Restaurant Hiu [Cambrils, Spain]

This is just a shortish one as it’s been over 6 months since I was in Hiu.

I had been meaning to do a proper meal report for ages but have just not got round to it and unfortunately lost the photos I took of the meal too.

However, it’s been bugging me as this was my favourite meal of 2025 and it really deserved a mention/recommendation so I’m just getting this out there now.

Chef Sergi Palacin has years of experience working in Thailand and this is reflected in his fabulous food which demonstrates his love for and respect for Thai cuisine.

I ate the ‘Menú degustación’ which appears to be the same currently as it was when I visited in June:


Satay chicken croquette

Roasted consommé and turmeric

Smoked sardine tartlet with corn textures

Char siu pig’s head fritter

Beef jerky tartar temaki with kimchi

Sea fennel with razor clam

Koji with caviar

Tom Kha Clams

Fermented cucumber

Cuttlefish with Dim Sum Meatballs

Fricandó of tuna cheek and black trumpet mushroom

Suquet – red curry, squid ink veil and white prawn

Sea bass 1 ingredient: with its pil-pil sauce and cured roe

Masaman beef tongue, spring onion purée and kale

Lyo Bites

Apple and elderflower granita with yogurt and citrus

Gulab Jamun, saffron and pistachio

Petit Four


Some of these are served at the same time so the meal ends up being 10-12 courses from what I recall.

The cooking is precise, innovative and absolutely delicious. The chefs dishes include ingredients that have been fermented, cured, dried and smoked in house (including the 12 month aged fish and roe).

For €80 it is an absolute steal.

The tom kha clams was particularly memorable and my favourite dish of 2025. The flavour in the tom kha broth was other worldly.

The drinks offering was not quite as polished at the time of my visit, with no matched wines available and very limited wines by the glass (but plenty more by bottle). This was acknowledged by the team as a work in progress. Chef Sergi himself was incredibly friendlyl, good natured and happy to talk about Thai food, his dishes and the restaurant. The wider team included his sister who was in the final stages of obtaining her sommelier accreditation.

I would love to return here again some day, though I’m not sure when I will next find myself in the vicinity. It’s certainly worth a detour though.

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