9

Akelarre

Pedro Subijana
Pedro Subijana
Nazionalita: Spain
Localita: 20008 San Sebastián (Gipúzcoa)
Indirizzo: B. Igueldo. Paseo Padre Orcolaga, 56.
mapa
(+34) 943311209
Chiusura:: Da gennaio a giugno: domenica sera, lunedì e martedì. Da luglio a dicembre: domenica sera e lunedì. Tutto il mese di febbraio e la prima quindicina di ottobre
Prezzo: 150/200 €
Menu di degustazione: 135 €


  • La red del pescador
  • Calamar semicrudo al calor de la sal con carpaccio de tomate
  • Calamar semicrudo al calor de la sal con carpaccio de tomate
  • Esponjoso de foie gras
  • Esponjoso de foie gras
  • Navaja con pata de ternera
  • Navaja con pata de ternera

Pedro Subijana’s cuisine, reaffirmed by the work he has been doing during the last few years, proudly spreads out its most emblematic dishes. Legendary proposals which have brought a new concept of dining room service, improving the culinary finishing in front of the guest, such as his spiny lobster distilled in a coffee maker or his prawns with beans flambéed with wine brandy, which both won the Dish of the Year award. This great chef earned quite a lot of Dishes of the Year, actually, most of which are still available and must be remembered or discovered: egg and caviar on cauliflower purée and spring onion butter; false risotto of vegetables and beet yolk; molluscs in the fisherman’s net (barnacles, oysters, clams, razor clams, cockles, mussels and borage arranged under a wonderful net of rice cream garnished with little shrimps, seaweeds and spring onion flowers); gin tonic; and many other proposals that would also have deserved the award, such as the zebra bay squid (black and white, stuffed with a “Pelayo” garnish); the wholemeal red mullet with fuselli; the sea bass or hake with barnacles, olive oil pearls and arugula; the foie gras with white wine sauce, salt flakes – sugar– and black pepper grains (Venere rice, actually); and the roasted suckling pig with tomato ball and Iberian pork emulsion.
Another recipe that is prepared under the eye of the guest and also deserves a separate mention is the baby squid with salt: half raw baby squids lain on a tomato carpaccio garnished with vegetables and spring onion flowers, slightly heated, and covered with a serviette full of “incandescent” salt. Unbelievably natural and exquisite. The spider crab (or king crab) leg placed on a blini filled with the meats of the animal’s body, swimming into a delicious consommé of the seafood, is an immaculate and utterly smart proposal. Other eternal pride of the house (in summer): the beans, now served with oysters and gelatinized balls that taste of bean pods. The roasted pigeon with hints of chilli sauce and cocoa is impeccable regarding product quality and doneness, and magical for its exciting counterpoints. And what can we say about the porous foie gras with peanut toast or about “Lime-lemon”, a very pure and refreshing frozen butter; two extremely technical and satisfying proposals.



7

Galileo

Flavio Morganti
Flavio Morganti
Nazionalita: Spain
Localita: 32710 Santa Baia – Pereiro de Aguiar (Ourense)
Indirizzo: Ctra. OU – 538 (carretera de Trives), Km. 11
mapa
(+34) 988380425
Chiusura:: Domenica sera, lunedì e tre giorni a Natale
Prezzo: 60/100 €


  • Jurel o chicharro con escabeche y sus verduras
  • Jurel o chicharro con escabeche y sus verduras
  • Raviolis de grelos rellenos de cocido gallego con salsa de varios quesos
  • Raviolis de grelos rellenos de cocido gallego con salsa de varios quesos
  • Carabinero tibio en consomé de carne, juliana de verduras, puerro y huevo de cod
  • Carabinero tibio en consomé de carne, juliana de verduras, puerro y huevo de codorniz
  • Filetes de gallo en tempura sobre risotto de calabaza con cordón balsámico
  • Filetes de gallo en tempura sobre risotto de calabaza con cordón balsámico
  • Chuleta gallega de vaca vieja
  • Chuleta gallega de vaca vieja

