Food and Drink Andrea González
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The new stars

With 16 restaurants retaining their three Michelin stars, the highest culinary distinction in the world, five restaurants being rewarded with their second star and 25 restaurants receiving their first, Spain reaffirms its status as a world-class gastronomic destination.

  1. 1 EMi, Madrid

    EMi has earned its first Michelin star just four months after opening, making it the fastest restaurant in Spain to receive this recognition. Chef Rubén Hernández Mosquero’s cuisine has attracted international attention thanks to a menu that, according to the Michelin Guide, pays tribute to Emilio, his late brother. It is a crossroads of cultures, a reference to the experience of this head chef who trained at Taberna del Alabardero in Seville and has worked at Noma, the best restaurant in the world according to The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list, in Copenhagen, Il Ristorante Luca Fantin in Tokyo, and the two-star Atomix in New York, where he was head of R&D. Emi’s menu consists of 14 courses, blending Nordic and Korean influences. It includes three snacks, a sequence of hot and cold dishes, a pre-dessert, a dessert and petits fours to finish. The design of the space is very important to round off the experience. Despite occupying more than 450sqm, it accommodates only 12 diners before an open kitchen. Miguel Ángel Millán, one of Spain’s most influential sommeliers, manages a wine cellar with more than 1,000 references.

  2. 2 Palodú, Málaga

    With a track record spanning more than a decade, the project by chefs Cristina Cánovas and Diego Aguilar has evolved from a neighbourhood gastrobar to winning its first Michelin star. At Palodú, now behind the Atarazanas market, the chefs offer what they call dual cuisine, where everything is discussed between them so that each can contribute the best of their styles, and in which traditional Andalusian cuisine is constantly referenced in a contemporary style. Their basis is local produce, which they purchase both at the Atarazanas market, depending on the season, and take from their own vegetable garden in Campillos. The restaurant offers two tasting menus: Palodú, with three appetisers, ten courses and three desserts, and Alcazul, consisting of nine courses, among which the Michelin Guide particularly highlights the sequence of red mullet, gazpachuelo and potato. Both can be accompanied by wine pairings from sommelier Ana Cánovas, who is in charge of a wine cellar with artisanal and family-made wines. The dining room experience is directed by Nacho Maraña.

  3. 3 éter, Madrid

    Brothers Sergio and Mario Tofe have seen their work recognised with their first Michelin star five years after opening their restaurant. éter, in the Arganzuela district, champions an intimate cuisine based on highly refined culinary techniques and ingredients sourced from small producers. Its tasting menu changes five times a year to accompany the passing of the seasons, making each season at éter a fleeting event. Until 15 January, you can enjoy Ourös, an intimate menu with flavours of game, mountains, forests and fire. It consists of courses such as a starter of tempura milk cap mushrooms with pine nut hollandaise, game chirashizushi or chestnut soup with autumn truffle and Armagnac, accompanied by a handmade croissant from Obrar (made exclusively for them). The Michelin Guide highlights the richness of the different influences that Sergio brings to his cuisine, as well as the enveloping delicacy of the gastronomic experience, with details such as the change of music as the courses progress. The sommelier and maître, Mario, is in charge of a wine cellar with soul.

  4. 4 Mont Bar, Barcelona

    Mont Bar, run by Iván Castro, Kasaundra Williams and chef Fran Agudo, has earned its second Michelin star thanks to a concept that elevates the gastronomic bar to a level of familiar sophistication. From the heart of Barcelona, just a few minutes from Plaça de Catalunya, they offer two tasting menus, the Classic Menu and the Mont Menu, 50 per cent of which consists of snacks, thus defending their concept of a gastronomic bar, interspersed with more complex dishes. They also offer a menu that maintains the familiar spirit of the bar and tapas, with options such as Iberian sobrasada mochi with Mahón cheese, Michelin Guide's favourite, as well as dishes that are only available in season, such as razor clams with ponzu sauce à la donostiarra or chestnut, mandarin and hazelnut dessert. All these creations are overseen by chef Fran Agudo, who trained at El Celler de Can Roca, and crowned by the dining room experience of Kasaundra Williams. The wine cellar is under the command of Iván Castro, with 245 varieties available.

  5. 5 Ramón Freixa Atelier, en Madrid

    Chef Ramón Freixa has regained the two Michelin stars he earned in the kitchen of the Hotel Único at his new venue, Ramón Freixa Atelier. This restaurant, designed as a clandestine speakeasy within the larger Ramón Freixa Tradición, is a gastronomic temple that can only accommodate ten diners per service, all seated at the same U-shaped table facing the open kitchen. Conceived as the chef’s secret laboratory, the offering revolves around two tasting menus, Origen and Origen Vegetalia, the latter entirely vegan/vegetarian, and both consisting of 17 courses. The two menus continue the pillars of Ramón Freixa’s cuisine, which have always been produce, technique and feeling, as highlighted in the Michelin Guide, and are presented in a service that takes care of every detail. The double space is located in the heart of Madrid’s Golden Mile: while the upper floor, Ramón Freixa Tradición, pays homage to the rich legacy of traditional Spanish cuisine in a space designed by Alejandra Pombo. The secret Ramón Freixa Atelier is an intimate space inspired by the vision of artist James Turrell.

  6. 6 Pico Velasco, Cantabria

    Pico Velasco is located in the heart of the Santoña, Victoria and Joyel Marshes Natural Park. The restaurant at the boutique hotel of the same name, with cuisine by Nacho Solana and under the management of Inés Aguirreburualde, has earned its first Michelin star thanks to a menu that combines traditional flavours with a modern twist. The chef, who had already celebrated a star at his restaurant in Ampuero in 2012, offers two tasting menus: Albiar, which means dawn and consists of 14 courses, and Sincio, a Cantabrian term for craving, with 17 courses. The best thing about the restaurant, as highlighted by the Michelin Guide, is its connection with the environment, both through the raw ingredients, sourced from local fishmongers and farmers, and through the large windows, which bring the intense green of the nature park to the table, with a panoramic view over the mouth of the Asón River

  7. 7 Bonus track: Editorial Montagud

    For anyone who wants to learn about gastronomy, so they can enjoy all these offerings with the knowhow of a Michelin Guide critic, explore Montagud Publishing. Founded in 1906 in Barcelona, it is currently the only publisher in the world dedicated exclusively to gastronomy. It has published books by greats of Spanish cuisine such as Quique Dacosta, the Roca brothers and Dani García, as well as being home to publications such as Apicius, winner of the National Gastronomy Award for Best Publication and voted the best publication in the world at the Gourmand World CookBook Awards.

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