The most original Michelin star restaurants in Spain

Rural or urban, veterans or almost brand new, with well-known or practically anonymous chefs, these restaurants shine with some of the most original

-and sometimes risky-

ENIGMA

There are the creative chefs, and then there is

.

A key player two decades ago in elBulli -a space in Cala Montjoi that he arrived at as a teenager- and architect of the

of the Barcelona gastronomic market thanks to the concepts created between 2011 and 2020 in elBarri,

.

He demonstrated it in the past with concepts as diverse as Inopia, Tickets -a brand that will probably be revived sooner or later-, Bodega 1900 or Heart Ibiza.

Since June 2022 -the date it reopened after 27 months of closure due to the pandemic-, Enigma is the only restaurant in Spain where you can try Albert Adrià's cuisine.

In an almost galactic space,

until they came up with the proposal that, precisely, is premiering these days -on March 6, it has abandoned the à la carte format-: a tasting menu, with a price from 220 euros (without drinks), with between 22 and 25

and based on "a kitchen inspired by seasonal products, applying the knowledge and baggage of more than 35 years of experience where tradition and innovation go hand in hand in benefit of the product itself", he defines.

, placing one of the most creative chefs in the world at the same level as colleagues who are light years away from the gifted Albert Adrià.

Sepulveda, 38-40.

Barcelona.

Tel. 616 69 63 22. Menu: €220.

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Gastronomy.

Abya: a four-story restaurant in a spectacular palace that is going to revolutionize Madrid (and it does not aspire to be the fashionable place)

• Writing: AMAYA GARCÍA

Abya: a four-story restaurant in a spectacular palace that is going to revolutionize Madrid (and it does not aspire to be the fashionable place)

Gastronomy.

Here they eat (some of) the best potato tortillas in Madrid

• Writing: JAVIER ESTRADA

• Drafting: LUIGI BENEDICTO BORGES

Here they eat (some of) the best potato tortillas in Madrid

MARCELO HOUSE

Try searching Google and its definition will throw you off: "Flirty restaurant in Santiago de Compostela, distinguished with a Michelin star".

Flirtatious?

Rather, fundamental in the history of Spanish gastronomy.

is nothing more than the mere disguise that Marcelo Tejedor applies to one of the businesses that cannot be ignored due to its history

or, of course, its present, no matter how much it 'dresses' as a tavern and no matter how much its owner hardly has appeared for years in the most mediatic culinary scene.

You have to go back to 1999 to imagine the opening of

-at that time, elBulli still kept the menu in coexistence with the menu-, which was

, in an open space with a kitchen open to the living room, where the cooks brought the dishes to the table.

This format -generalized years later- ended up tiring Tejedor, key pillars of the modernization of Galician cuisine, which in

of the kitchen

is still valid, with bars and high tables as a dining room-, à la carte with double shifts for lunch and dinner, to 'give up' the Michelin star that he wore and which, after two years, he recovered for this

model .

In recent times, the daily offer gives rise to a menu made for each client, with an average price of 60 to 90 euros, without missing

such as 'potato-leek'.

Rua das Hortas, 1. Santiago de Compostela.

Tel. 981 55 85 80. €60-90

CLOUD

Opened in July 2021 and with a star obtained just six months later, it is

Miguel Caño, with experience in Mugaritz (as did Llorenç Sagarra and Dani Lasa, his partners), returned to Haro, his hometown, to found a contemporary kitchen space

, located right next to Los Caños , his family's bar -by the way, recently renovated-.

Nublo is based on the challenge of resorting to little more than cooking with gas and electricity

, without many other devices -wood oven, grill and an 'economic kitchen'-, adding creativity, good product, maximum care and, even, a point conceptual.

The offer is based on two menus: 'Nublo', for 70 euros, and 'Nublo Experience', for 105. You eat in a room with about 20 seats, where Rioja wines rule the liquid offer -don't expect the most usual-.

Plaza San Martín, 5.. Haro (La Rioja) Tel. 636 72 58 50. Menus: €70 and €105

ARREA!

In 2006, Edorta Lamo opened A Fuego Negro, a "pintxo joint" in the Old Town of San Sebastián, with her sister Amaia García de Albiz as a partner.

There, in addition to covering Basque cuisine in a modern key -almost

she dedicated herself to projects such as editing comics.

In December 2018, this

chef culminated the dream he had been working on for years:

-a booming trend?-, with all the consequences.

The producers who nurture this field kitchen format do not exceed a radius of about 30 kilometers in radius, in what is the most uninhabited area of ​​the Basque Country, famous for being the setting for the film "Tasio".

From game to river fish and local vegetables go through the dishes at Arrea!, where there are sausages, pates, preserves and 'homemade' cured meats.

: Dining room, with the

, which includes the so-called

, three passes to choose from and desserts, for 125 euros, asking to add more passes for 25 euros more each;

and

, a more 'casual' format, with a double menu formula and

for 50 euros.

Ascent to the pediment, 46. Santa Cruz de Campezo (Álava).

Tel. 689 74 03 70. Menus: €50 and €125

MOUNTAIN

Like Edorta Lamo, the owner of Monte also changed the urban for the rural.

, who, after working in several restaurants and after passing through Madrid, decided to return to her land, to settle in the tiny village of San Feliz, where from Wednesday to Sunday at noon he receives his clients in this house with 5 tables.

trend

.

