Tom Ewart Smith
SPAIN’S culinary scene is renowned for its rich traditions and innovative chefs.
The Guardian has spotlighted seven of the country’s most promising chefs and the restaurants where their talents shine. Here’s a guide to these culinary destinations:
1. Restaurante Simpar, Santiago de Compostela, Galicia
Chef Axel Smyth, alongside his partner Claudia Merchan, offers sophisticated interpretations of Galicia’s local produce.
Diners can choose between the 14-course Simpar menu (€110) and the 11-course Conocer menu (€85), both commencing with inventive mushroom dishes and concluding with a deconstructed Santiago tart.
The restaurant’s award-winning tripe stew with chickpeas and ham croquettes are also highlights.
2. Restaurante Sise, Lleida, Catalunya
In the heart of Lleida, chef Xixo Castaño presents traditional dishes with creative twists.
A protege of El Celler de Can Roca, he draws heavily on childhood food memories, brought to life through a menu rooted in local produce from the Pyrenees, Aragon and the Catalan coast.
3. Restaurante Ausias, Pedreguer, Alicante
Chef Ausias Signes focuses on reinventing seafood dishes while preserving traditional flavours.
The restaurant offers a tasting menu (€84 for 12 courses or €62 for 10) that showcases dishes like cuttlefish with cauliflower and baked grouper with roast cabbage and pickled seaweed.
The intimate setting provides an immersive dining experience.
4. Restaurante Arsa, Logroño, La Rioja
In the heart of Logroño, Beatriz Fernandez and her husband Rodrigo run a quirky 22-table spot making waves with bold, flavour-packed dishes.
Highlights include wild boar stew with oloroso (€16), turbot with seaweed and black olives (€24), and vine-smoked wood pigeon with chestnuts and lemon (€26).
Desserts such as pumpkin cake with thyme ice cream (€8) shine, but the 12-course tasting menu (€70) is the star.
Try the golden-hued Riojan white, Eraso Azala (€25), for something different.
5. Restaurante Lur, Madrid
At just 22, Lucia Gutierrez is the fourth generation in her family to take on the restaurant trade, now running Lur in Madrid’s buzzing Legazpi district.
With just five tables, the serene, wood-filled space reflects her refined, seasonal cooking.
Her seven-course tasting menu (€87) highlights vegetables and blurs the line between savoury and sweet.
Ingredients are sourced from small producers, including from the Basque Country – a nod to Lucia’s roots and the restaurant’s name, Lur, meaning ‘land’ in Basque.
6. Restaurante Moral, Santa Cruz de Tenerife
In the heart of Santa Cruz, Tenerife, Restaurante Moral is a six-table gem run by Canarian couple Icíar and Juan Carlos Perez-Alcalde.
Set in a serene converted mansion, the menu celebrates island produce, from aubergine with eel and mushrooms (€19) to duck in orange and dried fruit sauce (€27).
A five-course tasting menu (€50) offers the full experience, topped off with a floral beetroot and passion fruit dessert (€7).
Pair it with a crisp Tenerife Listan white (€26).
7. Restaurante Learta, Sevilla
Tucked away near Sevilla’s buzzing Alameda, Learta is a 12-seat spot where chef Manu Lachica and his wife, Rita Llanes, fuse Andalusian flavours with refined technique.
Their 10-dish tasting menu (€72) includes wild boar with burrata and chilled pumpkin broth with kaki fruit and sea urchin.
The setting celebrates Sevilla’s artisanship, from hand-painted tiles to custom furniture.
Drinks include house-made kombuchas (€6) and wines from up-and-coming Andalucian producers (€35–€147).
