DISFRUTAR, situated within the coronary heart of Barcelona’s thriving Eixample district, was lately topped the World’s Finest Restaurant.
And with a trio of eating places within the World’s High 5, it’s honest to say that Spain remains to be main the best way within the kitchen following final yr’s triple whammy of high 5 entries..
Actually, on this yr’s ‘The World’s 50 Finest Eating places’ ceremony held in Las Vegas, Spain did even higher than in 2023 – with Disfrutar scooping high spot following final yr’s runner up place.
Asador Etxebarri, based mostly within the Basque village of Atxondo, jumped two locations to second whereas Diverxo, the Madrid-based restaurant owned by reigning Finest Chef within the World Dabiz Muñoz (in accordance with The Finest Chef web site) slipped one spot to fourth.
READ MORE: These are the 10 best restaurants in Spain – according to Tripadvisor
Judges praised Disfrutar for ‘imaginative dishes which can be executed with distinctive technical expertise and served in probably the most playful means doable’ which be sure that clients ‘have the eating expertise of a lifetime’.
They added: “Two parallel menus of 30 programs are on provide: The Traditional and The Pageant. The previous options dishes equivalent to Thai-style cuttlefish with coconut multi-spherical, and squab with kombu spaghetti, almond and grape, whereas the famously indulgent caviar-filled Panchino doughnut and sensible frozen gazpacho sandwich could be discovered within the Traditional possibility”.
Disfrutar’s three founding cooks, Oriol Castro, Eduard Xatruch and Mateu Casañas – who met once they labored at legendary El Bulli – had been visibly emotional as they collected their award.
Xatruch devoted the award to everybody who ‘has labored and continues to work on a regular basis to make this occupation fantastic’, while Castro stated he was ‘stunned and honoured’ to win the ‘magical’ award, including that he needed ‘to thank and congratulate our colleagues who’re on the listing and who’ve every contributed to constructing an amazing gastronomy’.
Elsewhere, Quique Dacosta on the Costa Blanca got here 14th, up from twentieth, while Elkano, one other Basque restaurant celebrating the area’s well-known gastronomy, dropped six locations to twenty eighth place.
Disfrutar, which acquired its third Michelin star final yr, is celebrating its tenth anniversary in December.
Nonetheless, if you wish to pattern a number of the world’s finest meals, there’s a hitch – the restaurant is booked up years prematurely with, on the time of writing, no availability.
When you’re fortunate sufficient to get your arms on a reservation, the Traditional or Pageant tasting menu will set you again €290, with the specifically crafted wine pairing costing an additional €160 per particular person.
Alternatively, the trio of acclaimed cooks do personal two sister eating places – each are referred to as Compartir, with one opened in Barcelona in 2022, and one based mostly within the in style Costa Brava seaside city of Cadaques since 2012.
1.Disfrutar, Barcelona
Fashionable methods and private abilities come collectively in Disfrutar’s gastronomic expertise. Arrange by the trio of cooks, Mateu Casañas, Oriol Castro and Eduard Xatruch, it sits behind a typical tapas joint, unfolding right into a cavernous house behind. That is the primary of ‘many surprises’ in what the judges describe as a number of the ‘world’s most modish dishes’. Punters expertise the traditional tasting menu, which takes 4 hours, with its wine pairing choices. Enjoying with shapes, textures, and flavours, Disfrutar’s experimental model has earned it thee Michelin stars and its place because the World’s Finest Restaurant.
2. Asador Etxebarri, Atxondo
Within the small village of Axpe within the Basque area, the asador is a complete distinction to its rivals on the listing, favouring simplicity over experimentation. However that doesn’t imply there isn’t magic and it has change into a real vacation spot restaurant noteworthy for its grill methods. Chef Victor Arguinzoniz’s greater than 30 years of expertise with ‘fireplace cooking’ contributes to his conventional strategy and meticulous model – each dish that exits the kitchen is given his signature contact. The restaurant thrives off native produce and elevating substances by highlighting their pure flavours.
4. Diverxo, Madrid
The daring, rule-breaking flavours by chef Dabiz Muñoz are a part of a higher, extra marvellous story. Immersed in a fantasy-world of outlandish decor, workers wearing punky uniforms serve a variety of beautiful, inventive dishes. For foodies, the DiverXO expertise makes desires really feel tame. Passing by means of the arms of 5 – 6 cooks earlier than plating, the gastronomy follows Muñoz’s love for avant-garde artwork from conception to completion – he describes the expertise as ‘one thing just like the Cirque du Soleil’.
14. Quique Dacosta, Denia
Simply two years after he started his profession as a chef in 1986, at simply 16 years of age, Quique Dacosta started working at a restaurant that may later share his identify. His meals takes an inventive strategy to the geographies and cuisines of the Mediterranean and close by Montgo Pure Park. Placing Valencian delicacies very a lot on the map, his respect for nature — the roots of the restaurant — comes forth in each chunk.
28. Elkano, Getaria
At this extremely picturesque spot, Aitor Arregi makes use of his methodology of whole-grilling fish over a wooden fireplace as the inspiration of his flavour. Enjoying off Getaria’s gastronomic heritage, this methodology of cooking has change into an integral a part of the city’s delicacies and a convention for Arregi, whose father, Pedro, opened the primary Elkano again in 1964. There’s a distinct emphasis on sustainability and the native connection is mirrored inside the dishes and maritime decor.
Three extra Spanish eating places made it on to the highest 100 listing:
59. Enigma, Barcelona
Below the helm of chef Chef Albert Adria – brother of legendary El Bulli chef Ferran Adria – Enigma makes use of seasonal substances in its month-to-month menus and affords completely different wine experiences. The ending touches on the meals are added proper on the desk so visitors can witness the ever altering methods.
72. Aponiente, Cadiz
Chef Ángel León is recognised as “The Chef of the Sea” for utilising substances from the Mediterranean and Atlantic sea in his evolving menus. The present rendition, based mostly on the infinite sea, commits to sustainability and new methods. Even within the dessert part, the restaurant blends collectively conventional sweets with seafood.
81. Mugaritz, San Sebastian
At Mugaritz, presentation is anthropomorphic in probably the most intimate and wondrous methods. Take the dish ‘coronary heart that doesn’t really feel’ which is a flat, virtually 2D slice of meat with ribbons of fats representing the aorta. Mugaritz has lengthy taken a philosophical strategy to meals due to its mental chef Andoni Luis Aduriz. He had been within the 50 Finest listing for properly over a decade earlier than slipping out this yr.