Flavio Morganti es un cocinero que poco a poco, sin alharacas, sin alianzas, se ha hecho un lugar importante en el panorama de la restauración gallega más actual; la suya es ya, sin duda, una de las mesas más destacadas de Galicia. Flavio, italiano del lago di Como, ejerció en su país natal y, durante 15 años, en Suiza, hasta que recaló en las cercanías de Orense, en la tierra de su mujer. Italia, Suiza, Galicia... buen cóctel, cuyos elementos se dejan notar en sus articulaciones y combinaciones. Su culinaria es académica y sosegadamente innovativa; le gusta hacer cosas nuevas amables, asumibles, sin ninguna estridencia, lo que queda patente en sus menús degustación, nunca fijos, siempre según el mercado, siempre según la idea que le surja en ese momento, o el producto en plena sazón. Tiene, como suele decirse, ‘mucha cocina’, inmenso oficio. La experiencia y el buen gusto se paladean.
Lo mejor en una visita a Flavio es dejarse aconsejar, acudir sin ideas preconcebidas, con un espíritu abierto y, por encima de todo, sin pensar que se trata de un restaurante ‘italiano’: no lo es, claro que no lo es. Es un gran restaurante cuyo chef nació en Italia, que es otra cosa, claro que pastas y arroces son algunas de las especialidades inexcusables.
Los garbanzos con callos de bacalao son un aperitivo contundente y suculento. También tiene su fuerza el canapé de rizos de foie gras con realce de frutos rojos. Ya metidos en platos, el jurel o chicharro brilla por su frescor y brillantez, se sirve con un escabeche y sus verduras, no repercutiendo la acidez, matizada, al pescado, ya que el vinagre se utiliza como un aderezo al final y no como un medio en el que hayan estado sumergidos los elementos. Otro plato sencillo y bien acabado son las kokotxas de merluza en un copioso pilpil verde perfumado con lima, una insinuación, salsa que en bondad supera a las papadas del pescado, buenas pero no excelentes. Muy logrados los raviolis de grelos rellenos de cocido gallego con salsa de varios quesos, autóctonos y parmesano, además de otras pinceladas cromáticas. Doctoral el carabinero tibio, por efecto del calor que le trasmite el impecable consomé de carne en el que nada, de sorber hasta no poder más, todo ello con una montaña de verduras en juliana, un pequeño puerro y un huevo de codorniz. Los filetes de gallo en tempura, perfecta la fritura por jugosidad y costra, sobre risotto de calabaza con cordón balsámico merecen una altísima consideración en tanto que nos parece una construcción integral lúcida desarrollada con encomiable precisión. La chuleta de vaca vieja gallega es de una nobleza excepcional, con mucha grasa infiltrada, si bien no soltaba sobre el plato toda la sangre que a nosotros nos gusta ver correr. No contento, el anfitrión nos agasajó con unos antológicos chorizos de su suegra, a la antigua usanza, acompañados de unas primorosas patatas también del terruño, que nos hicieron cantar el Galicia Patria Querida. Surtido de quesos, orujos, licor de hierbas… hasta pronto.



7

El Campero

José Melero
José Melero
Nazionalita: Spain
Localita: 11160 Barbate (Cádiz)
Indirizzo: Avda. de la Constitución, local 5 C
mapa
(+34) 956432300
Chiusura:: lunedì e in novembre
Prezzo: 60 / 100 €
Menu di degustazione: 48 €


  • Morrillo de atún
  • Morrillo de atún
  • Estofado de galetes de atún
  • Estofado de galetes de atún

El Campero, che con tutto il merito raggiunge il “distinto” in questa guida, è un paradiso di prodotti atlantici opera di Pepe Melero, proprietario, ideologo e factotum del locale. Lì è facile coincidere con cuochi e gourmet di tutto il paese, che vi si recano a godere del suo menu monografico sul grande gioiello dello Stretto di Gibilterra, il tonno di tonnara detto tonno di pieno diritto perché, ripieno di succulenti grassi oceanici, è quello che circola per deporre le uova dall’oceano Atlantico al mar Mediterraneo tra i mesi di aprile e luglio.



