Hi tigerjohn,
Just adding to your thread that our favorite roast lamb horno de asar, MANNIX, has taken the top spot this year’s on Opinionated About Dining “Best Casual Restaurants in Europe” list.
The list lists Gemma García as the “chef” (which she never was), but I’m very glad to see the restaurant rewarded.
Elkano is number two, Güeyu Mar comes in at number 5.
Interesting that Horma Ondo makes number 21. We’ve always enjoyed our meals at this classic asador to the east of Bilbao, above Azurmendi.
The list, of course is debatable, as all these ¨best¨ lists are.
At number 111, Pinotxo in the Boquería is no longer the Pinotxo that we loved, after the passing of Juanito Bayén. And Espacio Eslava has changed hands after the owner, Sixto Tover, retired this March and gave it to the Ovejas Negras group. My Sevilla source says it just isn’t the same, but I haven’t been since Sr. Tovar’s last day at the helm (I was staying in the apartments upstairs and had my last meal there).
The gala event to announce “Europe’s Top Restaurants” will be held here in Madrid on June 12
with 9 prestigious chefs preparing the 20-course, 350 euro dinner. Chefs will include Eneko Atxa, Quique Dacosta y Nacho Manzano.
Still regret that I never made it to Gueyu Mar but there itself is a reason to return to one of the best eating regions in Spain, in my own very uninformed opinion. Pretty soon I will be asking you where to combine with “my” place near Vejer for March. Thinking (early stages now) Logrono, or somewhere in Galicia, depending on flights I can find that would bring me to Jerez or, more likely Sevilla…open to all optiions but will begin my own thread before too long…many thanks for everything! ek
Great to see Mannix at the top even if Chef Marco is not getting some of the acclaim. I vaguely remember Spain getting a lot of places on the casual list but it seems to be more than usual with many classic favorites. Will be interesting to see what makes the high end dining list. Makes me want to get on a plane now but have to wait until September.
Hi tigerjohn and erica,
Steve Plotnicki, the creator of OAD, whom we met in San Sebastián, has a particularly keen interest in Spain dining.
Our friend, Gabriella Ranielli, organized his first OAD dining gala there.
This year Steve wanted the June 12 gala for the “top restaurants in Europe” to be held in Madrid because as he said: “Madrid is one of the great gastronomic capitals of the world, where all the chefs want to open a restaurant.”
He also said: “Spain’s gastronomic diversity is superlative not only for its wide offerings but also and especially for the high quality of dining.”
He chose the restaurant Desde 1911, operated by Pescaderías Coruñesas, because it topped the OAD ranking for “best new European restaurants” in 2022 and because it has sufficient room to host 200 diners in its event space, Taller de Bombas.
Steve also hinted in his interview that of the top ten “top restaurants in Europe”, that 4 of them will be Spanish. We’ll soon see!
