de Villena, 155
963 71 00 73 • casa-carmela.com/es
Carta: 50-60 €
Arroces • Propietario: Toni Novo
Flama
Let Valencia burn, Flama has arrived. The home of chef Edu Espejo and maître d’ Ricardo Espíritu, two young men who lit the fuse at the right time, has been the opening of the year in the city. Grill with first class products, especially fish. Suddenly, some genius of Espejo, like the gilda, the cod omelette or the seasonal stew. Although they are young, they do not renounce to the classic ways in the dining room, where more and more dishes are served to the diner. And these are just the embers of the fire.
Valencia. Gran Vía Marqués del Túria, 63
638 73 71 72 • restauranteflama.com
Menú degustación: 125 €
De mercado • Propietarios: Edu Espejo y Ricardo Espíritu