9

Sant Pau

Carme Ruscalleda
Carme Ruscalleda
Nazionalita: Spain
Localita: 08395 Sant Pol de Mar (Barcelona)
Indirizzo: Carrer Nou, 10.
mapa
(+34) 937600662
Chiusura:: Domenica, lunedì, giovedì all’ora di pranzo e le prime tre settimane di maggio e di novembre
Prezzo: 90/ 120 €
Menu di degustazione: 99 €


  • Ensalada de endivias blanca y roja con colas de cigala, olivas y salsa de plátan
  • Ensalada de endivias blanca y roja con colas de cigala, olivas y salsa de plátano
  • Ravioli vegetal con jamón
  • Ravioli vegetal con jamón
  • Arroz y trufa melanosporum
  • Arroz y trufa melanosporum
  • Tortilla de gambas
  • Tortilla de gambas
  • Pez loro
  • Pez loro

Carme Ruscalleda is all personality, character, independence, passion for products and seasons, full identification with her land, rigour, sensitiveness, refinement, complexity without over-ornate garnishes, chromatism without sophistications … A chef who is now reaffirming her long career, her feelings, her virtues and a totally convinced side of herself.
The house works on the same major figures, giving them different shapes and colours every season without basically altering the message. Red prawn, crayfish, sea cucumbers, red mullets, parrot fish, cod … have always been the stellar products of this talented cook’s imagination. Among her legendary proposals, let’s mention the prawn tortilla (omelette) accompanied by a soggy rice with prawns and artichokes, also accompanied by some prawns; the sea cucumbers casserole with turnip foam, spinach juice, cubes of continental toast and beans; the deboned red mullet stuffed with vegetables; the parrot fish or pearly razorfish with ñocas, curry sauce, spicy oil and spinach sponge cake; the cod with cabbage, potatoes and garlic mayonnaise; or the cod soup with mushrooms and almonds, among other delicacies… Other historic constructions have contributed to the worldwide fame of the house, such as the gigantic strawberry gazpacho; the varied versions of the contrasted salad and of the cocas (kind of pizza dough with different ingredients on it); the reverse cannelloni; the surprise meatball; the sole filets with figs, bones sauce, fig chutney and almonds; or the five-cheese assortment with its accompaniments.
Among the latest batch of dishes, one cannot but highlight the white and red endive salad with crayfish tails, olives and banana sauce; a real concert of harmonic contrasts. Or the vegetal ravioli with Joselito cured ham, whose courgette, aubergine, carrot, daikon and ham dashi get Japanese and Spanish cultures together. Or the deboned parrot fish with edible crunchy scales garnished with wholemeal bread and different kinds of tomatoes. Or the dentex with soft curry, dried fruits and vanilla pepper; a reinvention of the previous versions. Or the warm marinated suckling lamb with its cooking juice and young potatoes; a new adaptation of traditional tastes.



7

Altair

Ramón Caso
Ramón Caso
Nazionalita: Spain
Localita: 06800 Mérida (Badajoz)
Indirizzo: Avda. de Jose Fdez. López, s/n.
mapa
(+34) 924304512
Chiusura:: Domenica
Prezzo: 30/50 €
Menu di degustazione: 50 €


  • Vieiras asadas con criadillas de tierra
  • Vieiras asadas con criadillas de tierra
  • Rape con secreto de ibérico
  • Rape con secreto de ibérico

Altaír continua ad essere una destinazione consigliabile per quanti amano l’eleganza e la cucina d’autore basata sui prodotti della terra. L’ambiente è sempre impressionante: estetica minimalista, giochi di luce con tendine traslucide che permettono bellissime viste del ponte di Calatrava sul Guadiana e servizio disciplinato e attento.



9

Calima

Dani García
Dani García
Nazionalita: Spain
Localita: 29602 Marbella (Málaga).
Indirizzo: Hotel Puente Romano. Bulevar Principe Alfondo von Hohenlone, s/n
mapa
(+34) 952764252
Chiusura:: Sunday, Monday and from 10th October to the beginning of april
Prezzo: 100/225 €
Menu di degustazione: 65 y 148 €


  • Palomita nitro
  • Palomita nitro
  • Nenúfares de puchero con huevos de codorniz
  • Nenúfares de puchero con huevos de codorniz
  • Cocido rondeño con aleta de cazón
  • Cocido rondeño con aleta de cazón
  • Tomate raf relleno de pipirrana con percebes
  • Tomate raf relleno de pipirrana con percebes

