Beautiful interior, great service, nice owners. Awesome food and dessert! We had a great time!read more

A German chef in Valencia Spain, serving two Americans who just arrived not long ago from Athens…read more Yes it's a mixed bag of cultural mashups. However it did no hinder us from trying to get a fantastic meal late in the evening after having just got into town. Chef Bernd Knoller and his wonderful staff were more than happy to welcome us, and it's that type of hospitality that started off this wonderful meal. After having been through many find kitchens of his home country, Chef Knoller found himself at Akelarre under Pedro Subijana, one of the forefront of the new Spanish cuisine. This being the gateway to Spain with some other ventures along the way, he opened Riff, which would be our first taste of Valencian food. From the outside you see a stark foyer with a long white hallway, minimalist art on either side. We're seated at a two top not that far away form the kitchen. The Riff staff are buzzing around us providing us with all the things we need before our meal. Chef himself comes out, speaks to my friend about his food allergies and we agree that we want Riff's Menu Degustacion: -Oysters with frozen seaweed -Salad from small calamares, aioli, black trumpets and watercress -Summer truffels with pine nuts and Joselito ham -Langustines, tomato, eggplant and basil -"Dirty Rice" -Monkfish with humus from fresh peas -Roast lamb with spices and dried tomatoes -Hot mousse au chocolate with olive oil and salt -Strawberries, almonds and orange sanguine If you've had enough food in Valencia, you know that the Arroces dishes and their artichokes are very special in this region. As all of the Spanish regions do, Valencia has a character all of its own and Chef Knoller, despite being German brings the Valencian spirit in his cooking. In fact if I didn't know he was Germain, I wouldn't known any better! He obviously brings the touches of the Michelin star kitchens he's been through and it definitely shines. The staff are very professional and more importantly they are very warm and welcoming. Often when you see places of this design and caliber you think that it will be a cold experience but that couldn't be farther than the truth here. A grand experience all around and a gem of a restaurant.

I'm not sure why but when you try to enter the restaurant the door is locked so you have to buzz to…read moreget into the building. Once you get in, the ambiance is simple and clean. The lights could be dimmed a bit as it was very bright inside. The staff struggled a bit with speaking English but they tried very hard and were quite friendly. The chef actually took our orders and also came to say goodbye at the end of our meal. We tried the... Prawn Fettuccine Fried egg with Iberian bacon, herbs and peas "Dirty" rice with squid ink Venison with eggplant and cumin Monkfish with coriander, cinnamon and pea hummus We also received an abundance of amuse bouches which we devoured. Overall we thought the food was fresh, seasoned well, and cooked to perfection.

This was our last full day in Valencia and my friend who lives there had planned a lunch for us…read morehere. We had some friends that were available last minute and the restaurant was nice enough to allow them to make a reservation as well and seat us all next to each other. My first note walking in was that the restaurant was beautiful. From all the foliage, to the decor, and even the bathrooms were really cool... props to the designer. We all did the coursed lunch which made it easy to sit back and enjoy everyones company without having to coordinate ordering enough for everyone. Lunch was definitely a great way to experience this restaurant and the creativity of the dishes was really unique. For what you get, this is very affordable for such a top notch experience.

