There is no mistake here: from Valencian paella to ‘arròs al forn’
Three Michelin stars are synonymous with excellence. Or at least in the case of Quique Dacosta, who holds the highest distinction (Alicante) for his homonymous restaurant.
Here are his favorite restaurants for rice.
Rioja restaurant (Benissano, Valencia)
“In Valencian paella you have to stay with Rioja restaurant (Verge del Fonament, 37, Benissanó, Valencia), one of the emblems in the area”, explains the chef. They have been a reference for almost 80 years (since 1924) when it comes to talking about the iconic version of this dish. They are authentic referents of this recipe, prepared in an artisan way, always with rice of the senia variety”.
paco gandia (Pinoso, Valencia) and Elias House (El Xinorlet, Alicante)
“If we are in the interior of Alicante and we want to try a rice prepared with chicken, rabbit and snails, my recommendations are paco gandia (San Francisco, 2, Pinoso, Valencia) and Elias House (Rosales, 7, El Xinorlet, Alicante). It wouldn’t make sense to go to these restaurants and eat something else. It’s like going to other temples like Elkano -in Getaria, Guipúzcoa- and ordering other dishes that are not grilled turbot”.
Napicol (Meliana, Valencia)
“Another exceptional site I was at the other day is Napicol in l ‘horta de Valencia (Sant Isidre, 28, Meliana, Valencia), where they serve a wonderful baked rice, which, according to the traditional recipe, is usually prepared with the remains of the previous day. It is served with blood sausage, a head of garlic, chickpeas, potato… but in a much more defatted and gastronomic version… They prepare it in paella and not in a clay pot as usual, even removing the ‘socarrat’. It’s magnificent.”
lisa black (Valencia)
“A truly spectacular site is lisa black (Pascual i Genís, 10, Valencia) Why? Because it is a place where rice is prepared ‘a la llama’ in the center of Valencia working with different types of wood. It is very difficult to make paellas in the center of a big city like Valencia. It is my urban product restaurant, in which we work with seasonality and make rice dishes to the beat of the season, with mushrooms or truffles when appropriate, or with the ingredient that must be used at each moment”.
Can Bosch (Cambrils), El Celler de Can Roca (Girona) and Es Codol (Formentera)
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“Beyond Valencia, I have eaten very good rice dishes outside of Valencia. For example, in Catalonia, since Can Bosch (Rambla de Jaume I, Cambrils, Tarragona) to El Celler de Can Roca (Can Sunyer, 48, Girona), where they also make them. I also like the ones that Nandu Jubany makes in his restaurant It’s Códol from Formentera (Venda Descamarí, Platja de Migjorn). It is curious because haute cuisine has not dealt excessively with rice even though it is a very common ingredient in our kitchen. There’s a certain vertigo.”
QD Arros (London)
“Outside of Spain you can also eat excellent rice dishes. An example is QD Arros (64 Eastcastle Street, London), my UK project. We not only prepare traditional rice dishes, but we also make them with top quality products from there. It represents both my purist part and the more cosmopolitan one, in which I am open to innovations. Who says that there is no good product to make a paella in the United Kingdom? Well there is, surprisingly.”