Dani García is making Andalusian cuisine’s history. He was the forerunner of haute cuisine in the region, its major master and by far the one who raised it to avant-gardism and showed it around the world. This real symbol has brought a new era. He has become a reference for all the young cooks of the planet. Apart from being able to design a galactic version of timeless popular flavours, he reinvented almost all the historic recipes using the most modern concepts and means. He embodies “technoflamenco”, a show he proposes every evening in an utterly luxurious setting, in front of the beach, overhanging the most attractive seafront of the city. The whole Marbella longs to get a table in this world-class restaurant.
Dani gives spectacular forms to all he touches, trying to impact the guests. He is a faithful reflection of the culinary trends that have been prevailing for the last decade. Nobody will forget the liquid nitro popcorn he introduced in Spain: a frozen popcorn with a neat taste of olive oil and tomato; really amazing. His ability to combine proximity and remoteness together with the elegance and harmony that are hidden in each construction, however complex and innovative they are, is also evident in the foie gras and yuzu turrón (kind of nougat). Whether the proposals are innovative, evolutionary or conventional, the use of technique is permanent. The Egg without egg is a personal version of a trendy recipe. The idea is to place some lychee jelly on the bottom of the shell to create floral aromas. The foil ball hides a mojete filled with anchovy stew. And the broken croquette with taste of cuttlefish is a rustic touch of the reviewed philosophy.
The dishes to be eaten with a spoon are raised to an incredible refinement, as proved by two delightful “stews”: water lilies with quail egg, brimming with floral hints; and shark flipper from Ronda, a bit heavier. The cold soups have always been there and always will. They are now proposed in a more complex way, such as the Raf tomato stuffed with pipirrana (tomato, onion and pepper salad), deliciously garnished with barnacles; or like the ajoblanco cream, served with caviar and fresh almonds. And what can we say about some Dani’s fetishes like the young hake, magnified with an original béarnaise, and the young rabbit, transformed into a substantial game dish…



9,75

Quique Dacosta Restaurante

Quique Dacosta
Quique Dacosta
Nazionalita: Spain
Localita: 03700 Dénia (Alicante)
Indirizzo: Las Marinas, km. 3, con Rascassa, 1 (Urb. El Poblet)
mapa
(+34) 965784179
Chiusura:: Sundays night, Mondays, from 20th February to 13th March and from 16th to 26th October.
Prezzo: 180/220 € €
Menu di degustazione: 135/165 €


  • Gamba roja de Denia en tres servicios
  • Gamba roja de Denia en tres servicios
  • Ostra al pesto
  • Ostra al pesto
  • La rosa de Collio
  • La rosa de Collio
  • Guisantes
  • Guisantes
  • ¿Qué fue primero?
  • ¿Qué fue primero?
  • Ventresca de atún rojo del Mediterráneo
  • Ventresca de atún rojo del Mediterráneo
  • Arroz mediterráneo a las brasas de cítricos, con piel de bacalao
  • Arroz mediterráneo a las brasas de cítricos, con piel de bacalao

As we insisted last year: “Congratulations. Quique Dacosta made superhuman efforts to break fresh ground. He accepted the challenge this guide presented to him in the last edition and was able to reinvent himself, just like Joan Roca did two or three years ago. In fact, we do not remember any other cook of the Spanish top cuisine to have done such a substantial change –some modified some elements, but did not proceed to a real transformation”. The thing is that in 2011, the path he cleared was so magnificent, that instead of talking about a new era, we can talk about a new Quique; a man who is completely different from the one we used to know. His spectacular and utterly sophisticated architectural constructions –very difficult to carry out on a daily basis, a fact that used to lead to some lack of understanding and to some ups and downs regarding realization– to more essential and direct dishes aimed at reaching more virtuosity and efficiency. He also abandoned almost all his the previous influences in order to propose freer and more original creations. Talent is evident in every dish, based on apparently simple recipes that require a strong maturity and a prodigious imagination.
A good example of this new trend is the red mullet, deboned and reconstructed, cooked in a foil parcel, served raw and hot, incredibly natural, covered with concentrate juice made of its livers and sea urchins, wonderfully intense, and magically garnished with julienned snow peas perfumed with eucalyptus, on the top. Another immeasurable ingenious proposal is the dish called Chufas (Tiger nuts): a COOKED horchata (typical Spanish sweet drink made from tiger nuts and sugar) covered with some truffles of cocoa butter filled with foie gras cream, some tiger nuts SHEETS and a few dots of black truffle oil. The avocado is no less impacting and virtuous: a delicious guacamole inlaid with quenelle-shaped smoked salt that swims in an exquisite dashi soup made of red shrimps and seaweeds. Extreme naturalist minimalism: squids cooked in a foil parcel, just heated, served together with a small bowl that contains some squid consommé spiced with a hot pepper infusion. Vegetables in all their purity and lightness: peas with their leaves, flowers and broth enhanced with a hint of wasabi. “El Rocío” (Dew) is a very immaculate and fierce proposal: ice lettuce and salicornia with iced caipirinha. Seaweeds, which appear here and there on the menu, reach their highest peak with the seaweed bread stew. Ecology and nature are omnipresent: roasted aubergines with brushstrokes of beet juice and a succulent hint of hare in the form of concentrate juice, really smooth and refined. The oyster, once again, was brilliant: Gillardeau oyster in its shell, cooked for a few seconds, served in its juice and accompanied with pieces of sea lettuce and salt. A total of 25 dishes that make any imaginable dream come true.
Some of the famous dishes proposed in the last few years are still served in the “Universo local” menu (€90). This is one of the two options, together with the “Sale el Sol” menu (you can’t eat à la carte any longer). Tablecloth have been removed, the place has been computerized … A renewed spirit is in the air.
 



