Gourmet heaven Spanish style: New Michelin-starred restaurants in Spain bring country's total to 171
Friday, November 22, 2013 @ 3:21 PM
TWENTY-THREE restaurants in Spain have been awarded Michelin stars for the first time, or have acquired additional ones, making the country one of Europe's top destinations for discerning foodies.
Now with 171 Michelin-starred restaurants, dining out in Spain is set to be an élite experience in any province – eight of them are three-starred, 19 two-starred and an additional 22 have been awarded their first stars, bringing the total of these to 144.
DiverXO in Madrid, run by David Muñoz, is one of the restaurants which has acquired its third star and now sits in a list that includes Arzak in San Sebastián; Quique Dacosta Restaurant in Dénia (Alicante province), which was formerly known as El Poblet; El Celler de Can Roca in Girona; Sant Pau in San Pol de Mar (Barcelona province); Akelarre in San Sebastián, and Azurmendi in Larrabetzu (Vizcaya province).
This is the first time since 1995 that Madrid has had a restaurant with three Michelin stars.
M.B., in the Hotel Abama, Guía de Isora (Tenerife), run by San Sebastián-based Martín Berasategui, and El Portal in the Hotel Echaurren in Ezcaray (La Rioja), run by Francís Paniego have gone up to two stars, and for the former this is the seventh star in total acquired by the owner who also has two- and three-starred eateries in Barcelona and Guipúzcoa (Restaurante Lasarte).
Restaurants that have acquired their first-ever stars in Catalunya are L'Angle; Gaig; the chic silver-service eatery 41º and the tapas bar Tickets, both belonging to famed Spanish chef Albert Adrià (all in Barcelona); Les Moles in Ulldecona (Tarragona); Malena in Gimenells (Lleida), and L'Ó in Sant Fruitós de Bagés (Barcelona province).
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com