Ive been a fan of Quique Dacosta's for a long while now. However the journey down to Denia where…read morehis flagship has always eluded me. I come back to the area a couple years later and he's now got three restaurants! So what do I do? Go to all of them of course! Having carted me around for a good day and also cooking for me in their home, I felt I needed to treat my friends to a night out. Since we had done many traditional eateries the few days prior, it was time to get a modern take on the local Spanish cuisine. Unlike the remote flagship in Denia, Vuelva Carolina is smack dab in the middle of the Valencia city center. After the stone like facade with the large open glass windows and doors, the makeup is majorly blonde wood throughout, accented in every way. It's very modern, nothing like the tapas bars in the rest of the old town. A set of banquettes line the left side, recessed into the wall.Plentiful bar seating is opposite. As you look forward,the wine cellar towers above the entrance to a back dining room, with the kitchen and restrooms sweeping to the right. It is notable that chef Dacosta has built El Poblet, the former restaurant owned by his parents where his flagship lies now is right next door. We are seated in the middle of the main room my friends peruse the menu and realize these are takes on many of the foods they grew up with. So I let them order, after all this is their night. We are started with a bowl of olives, a selections of rolls and bread crisps. My friends being the Spaniards they are, immediately get a bottle of Pazo Senorans Albarino from Galicia. My friends confer with our server and we end up with: -Mackerel wrapped in bitter greens -Jamon sliced thin in savory sauce -Shaved una belly in savory sauce -Foie gras cuba libre -Scallops in their shell -Grilled octopus with pimenton -Date cake with almond ice cream -Chocolate torte with mandarin oranges znd their gelee -Violet Yogurt Everything was delicious. My friends quickly realized the flavors were all mostly from their childhood but the presentations were all reinterpreted. Sometimes no initial recognition but when it hit their palates, you could see the look in their eyes of familiarity. All I know was it all tasted great. The service was solid and they took great care of us. I think some of it may have been because of an encounter Ill describe below. I got to use the restroom and as I walked through the back dining room I saw a familiar face. A man I had seen at lunch at Ricard Camarena's restaurant earlier in the day. We look at each other and we start to chat. Turns out he's Rafael Palacios of the famous Palacios Rioja family. He however has decided to go on his own and make wines with the Bobal grape in Galicia. He's sitting with a local winemaker of Bodega Mustiguillo. What are the chances in all of the restaurants in Valencia and all of the time slots, that I would run into this man twice in the same day? The world is a crazy small place. When I get back from chatting with him and the restroom, the sommelier shows up with a bottle of 2012 Mestizaje. I look at my friends, they look at me. "Did you order this?" I say. "No. I have no idea where it came from" they respond. The somm then tells my friends that Rafael and his friend had sent it over. Talk about hospitality! They dont even work at the restaurant. I think the mutual love of food however, could not have gone un noticed and as I always say, "the best way to be accepted by a culture is to eat their food". Not only did I get to celebrate with my friends, we got the opportunity to make new ones. I will definitely be visiting their vineyards in my next trip to Spain. Top that off with the great food we had, it made for one great night. We had just missed chef Dacoasta by an hour or so, but I would be headed to see him in Denia the next night. An awesome alternative to your familiar traditional Spanish fare, done with flare and creativity, with plenty of Spanish hospitality to boot.

Out of Country Review - Spain…read more Had lunch at El Tostadero on Tuesday afternoon. A spot filled with local workers, they have lots of cheap and delicious sandwich options. Definitely worth a quick stop for visitors to the city. Quality: We went with house special a Fried Cuttlefish Sandwich, and it was incredible. The texture was great, browned to perfection and just a little bit of spring to the fish. Pair it with a couple cold beers and you would struggle to find a better lunch. Quantity: Massive portions. Value: Very cheap. Ambiance: El Tostadero is a locals spot in Valencia. The casual shop has a wrap around bar for seating, with food options on display in front of you. They also have a few tables outside. Inside prepare to watch yourself eat and drink in a mirror with music blasting as the workers constantly push out more sandwiches. Crowd: A few regulars, constant take-out. Service: Fast.

The best bocadillo in all of Valencia, maybe all of Spain. Their calamari sandwich is my favorite…read moresandwich in the whole world. Whenever I come to Valencia, it's the first thing I eat. Their tortilla de patatas sandwich is also very good. The place is ran by the same few men who have been working their forever. I also would eat glass covered in their garlic aioli.

Yummy fresh dishes! Service could use a bit of work as everything was consistently slow (even…read morepaying) and it was always hard to find staff despite there seeming to be many of them. It's a cute spot tucked away in a market next to Bar X. We opted for many apps and one main to share between me and my partner and that was definitely the move. My faves by far were the tomato salad, zucchini flowers, eggplant (for novelty) and the "restaurant proclaimed best" caramel dessert which was prettyyyyy dang good. Tomato salad and zucchini flowers were so refreshing and had great ingredients. The eggplant was the most interesting texture / flavor combo I've had and I really enjoyed. The caramel dessert was so creamy and fluffy. Loved the juxtaposition of crunchy caramel cookie with the smooth cream!

I usually highlight the good stuff in the restaurants I review, but this place has nothing going…read morefor them (aside from maybe the appetizers and bread). I ordered their Galician beef tenderloin, medium rare, and it came out rare on my first cut. I sent it back, they sliced it up and cooked it some more, and somehow it came back even more rare. I gave up and just left the food uneaten. Get your beef well done so it comes out medium/medium rare or just don't come here. Service is not very good anyway like others have pointed out.