When people talk about Michelin-starred restaurants in Spain, they are generally referring to three-star restaurants, including three in the Basque city of San Sebastián. Michelin awards stars to many restaurants around the world each year, but it’s the three-star locations that capture the imagination. As of fall 2017, Spain has seven three-star Michelin restaurants. Read on to learn about each one, including information on their locations, offerings, and philosophies.
01
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The Celler De Can Roca
Direction
Carrer de Can Sunyer, 48, 17007 Girona, SpainGet directions
Telephone
+34972 22 21 57
Web
Visit the website
Located near Barcelona, El Celler de Can Roca is the work of three brothers: Josep, Jordi and Joan Roca. The restaurant offers three menus, with three, five or nine courses and a spectacular wine cellar. The brothers’ passion for cooking was initially ignited in Can Roca, the establishment run by their parents in Taialà, a neighborhood on the outskirts of Girona. And it shows: El Celler de Can Roca is consistently among the 50 best restaurants in the world and was twice the number one in the world.
02
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Akelarre
Direction
Padre Orkolaga Ibilbidea, 56, 20008 Donostia, Gipuzkoa, EspañaGet directions
Telephone
+34943 31 12 09
Web
Visit the website
One of the three three-star restaurants in San Sebastián, Akelarre has two menus and one à la carte. Their dishes include roasted lobster and egg and caviar with mashed cauliflower. Overlooking the panoramic Bay of Biscay, the restaurant is run by Chef Pedro Subijana, who has guided the restaurant with diligence and artistry since he began working at Akelarre in 1975.
03
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Arzak
Direction
Avenida del, Alcalde J. Elosegi Hiribidea, 273, 20015 Donostia, Gipuzkoa, EspañaGet directions
Telephone
+34943 27 84 65
Web
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Juan Ramon Arzak, whose restaurant is located on the outskirts of San Sabastian, was born into a family that owns a restaurant. She began roasting meat over charcoal before developing her own Basque cooking style with the help of the equally renowned Maite Espina.
04
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Martin Berasategui
Direction
Loidi Kalea, 4, 20160 Lasarte-Oria, Gipuzkoa, SpainGet directions
Telephone
+34943 36 64 71
Web
Visit the website
Martin Berasategui’s dishes include red mullet, edible rockfish crystals with saffron, liquid black olive bonbon and roasted pigeon with marrow, potatoes and arugula lettuce. This is the third San Sebastián restaurant on this list. In fact, the Basque city of San Sebastián has more Michelin-starred restaurants per capita than any other city in the world.
05
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Sant Pau de Carme Ruscalleda
Direction
Carrer Nou, 10, 08395 Sant Pol de Mar, Barcelona, SpainGet directions
Telephone
+34937 60 06 62
Web
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This Catalan restaurant includes a “micro menu” of tapas, as well as the main menu with freeze-dried sausages and a plate of ham. Head chef Carme Ruscalleda says that she and her staff base their dishes on the cap al plat philosophy – “from head to plate” – inspired by the “product, the sea and the culture” of Maresme, a picturesque region along the along the Catalan coast. .
06
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Azurmendi
Direction
Legina Auzoa, s / n, 48195 Larrabetzu, Bizkaia, SpainGet directions
Telephone
+34944 55 83 59
Web
Visit the website
Another three-star Basque restaurant, Azurmendi, is close to Bilbao. Since its opening in 2005, the restaurant has focused on sustainability and in 2014, it was recognized as the most sustainable restaurant in the world by 50 Best Restaurants. In fact, the website notes:
“The restaurant is not only made with environmentally friendly materials, it also recycles its own waste, harvests rain and is cooled with geothermal energy.”
07
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Quique Dacosta
Direction
Carrer Rascassa, 1, 03700 Dénia, Alicante, SpainGet directions
Telephone
+34965 78 41 79
Web
Visit the website
Denia, a beach resort in eastern Spain, is not normally associated with Michelin-quality food, but this restaurant’s eponymous owner / chef earned its third star in 2012. “Now we want to constantly embody and delve into missing ingredients and Forgotten flavors “, says Quique Dacosta, considered one of the leaders of avant-garde cuisine in Spain.