7,5

Tristan

Gerhard Schwaiger
Gerhard Schwaiger
Nazionalita: Spain
Localita: 07081 Portals Nous (Mallorca)
Indirizzo: Puerto Portals, local 1
mapa
(+34) 971675547
Chiusura:: All’ora di pranzo e dal 31 ottobre all’1 marzo
Prezzo: 40/100 €
Menu di degustazione: 39, 49 y 59 €


  • Vieira en su concha al horno con risotto de Puntalette y salsa de champagne
  • Vieira en su concha al horno con risotto de Puntalette y salsa de champagne
  • Filete de lenguado relleno
  • Filete de lenguado relleno

Gerhard Schwaiger continua a rinnovare ogni anno tutto il proprio repertorio, senza che lasci una sola ricetta nel menu da una stagione all’altra. Piatti che obbediscono a uno stile signorile, colto, accademico, d’indubbia professionalità, destinati a piacere ad un pubblico cosmopolita. Costruzioni molto strutturate, molto studiate, che riflettono sapere, tecnica, raffinatezza e estetica. Racchiudono nobiltà, scienza e costanza; prodotto, meticolosità e risultato. Quasi sempre in una linea classica rivestita di modernità.



7,5

Piccolo Lago

Marco Sacco
Marco Sacco
Nazionalita: Italy
Localita: 28924 Fondotoce-Lago i Mergozzo
Indirizzo: Via Filippo Turati, 87
mapa
(+39) 0323586792
Chiusura:: lunedì, domenica sera nell’inverno, gennaio ed una settimana di novembre
Prezzo: 90 €
Menu di degustazione: 85/105 €


  • Acuarela de arroz Carnaroli madursdo tres años, cocinado cremoso con azafrán, la
  • Acuarela de arroz Carnaroli madursdo tres años, cocinado cremoso con azafrán, langostinos de agua dulce en costra de caparazón y salsa de polenta quemada
  • Carbonara al Koque
  • Carbonara al Koque

Un ristorante autentico, quello dei fratelli Sacco (con Marco che si occupa della cucina e Carlo della sala e della cantina), in cui prevale il rigore, il paesaggio gustativo, i sapori tradizionali, l’evoluzione delle forme,... tanti e tanti valori davanti ai quali il commensale si sente a gusto. Quando uno ne degusta il pane, ad esempio la focaccia o quello al parmigiano-reggiano, apprezza l’immensa cultura che c’è dietro sin da quando si fa e la meticolosità con cui si procede.



7,5

Villa Fiordaliso

Riccardo Camanini
Riccardo Camanini
Nazionalita: Italy
Localita: 25083 Gardone Riviera
Indirizzo: Corso Zanardelli, 132
mapa
(+39) 036520158
Chiusura:: lunedì, martedì all’ora di pranzo e dal 31/10 al 10/2
Prezzo: 100/170 €
Menu di degustazione: 105 €


  • Risotto de erizos de mar y microvegetales
  • Risotto de erizos de mar y microvegetales

Un palazzo sul lago di Garda alberga questo Relais & Châteaux che propizia la contemplazione e il sollazzo. La famiglia Tosetti, che si occupa personalmente dell’albergo e del ristorante (Max), conta per il successo gastronomico del progetto con uno chef, Riccardo Camanini, veramente appassionato del proprio lavoro e che fa sfoggio di un enorme potere di riflessione.