His recommendation is to add vermouth, food and after-dinner.

A selection of farmers, ranchers and artisans -from knife makers to carpenters- supports the gastronomic proposal linked to the

and translated into two menus:

, for 75 euros;

and

, for 110. Delia Melgarejo heads the room and cellar.

Since November 2022, Monte has a star.

In Pola de Lena, Andrade has the bar-butcher shop MO.

San Feliz, s/n.

San Feliz (Asturias).

Tel. 985 59 30 89. Menus: €75 and €110

THE GREENHOUSE

The 'green kitchen' sounds like a marketing 'claim', but it is a concept with an owner by right.

Away from fashion and with a pioneering style -long before there was talk about 'alternative proteins-,

, with the conviction that the world of vegetables and other species of the land make up an infinite pantry with enormous potential from the culinary point of view.

In 2018, it settled on Ponzano street, with the opening of El Invernadero, where it boasts a Michelin star -which it already had in two previous projects-.

- "where animal protein participates as seasoning" -, the temporality of the 'green universe' marks the offer, embodied in various menus, where creativity with these products seems to have no ceiling:

, for 165 euros, with his latest creations;

, for 130 and equivalent to a vegetarian or vegan proposal;

, for 145, which adds a meat;

and

, also for 145 euros, with fish as the final dish after a succession of recipes with seasonal vegetables.

Ponzano, 85. Madrid.

Open from Monday to Sunday, noon and night.

Menus: €130, €145 and €165

KALEJA

Dani Carnero opened La Cosmopolita in 2010, the axis from which, years later, he has grown with other businesses and always under the same premise: stew.

If this chef qualifies

his first project in Malaga as

Located in an alley in the old Jewish quarter of Malaga, it opened at the end of 2019 with the appeal of a sit-down bar and enjoy direct cooking from the kitchen that works just behind.

In "the alley where Dani Carnero cooks" -as they explain in the restaurant--, you can choose the so-called

in two weights, depending on hunger and the time that each client has: the shortest costs 90 euros and the longest long 110, the latter "made with seasonal and market produce".

T

", but, above all, he represents a profile that has elevated the stew to the category of haute cuisine.

It has a third location in the Andalusian city: La Cosmo, a

bar offering modern snacks.

Marquesa de Moya, 9. Malaga.

Tel. 952 60 00 00. Menus: €90 and €100

TABAIBA

A recent star for the work of Abraham Ortega and Áser Martín, in this haute cuisine space that opened in February 2021 in Las Palmas.

These young professionals -one is a cook and the other a pastry chef- have given

"Evolutionary Canarian cuisine", define and defend the owners of this establishment, determined to place their region in a renewed place of Spanish gastronomy.

With the name of a native Macaronesian flower,

, priced at 100 euros;

and

, for 120 euros.

Goat, wheat and papé or cuttlefish, white crab and limpet are examples of their dishes.

Portugal 79. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Las Palmas).

Tel. 928 02 70 55. Menus: €100 and €120

ARRELS

It is the project of Vicky Sevilla, a brave chef who decided to start a business in 2017 at just 25 years old, after working with chefs such as Susi Díaz (La Finca), Begoña Rodrigo (La Salita) and Vicente Patiño (Saiti).

Arrels is her

, where she has not stopped receiving recognition, such as a Michelin star -received in December 2021, becoming the youngest chef in history to receive this distinction in Spain- or be part of the 2020 edition of the

list -of the Basque Culinary Center-.

Her original proposal and her way of conceiving the business -with special attention to the conciliation of the team- mark the future course of gastronomy.

Arrels occupies the old stables of the Palace of the Dukes of Gaeta, a 16th century building

, where he practices his Mediterranean cuisine, based on the use of seasonal products, which cause the menus to vary throughout the year -and even, of the week-:

, with a price of 75 euros;

and

, for 95. There is a third formula called

which, with a price of 55 euros, is available from Tuesday to Thursday at noon.

Casteillo, 18. Sagunto (Valencia).

Tel. 606 75 40 76. Menus: €55, €75 and €95

ETXEBARRI

Although it has been operating for more than 30 years and ranks sixth on

list , Etxebarri could not be missing from a possible selection of

Michelin stars ' - how can this restaurant have a single distinction from the French guide? -.

It is easy to say that this house located in the Atxondo valley is one of the best grills in the world or the 'perfect' grill.

It more than meets both definitions, but they would be incomplete.

T

: a hyper-demanding selection of the raw material;

his prodigious hand not only with the grill to provide the right touch of smoke, but with those apparently light and subtle

-sauces,

...- typical of the highest cuisine that accompany almost all the dishes;

the ability to combine a few ingredients and the discipline to embroider a single daily lunch service.

Marta Patricia Vela, Bittor's wife, and their son Paul provide hospitality in the room with 'Moha' Benaddallah as a brilliant sommelier and host.

Another point in favor: the absolutely

character of Arginzoniz, fleeing from the

of gastronomic events, while, without looking for it, his cuisine sets trends anywhere in the world.

How do you book in Etxebarri?

It is really difficult, because it is in high demand: on their website, they progressively open the calendar, showing new available dates daily -be sure to sign up for their waiting list-.

San Juan Plaza, 1. Axpe (Vizcaya).

Menu: €264

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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